Getting more comfortable with lightning pyrography

[Tom Brouillette]

This is the first large piece I've done with my lightning pryography rig. It is magnolia - about 13" diameter and 3" tall. DO finish.340912340913340914

[David Delo]

Pretty high WOW factor Tom. Beautiful piece of timber to start with and you made it look even better.

[Curtis Myers]

Instead of all the random burnings. I would like to see just one or two, perhaps in the image of a tree.

[Scott Haddix]

I've considered trying this myself. Your results are spectacular. How many attempts did you have on smaller pieces before you were able to produce a bowl like this? Did you go with the microwave or the neon sign parts to power this?

[Tom Brouillette]

341813341814341815As learning processes go, this on has progressed nicely for me. I practiced on a few flat pieces of scrap to get an idea of what technique works best. Interesting note is that the larger the piece, the more comfortable I am working with it. Getting the electrodes too close together on a small piece will cause the burning to be too deep and lacks the delicate definition of the larger pieces. I think using the foot switch is really important from a safety and control standpoint.
I bought a MW transformer off eBay for $20 w/shipping. I couldn't tell you which MW oven it came from. The foot switch was about $13 from HF. Spark plug wires were about $13.

I'll post some pics of the cottonwood bowl I did after this one. Where I left the wild grain as-is on this one, I sanded the other one back to 800#. It really turned out well. Note that when you put on the baking soda/water solution, and rinse the work after burning, the grain rises on the wood. Leaving it adds some nice contrast between the sections of the bowl, but sanding it back really makes the finest parts of the pryography pop.

[Matt Schrum]

Tom,
I'd love to see pictures of your latest when you get a chance. I haven't tried sanding after pyrography as I've been worried it'll smear black ash/soot all over the bowl and be a pain to get off before sealing. Did you have any issues with this at all or was it pretty straightforward?

[Tom Brouillette]

I wish I had a decent camera set up (no money left after buying woodturning accessories :D). This is about 8" diameter, and 3" tall cottonwood. These pictures don't show what I wanted them to. Matt, to answer your question about the black ash and soot smearing - so far I haven't seen evidence of it, but I also have not tried this on a light colored object.

341862341863341864

[Jim Underwood]

What's the output voltage and amperage on the transformer?
Ever worry about being injured by this stuff?

[Matt Schrum]

Jim,
There's a bit more information on the technique on this thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?245051-Lightning-(Lichtenburg)-Pyrography). Depending on the microwave transformer (assuming you go that route) you're likely looking at 0.2-0.4A at 2000-3000V if I recall correctly. So, yes, enough to be injured if you aren't taking the proper precautions.

[Aaron Craven]

I wish I had a decent camera set up (no money left after buying woodturning accessories :D)...

Looks like your setup is pretty good, but you can actually put together a DIY lightbox for almost nothing.... Start with a cardboard box and use a box cutter to cut windows on the sides. Cover these with a translucent material (I used some thin packing foam for my setup, but white fabric or even thin paper will work so long as it doesn't create a strong color cast -- so use white if possible). A little duct tape works great for attaching it. Cut a slit along the top back of the box and hang some fabric off a dowel rod. Let the fabric hang down from the top back and out the front to give you a continuous backdrop. For lights, I use a couple speedlights, but you can just as easily use cheap hardware store lights (or any other good light source). Set these up outside the lightbox and aim them as desired. The main requirement for them is that they give the same "color" of light (buy daylight balanced lights if you want to make your life easy). If they give a strong color cast, just use the white balance settings on your camera to adjust. I also added two white colored cards in the front (I just lean them against the box with a "window" in the middle to shoot through) to provide a little reflection of light on the front of whatever I'm taking shots of. Sorry I don't have a photo of the setup right now, but here's a example of a shot I took with this setup.

341946

Oh. One other item I forgot... there's a three-ring binder underneath the cloth in mine to help tilt the bowl towards me... helps a little with the light... helps a lot keeping me from have to contort myself to the angle I want.

[Tom Brouillette]

Tom,
I'd love to see pictures of your latest when you get a chance. I haven't tried sanding after pyrography as I've been worried it'll smear black ash/soot all over the bowl and be a pain to get off before sealing. Did you have any issues with this at all or was it pretty straightforward?

I did some river birch this weekend as a test on light colored wood. I was also trying something different with directing the design by brushing a small band of the solution around the top rim of the bowl. The test worked pretty well (I'll post pictures after I finish it), but I was dismayed to see the band had darkened A LOT. I thought it was just from the wood still being wet, but it never did lighten up. I went ahead and doused the rest of the bowl with the baking soda solution and it matched perfectly.

This doesn't answer your concern about the soot/ash, but it adds another variable into my new hobby tangent. I need to see how many woods darken because of the solution. The cottonwood in these pictures did not, nor did the magnolia I pyro'd.