Collaborative Piece Updated

[Jeff Myroup]

Spent a little more time working on the piece over the past couple of days. I started burning the other half of the image today. I have simplified the original image. I would have used the entire image if I had more room. It is also hard to get all the detail with a really small image. The bowl is about 14" diameter and the burnable area is about 11". I also wanted to keep the hands close to center.
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[Jon McElwain]

Jeff,

I finally bought a wood burner last year and have tried some different pens, have watched videos, and have attempted patterns and writing and such. So far, I can just manage to write my name without it looking like a 5 year old's signature! So, of course I am impressed with the level of detail you were able to achieve here.

Would you mind sharing some of the specifics? Equipment, type of burner, tips, etc. Did you use pencil to make the sketches? What if you make a mistake? Variable heat settings? Any tutorial info to share?

I see you have a brass brush in the background. I tried brushing a burn design of mine recently and it just smeared charcoal over the fresh wood and dulled the overall appearance. How are you using the brush? What do you use for a sealer once the design is complete? Any sealers applied before the burning?

Sorry for all the questions, but we don't see too many detailed burns like this in the turners forum. Great looking platter!

Jon

[Jeff Myroup]

Thanks for the compliments John. I will attempt to answer your questions.

Equipment:
I Have a Burnmaster unit that I use for most of my burning. I have about a dozen pens, but I only use a couple. I mainly you a spear point shader, a round tip shader and a writing point. The rest of the pens sit in the drawer. The problem with these type units and pens is that they cool off very quickly. For large areas that I want very dark I use a 20 watt Wood Hollow unit or a 30 Watt soldering iron with a broad tip. These are also the only tips I polish. I want them to glide over the wood and not stick. If I have a very large background to do, I use micro-torches. I also make shields for them, so that I can use them the same way you would use an air brush. I use the brass brush to gently clean any residue that ends up on my tip. It works great if I am burning texture.

Wood and Prep:
All woods burn differently. I tend to make my plates using hard maple. It takes more heat to burn than say bass wood. I always keep a piece of scrap sanded to the same as the plate, next to my work. I use the scrap to get my temp right.

The more you sand, the smoother the burn. I normally sand to 1500-2000.

NEVER put a finish on the wood before you burn, you will make a mess and gum up the pens.

Patterns and transfer:
I use erasable graphite paper to transfer the pattern. When I first started I would trace to much stuff and it gets confusing. Now I trace just a basic out line and will hand draw in what I need to make it work. Try not to burn over the pencil lines, they will end up dark, and you can't erase them. If you are working from a picture, you can render it in Sepia tones in any photo editing software. The brown tones will help you see what it will look like burned.

Mistakes:
When you make a mistake, there are a couple ways to fix it. If it is small, and you need to lighten an area up, us a razor blade and GENTLY scrape away the burn to the tone you need. You can also use white colored pencils to add high lights and soften the tone. In the event of a big mistake, I always leave the tenon on the back of my plates until complete. I have several times put it back on the lathe and removed the whole thing and started over.

Burning:
When you burn, work in layers to build up to the tonal value you want. It is easier to add than subtract tones. I normally work around 3-4 on my unit. I start with the eyes if I am burning a dog or person. Then I start with the underneath layers and work up. (If you search my previous posts, You will find one for "Sadie Plate", It shows in progress pictures at various stages).

Finish:
I use Lacquer for all my finishing. If I add color, I will use a fixative to set the color and spray over that.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask

Jeff

[Bernie Weishapl]

Jeff that is a beautiful piece. I just did a couple of platters so I can get back to woodburning.

[Jon McElwain]

Jeff,

Thank you for the bounty of information! I had not considered the preparation of the burning tip, nor the high sanding grit to provide a smooth burn. I think that tip alone will make my process much more successful.

Jon

[John Keeton]

Jeff, great artistic discretion on where and how to truncate the image! Looks excellent, and keeping the near touching hands in the center was the right move. This is going to be an exceptional piece when complete. Do you expect to use any color with this one? The original image seems perfect for just a burn - perhaps just some highlights on the hair of God?

[Steve Schlumpf]

I'm amazed! Beautiful work - as always! Looking forward to seeing this once finished!

[Tim Rinehart]

That is a beautiful piece, and your explanations really help in understanding what goes into work like this.

[Russell Eaton]

Absolutely STUNNING! I am more drawn to the burned art on a turning than the colored art, and this is a great example. Thanks for showing.

[Jeff Myroup]

Thanks guys.

John- The only color I plan on using is some white for God's hair and some highlights. I am still undecided about a couple of things. I am not sure if I will put a light burn on the remaining plate, or leave it as is. I really like some of the grain and it will pop once the lacquer is applied. That being said, I am not fond of the knots in the plate. I am also thinking I might gild the rim in silver. If I do that, I will most likely have do the entire back, as there is not natural stopping point other than the center. My other option is to just burn the rim to give it some contrast and frame the burned images. If I go that route I will burn the hands on the back with them pointing to the center portion and our signatures. Decisions, decisions.

[John Keeton]

Jeff, I like the ideas! Is the bowl/platter still round enough to cut a couple of small grooves on the rim to border the silver leaf? I think the gilding would really add to the piece, particularly with the patination you do, but I don't think I would like it wrapped all around the rim. IMO, a groove about 1/4-3/8" in from the edge, and about half that from the beaded accent would provide a nice boundary for the gilding.

[Jeff Myroup]

You and I are having the same thoughts. I am not sure if we can remount the piece since the back is completed. What you can't see in the picture is that the rim has a slight taper back to the edge. There is also a bead near the inside of them rim. Bob does have a vacuum chuck and we have talked about the possibility of mounting it again. If we can I would have him form a matching bead on the outer part of the rim and gild the resulting area between. That way I could still burn the back. Part of the reason I choose this design was the fact despite the religious connection, it could also represent the passing of knowledge from the older turner to the younger, as Bob is my turning mentor. Hence the hand idea pointing to the names on the back. The other idea I am toying with is using our hands as models for the back. but I have not talked to Bob about that yet.

[Bill Wyko]

All I can say so far is, it's truly a masterpiece. I'm enjoying the progression, thanks for sharing.