When I first started woodburning, I thought the smoke would remind me of the sweet scent of a campfire. I even woodburned outside until I realized that the breeze was cooling down my wire tip and blowing smoke into my face.

I also noticed that the heat would subside when the hot wire tip initially touched the cooler surface of the wood, whether I was woodburning indoors or outdoors. Read my blog on how to woodburn to find out how to better manage the natural heat variations of your wire tip, which can result in inconsistent woodburning.

When woodburning, either indoors or outdoors, you want to protect your lungs from smoke inhalation. At the very least, you need proper ventilation. If you are woodburning indoors, you have several options to manage the smoke that your woodburning produces. You can use an air purifier or an air filter. Do your research to find out which one is best suited for your woodburning space.

If an air purifier or an air filter is not an option for you, you can use a small desk fan and place it near your wood canvas while you are woodburning. The fan needs to face away from you to draw the smoke away. While using a fan helps to draw smoke away from your work space, it doesn’t eliminate it from the air. The smell of woodburning can linger in your home or workshop if you don’t properly ventilate your woodburning space.

I used a small desk fan until I found myself woodburning more and more. That’s when I decided to review my options. I landed on the Razaire Mini, a smoke extractor with carbon filtration, made by Razertip. It’s quieter than a desk fan and draws the smoke into a carbon filter.

The only inconvenience was having to constantly move the smoke extractor across my wood canvas to have it as close as possible to my wire tip as I was woodburning. At the time, I thought it would be ideal to have the smoke extractor suspended over my wood canvas. It wasn’t until later when I was browsing the Razertip website that I discovered the Razertip tower mount for the Razaire. I now have the Razaire hovering over my wood canvas as I woodburn. It’s reassuring to see the smoke being drawn and filtered through the Razaire.

Some pyrography artists wear a face mask or respirator for added protection. If you don’t wear a mask or respirator, you can work on a tilted workspace so that your face isn’t directly over your woodburning. You can use a drafting or drawing table. I use a tabletop beechwood drawing table that I purchased from my local art supply store. It’s also more ergonomic since I don’t need to bend my head over my wood canvas.

Depending on the woodburning tool that you are using and the heat setting, you may feel the heat on your fingers. Some pyrography artists use finger guards or leather gloves to protect their fingers from the heat or accidental burns. I tend to woodburn at a low- to medium-heat setting and haven’t felt the need to use finger guards. I do, however, use a white cotton glove to protect the wood from any dry or oily skin.

You can protect your work area from your hot tools with a heat-resistant mat. I purchased mine from Razertip. Check out their pyro studio products available through their online store. I chose the ocean blue colour. I now have two of them in my studio. I keep both of my woodburners on the mats.

When I’m woodburning I’m always careful to place the pyrography pen that I’m using back on the pen clip and turn the woodburner off when not in use. It’s a good safety practice to double check that objects on your workspace are at a safe distance from your woodburner and hot wire tips. I like to wear my hair back for the same reason. Some wire tips, such as the skew tip, are as sharp as a knife. Take care that your skin doesn’t accidentally come into contact with the sharp edges of your wire tip, hot or cold.

Since we are on the topic of safety, you should know that it isn’t safe to woodburn on all types of woods. In particular, it’s unsafe to woodburn treated or finished wood. Avoid pallet wood, medium-density fibreboard (MDF) or any manufactured wood that contains glue. Woodburning on these surfaces can release toxic fumes. Just to be safe, I only woodburn on untreated wood that I’ve purchased from a reliable and reputable source. It goes without saying that I don’t woodburn over any colour or finish that I’ve added to my pyrography products. It’s worth repeating that woodburning over pigments or finishes is unsafe. Read my blog on wood canvases and sources to find out what not to woodburn on and what types of wood are best to woodburn on.

In addition to the safety precautions to take when woodburning, safety equipment is also required when sanding your wood canvas. I wear safety goggles to protect my eyes and a 3M respirator (8511-N95) to protect my lungs from dust particles. These items are available at your local hardware store. I use an orbital sander with a dust canister to sand my wood canvases. For health and safety reasons, I only sand outdoors.

Investing in a proper workspace and safety equipment is an investment in your health!

Safe woodburning!

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