Patterns for pyrography

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks Democritus; I stripped the oven door and removed the oven side to gain access to the hinge but by that time as usual it was too dark to carry on and the kitchen was needed so I pushed the double oven back into its housing and will carry on tomorrow; it's stopped snowing at last.

23pcs Chromium Nickel Alloy Pyrography Machine Wire High Impedance Nib Tips 1mm | eBay

I'm still dreaming of doing some pyrography and have bought a set of tips seen above to play with; tomorrow morning I'll be doing the shopping as usual very early then I've the oven to sort out; one of these days I'll actually have a go at pyrography but in the meantime my wife and I have been watching lots of YouTube videos; it seems both pressure and temperature are the key; it's better to start with a low heat and build up; going over with a cooler tip for shading gives background then don't increase the heat but go over a number of times to darken; I've yet to have a go. Here's a video on shading.



Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Owd Jockey]

I've used Pyrography a few times in my turned work. I started off with the "soldering Iron" type pen, but it was crude and difficult to control. So I bit the bullet and bought a Peter Child device, which was much better to work with. Most of the pyrography stuff i do is taken from photos found on the Internet and then traced using graphite paper. The piece below is my Dark Mark Bowl, with a Harry Potter incantation. To get perfect burnt images depends on the wood you use, anything delicate on finely grained wood will lead to 'burn-spotting'.

 

[Democritus]

Brilliant piece, Owd Jockey. What wood is it, sycamore, maple?.

 

[Owd Jockey]

I think it was a piece of Spruce that was given to me. I've still got this piece as the wife is a keen HP fan and did'nt want me to see sell it. I've done a smaller pyrography pieces , but it really depends on the wood. This is a much smaller pyrography attempt on my Constellation bowl,I think this is Alder with a resin and Milliput inlay and a tinge of spalting at the edge.

I did think about starting doing some of the Mandala pyrography patterns, but I decided against it.

 

[SVB]

23pcs Chromium Nickel Alloy Pyrography Machine Wire High Impedance Nib Tips 1mm | eBay

That looks like an amazing value set of tips. You can pay that each, not for 23!

let us know if they are any good/ how you get on.

simon

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Hi Colin,
Never rains but it pours!
Good luck with sorting your oven door out. It’s not the best weather to be in the workshop.
I have only a couple of offcuts of ply to use, having used up my stock in the lockdown(s). I’m also worried that skills developed on an ideal material. (ply) may not translate easily to problematic timbers. Anyway, we’ll see.
It will be interesting, and that’s all you can ask for in a hobby. Hopefully we will have the vaccine soon, and that may loosen the restrictions on tool and timber shopping, but I don’t think it will be anywhere near normal much before September.
Best wishes
D

Thanks Democritus; just an update; after lots of hassle I finally repaired the oven door yesterday; it's still bitterly cold and we've still got plenty of snow around on the ground; I'm scared of saying I'll now have a go at pyrography in case something else prevents me; I live in hope.

I'm 73 and have just checked estimated date for my vaccine which is 12th Feb

Vaccine Queue Calculator for the UK

Yes the tips appear to be excellent value Simon; they haven't yet arrived; I've still got the original spare tips supplied with the machine; what I need now is to break clear of all the doom and gloom and have a go at pyrography.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Democritus]

Well done, Colin. Let’s hope we can all get the vaccine soon, and then get on with the rest of our lives.
It’s bitterly cold in my workshop, in spite of a space heater, so I haven’t venture out there for a few days. Hopefully things will improve soon. Walking my dog i’ve noticed lots of daffodil shoots coming up, and lots of incipient buds on the hawthorn hedges. Spring waits in the wings!
Best wishes
D

 

[Retired]

Hi,

The snow has finally gone and it's slightly warmer so I've been moving around a bit. This morning I decided to cut up two big cardboard boxes that were stored in our freezing rear extension and have a good clear out; I climbed into the recycling wheelie bin from steps and a wall to compress the contents which always works well; now I had space to dump the cardboard; usually I cut up cardboard boxes using a utility knife but decided to use the bandsaw for a change; I cut around the front and rear panels as usual with the utility knife because the largest box had a row of staples then ran the cardboard through the bandsaw making a very easy job of it; I enjoyed the short time in the workshop. Next I washed and dried the car and checked tyre pressures bringing me up to dinner time.

After dinner I tried to print out a cat picture in the hope of using this with graphite paper to give a pyrography pattern on a small piece of prepared plywood and from their it all started to go wrong; I used Gimp to resize the picture and it printed out full size on the A4 printer paper so I adjusted the printer to print out the size I needed; what a disaster; the picture was all pixels with no properly defined lines; by now I was becoming frustrated; it was getting dark and even with the desk lamp switched on I couldn't make sense of the picture as I tried to add the details to the ply; it was hopeless.

