Supplies
Tools
- 1 solid-point machine (similar to a soldering iron) equipped with a transformer. They can be more or less sophisticated:
- the basic tool with safety features for children (about 20€/$28 USD), with one, non-interchangeable tip
- the professional tool that allows you to regulate heat level and comes with multiple tips that offer the possibility of working with several different types of stylus in one project
- Tips. There are several types available, but generally 2 will suffice:
- A multi-purpose tip (indispensable!). It is beveled and allows you to do anything: lines, curves, points...
- A rounded tip for large surfaces.
- Backgrounds:
- Preferably a light-colored wood, soft and with a small grain.
- It's best to use rough wood.
- Plywood works, but chipboard releases a toxic gas when heated.
- Don't do wood burning on mahogany, oak, pine, or ash.
- Fir, because of its large grain, doesn't allow for a steady line (the tip dips in the soft parts and jumps in the hard parts).
- Drawing tools: n° 2 pencil, eraser, ruler, compass, etc.
- Sandpaper (with a sanding stick or other support, even something as simple as a piece of wood to wrap the sandpaper around) for sanding the wood and erasing any small errors.
- Carbon paper for transferring a pattern onto your work surface
Directions
Prepare your background
- Sand the surface until it's very smooth and dust it well afterward.
- If the surface is varnished, strip it to avoid getting high on the vapors that varnish will create during carbonization. Also, varnish can make rings when melting that would mar your work. It can only get better when you remove the varnish beforehand!
Create your design
- Draw your pattern with a n° 2 pencil (you can erase if you make a mistake, unless your background is cork) or transfer it with carbon paper (put your pattern on the carbon paper, position the carbon paper over your background, and press along the outlines with, for example, a pen cap).
- Plug in your tool and wait until the point becomes red before using it.
- Make sure to use the proper temperature for your background. If the wood darkens too quickly and smokes, turn down the temperature. Conversely, raise the temperature if the tip doesn't mark quickly or firmly enough.
- In all cases, do a trial run on a scrap of wood. Keep in mind that gourds and cork need a low temperature!
- To create nuances in your shading, remember this basic rule: the lower the temperature, the lighter the resulting shade, and the higher the temperature, the darker the resulting shade.
- Hold your tool like a pen between your thumb and forefinger and, if necessary, use your little finger for balance on the background.
- Burn your wood from top to bottom, pulling the tool lightly toward you to obtain a clean, even line.
- Start by making a light line. If you make a mistake, sand it away with sandpaper. You can go over your line more deeply a 2nd time, if needed.
- In all cases, pushing too firmly runs the risk of damaging the tip. If the surface has been sanded and prepared properly beforehand and if the temperature is correct, the tip should glide along easily!
- For image backgrounds, try different textures: dots, zigzags, cross-hatching, cow spots, etc. Play around with the way you hold the tool and the burning time.
Final touches
- Sand the surface again and clear away any dust created by sanding.
- You can also apply, if you choose:
- Varnish (matte, glossy, or satin), tinted or clear (but make sure that the tint won't hide your work: dilute the varnish with white spirit or clear varnish). Apply several coats to protect your creation well (for objects that will be outside, use boat or high resistance varnish).
- Beeswax, tinted or clear. Roll it with the grain of the wood and, once it's dry, make it shine by rubbing it with a non-abrasive rag.
Tips
Safety tips
- Work in a well-ventilated area.
- Wear a mask if the material you're working with lets off toxic fumes (leather, chipboard, etc.).
- Let your tips cool completely before putting them away.
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