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Wood burning or "pyrography"?

Joined
Jun 20, 2006
Messages
116
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Location
Cincinnati, OH
Can anyone suggest a wood burning set that would do decent work at adding burned accents on pieces? I'm not good enough to do the artistic drawings like I've seen, but several time I've thought that a well placed mark or series of marks would really accent a piece.
 
I bought one through CSUSA with several interchangable tips at a show sometime back. I use the fine point tip to sign my work, and have played some with other ideas but only on scraps. Not sure of the brand and it's not with me right now (I'm killing time at my real job), but it does have a buffalo on the front of it. There are several of them out there with the interchangable tips that use a standard plug. If you can't find one on woodturning sites you may look at woodcarver's supply places, they use them a lot more than woodturners.

Originally a lot of people used what looked like an old soldering iron, you probably remember those from being a kid at Christmas. Today most of the real ones have a power pack the iron itself is connected to it by a small wire. Much easier to use than those old ones, most even have adjustable heat depending on the tip and the type of wood.
 
Razor Tip burner

I got a Razor Tip Burner with 2 channels from Treeline USA in Utah. It has a hand piece with an interchangeable tip - allows for you to design your own points. I also got some Nickel/Chromium wire from Ebay and can make enough tips to last a lifetime

Ray
 
raisinsawdust said:
I got a Razor Tip Burner with 2 channels from Treeline USA in Utah. It has a hand piece with an interchangeable tip - allows for you to design your own points. I also got some Nickel/Chromium wire from Ebay and can make enough tips to last a lifetime

Ray

If I'm not mistaken Treeline USA is somehow connected to CSUSA, at least they always set up together at the shows I have been to, and the same sales people work both booths. Both a great people to work with also! :) I think I bought the unit from CSUSA and then the extra tips from Treeline USA in the past.
 
Woodwish
Crafts Supply and Treeline are owned by the two Nish brothers. The store fronts are next door to each other in Provo. These are Dale Nish's sons. Both excellent companies to work with.

Charlie, I have a the Cub unit I picked up at Woodcraft. I think the control was about $60 and the pens are about $10. A cord runs from the control to a plug which attaches the pen to the control. Several pens available. Reasonable price for a fairly controlable woodburner.

A little pyro work can add very neat features to any turned item.

Frank
 
The owners of Treeline and Craft Supply are two brothers and the businesses are next to one another but they are separate companies. You will get a better deal from Treeline for the same wood burner.
 
There are a lot of good wood purners out there any of which will do what you want to do. I happen to have a Detail Master because that is what was given to me long before I started woodturning. I carved with it. Now I use it for the basic patterns and texturing that I think you might be interested in. I'd suggest that you purchase a unit that has higher wattage in case you decide to get into burning more seriously later. Also hold the handpieces of the different brands and go with the one that feels the most comfortable. For basic accent work this might be irrelevent but IF you end up sitting for hours with it in your hand you'll wish you had a comfortable pen.
 
Another Entry to your Quest

Another company you might consider can be found at http://www.woodburning.com/

A friend recommended these folks to me. I purchased one of their machines and used it with some success for a recent project. Not artistic, more mechanical, but it worked well, and I think in the hand of someone with eyes to see, it could be a dandy machine.
 
Re: pyrography

I just bought a Burnmaster with Razertip pens from Nedra's Pyrography (http://www.nedraspyrography.com). I was very happy with their service. They have burners, pens, tips, books, patterns, tutorials, etc. An excellent site for pyrography.
 
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