Not to be beaten though I was determined to at least burn a bit of wood after all I've only been waiting two years since buying the pyrography machine; I carried the machine into the kitchen and set it up on the work surface; please have a good laugh at my feeble effort; I was propped on my elbows looking directly down on the ply; I tried different temperatures but had problems creating clean burnt lines; the point kept burning the tops of the grain leaving tiny dots; my elbows started to get sore and when I started sneezing it was time to quit.

A total waste of time and effort for such a poor first attempt; I don't think so because I actually did my first bit of pyrography so in that sense I succeeded; I obviously need lots of practice but I also need to be comfortable; my wife uses one of the rear extension rooms as her studio but in winter it's very cold in there; I need to turn the CH radiator on to warm the studio well in advance before going into the studio; there's a comfortable office chair and desk with wall lighting but above the desk on the ceiling I installed a downward facing LED panel lamp; I'm not disappointed or complaining; I just need to get myself sorted out for pyrography.

Two big cardboard boxes I cut up using the bandsaw; I'm getting lazy.

Please have a good laugh at my first attempt at pyrography; when it's this bad it can only get better and I'm determined to succeed; I didn't have a chance of copying the cat picture onto the plywood from this printout so I just roughly drew in the outline.

I hope I'm not hijacking your thread Democritus but I too am on a steep learning curve; I've got lots of suitable pictures but I need to learn how to print them out clearly; here's pictures I'm using at the moment;

Pinterest

pyrography cat art - Google Search

I'd like a bit of global warming please then I can crack on with projects.

Kind regards, Colin W.

 

[MJP]

" the point kept burning the tops of the grain leaving tiny dots"

- this will almost always happen if you use the pointed tip Colin - try using the spoon tip inverted - you will have a short curved edge which will draw much cleaner lines.

Incidentally, don't buy just any old tips for your Peter Childs - most tips on ebay are made from wire that's too thick and it will overload your machine. Stick to proper PC tips from Turner's Retreat et al.

Martin.

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks for your useful advice Martin; much appreciated. I've got a lot of tips due to arrive through eBay so now forewarned I'll measure diameter and also resistance to see how they compare with a genuine Peter Child tip in the meantime I'll act upon your excellent suggestion and next time will try using a spoon tip. My wife is good with the fine tip but she developed her own technique very quickly indeed; she spots the line first then joins the spots which works for her but she too I'm sure will find a spoon tip easier to use. I'll update later.

Thanks must go to Democritus for starting this thread; he too will be learning as much as I am. I joined in because this thread timing is perfect as I am just starting with pyrography too.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[MJP]

. I've got a lot of tips due to arrive through eBay so now forewarned I'll measure diameter and also resistance to see how they compare with a genuine Peter Child tip

A lot of the ebay tips are 1mm thick Colin, while the Childs tips are just a shade over 0.5mm from memory, so the ebay tips will have about a quarter of the resistance and will need a lot more current. You'd also be outside the terms of your warranty on the equipment.

If you are a Facebook user, there is a very good, friendly and informative group there, called Pyrography-UK which you might find worth joining.

Martin.

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks once again Martin. I'm not a Facebook user so unfortunately can't access Pyrography-UK; I did try Facebook but it wasn't to my taste so closed the account but I appreciate the information.

Pyrography Wire Reel

I always take notice of advice and I've just ordered two reels of medium wire as seen above; two reels should last a lifetime; if I need the thin wire I'll order a reel. I've had the pyrography machine for at least two years and if I take to pyrography then I'll buy another Peter Child machine so my wife and I will have a machine each to play with. We also have one of the cheap pyrography pens with assorted nibs we bought through eBay.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[MJP]

. I'm not a Facebook user so unfortunately can't access Pyrography-UK; I did try Facebook but it wasn't to my taste
I've just ordered two reels of medium wire

That wire should be good Colin - 25SWG is nice to use.
I agree about Facebook but sadly there are too many good hobby groups there these days to be able to ignore it - FB is where the action is, for better or worse.

Enjoy!

Martin.

 

[Retired]

Hi,

An update. Just as you state Martin the new selection of tips has just arrived and they are much too thick at 1mm for my Peter Child machine so I won't be using them although I'll keep them in case I trade up to a more powerful machine in future; please take note Simon and don't buy these tips unless you've got a suitably powerful machine.

