Help With Woodburning

[Mike Goetzke]

A little bit ago I purchased an Optima wood burner for turning and flat work. I'm goi g to make some picture frames for my sons wedding. I want to embellish them with some writing and simple graphics.

I have a 5/64" ball pen. I've practiced a bit and find it's difficult to control the tip and burn with ash and oak do to the open grain. I have some European Steamed Beech that is less grainy that may work better.

Just wondering if anyone has any hints for this project. Maybe like heat setting, pen pressure, how to transfer pattern...

Thanks,

mike

[Thom Sturgill]

Even grained woods work best. I like cherry, but other tight grained woods work too. Get a scrap of Home Depot's 'sandy ply' or similar or some of the blanks they sell at art/hobby stores and practice strokes and temps. Then practice on a scrap of the wood you want to use for the project. You can use carbon paper to transfer patterns, but test it for erase ability.

Temp and pressure depend on the effect you are after. A stipled background will use hi temp and pressure while a cross-hatch might use light pressure and low temp. If you get into this you will need more pens !! (I have eight in my rack)

[Doug Rasmussen]

I set my grandson (6) up with wood burning equipment. My thought was a ball tip would be best for line work. Nope...the ball sinks too deep into the soft wood between grain lines making motion jerky. The best for him is a tip that looks more like an Exacto knife which bridges over a couple grain lines allowing him to make smooth lines.

[Steve Mawson]

I use a very small ball tip for signing. Hardly any pressure at all and keep the heat low. Yes the grain will almost always give issues.