Yesterday I set my new picnic table up in my office; it's actually our entrance hall but with the radiator behind me it's very cozy indeed. Space is a bit limited but I bought the 2.6' sized table; care is needed in buying these tables because of height; cheaper tables are lower and won't allow knee access. This table measures L80 x W60 x H70cm it's perfect for pyrography fitting the space available and is quickly set up.

Space is tight but perfect for pyrography as seen; the table is quick to set up and take down and in this position with the ceiling light switched on and natural light through the porch I can see what I'm doing.

Now I can do pyrography in comfort I've already made a bit of progress; far from perfect; I've doodled burning our names and cat names just to get the feel of the pen; I'm still using the writing very fine nib because it's the only size of nib I currently have; yesterday I found I had 50 of these nibs forgetting I had bought them so when the new medium gauge wire arrives I'll be well set up for nibs.

Being a total novice to pyrography and having this Peter Child machine one thing I did notice is it appears to lack any spare power; with the fine nib I was up to just under setting #8 whereas many pyrographers I've watched on YouTube can burn at a setting of only #3? Perhaps this is just down to my ignorance but I pick up quickly when it comes to using any machine. A second thing I quickly noticed is how long it will take to swap between nibs if only the single pen is being used; again on YouTube assorted nibs are in use. I've been browsing the web looking at other machines and spotted these;

Razertip SS-D10 Pyrography Woodturners Kit - Special Edition Package Deal!

I note the Razortip is rated at 10A but don't know the output on the Peter Child machine; I've so much to learn but I've also spotted this;

Pyrography Pen Splitter

It will allow two pens to work from the single machine and with a spare pen it's not too expensive so could be a good option.

I hope you don't mind me adding all this extra information Democritus because I feel rather cheeky but I thought as you started the thread it might be better to keep pyrography in one place me also being a novice.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Padster]

@Retired Just for info - I used some Razertip with Peter Child machine at Bob Neill's and had no issues, and I know he said he does use them and he's way more talented than me!!

Padster

 

[Democritus]

All information is useful, Colin. We can all learn from it.
D

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks Padstar; I've just been looking at Bob Neill's website; what a shame he's over 70 miles away at hour and a half each way had he been nearer I'd have been interested to visit him. I'm totally new to making tips although I've got plenty of correct resistance wire due to arrive; can this wire be lightly hammered to give assorted shapes? At the moment the workshop is out of bounds due to dire weather otherwise I'd simply try using a hammer? I think a bit more YouTube browsing is in order.

Good of you Democritus; thank you; you're like us in for a spot of rain over the next few days; I think you're sending it over the hill to us.

Kind regards, Colin.

I'm already making progress; this afternoons effort where I copied the pattern from the web and transferred it to the ply using graphite paper; it worked this time because I had a good clear print out to work with.

I even tried a bit of colouring but I'm hopelessly colour blind and as seen with shadows it was rapidly getting dark outside; I could see with the lights switched on but with shadows.

 

[Padster]

@Retired So some good assorted pliers should shape most wire for you, or if you really want flat I don't see why a small hammer wouldn't work. When Lockdown is over the trip to Bob's may not be that bad, and I would say it's definitely worthwhile as a novice, it's very informal and when I went there was just two of us and Bob, he provided lots of material and refreshments, gave me some good basics to build on but I must do more, unfortunately from a pyrography point of view it's taking a backseat as I revamp and rework my workshop.
NB. for pattern transfer, if you are printing out before transfers cheap pad of tracing paper can be printed onto by most home printers and sometimes i find that easier for the transferred being able to see what I'm doing.

Padster

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks Padster; I've got a well equipped workshop but unfortunately due to our dire weather it's been out of bounds until today when the outside temperature reached a scorching 9C.

I've been making the most of this rare mild day before it freezes again raking leaves but also I popped into the workshop for tools bringing these up to the kitchen. I have a small anvil and this is ideal for forming various tips on and I've just made a spoon/shading tip but not yet used it.

I watched a guy on YouTube making one of these tips and he was pounding away at it with his hammer taking ages; I was taught blacksmithing so thought I'd try making the new tip by heating it to cherry red using the machine which I did and it worked very well indeed but having succeeded I thought I'd have another look on YouTube; I've been beaten to it using the machine as seen here;



So my idea wasn't new after all and full credit to the guy in the video for posting the method.

My kit for making tips; I've not used the ball of the hammer to dish the tip so I've learnt something new from the video and will do this next time.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Democritus]

Good idea, Colin. I’ve had two reels of the wire for a while, but haven’t got round to doing anything with them. There’s a Peter Child’s video that shows how to make nibs that looks good.
I know what you mean about the weather. I went in the workshop yesterday, and lasted just under an hour. Fingers and toes frozen stiff.
D