Pyrography problem

[Chippygeoff]

I have had the pyrography machine for a few days now and things are not going well. I have been practicing writing names in the evenings on 6mm birch plywood and small hardwood off cuts. I know there are a few people on here that do pyrography so maybe they can point me in the right direction. I am using a 22 gauge point and using the pen as I would if I were writing a letter but I end up with a series of blobs for wan't of a better description. I have tried a few different points that came with the machine with the same result. I ordered some spoon points and they came today so will try one of those. It's all a bit disappointing at the moment and I can't see any light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[jonluv]

Hi Geoff,
The "Blobs" are usually caused by a combination of varing speed of the pen over the wood, too hot a setting and not smoothing the wood enough
If you " layer" the line and build up density of burn,reduce temperature and smooth wood to 300/400 grit you will find a better consistent burn.
22 gauge is good for most burnings but you may wish to tray a thinner wire for fine work.

The. Spoons will " flow" over a smooth surface so blobs should be a thing of the past---- although after 60 years of burning I can still make a good blob

John

 

[nadnerb]

Hi Geoff
The spoon is the only nib that I use, if you blow on the tip before touching the wood it cools it slightly and will also prevent the blobs. Having said that I am only learning myself, couple of things I found is that a lower temperature works better on oak , sycamore is regarded as a great wood for pyro and beech is an absolute b*t%h. That just about sums up my knowledge
Regards
Brendan

 

[jonluv]

Forgot to add ----- Clean the nib regularly to remove carbon build up --- I have a 6 inch bit of wood covered by 3 inch leather and 3 inch 400 grit sandpaper to rub nib on, works well

John

 

[Walney Col]

How smooth is the wood you're practicing on and what sort of wood is it? Open (wide) grained wood can often stall the tip as you cross the growth rings, and soft wood in general doesn't burn as evenly as very close grained hardwood. Other than that's it's just a case of practicing fluidity of movement and being away of whether you're crossing the grain or going with it and adjusting the pressure and speed accordingly. Actually, in that respect it's got a lot in common with scroll sawing.

Col.

 

[Chippygeoff]

Many thanks to everyone for their input. I feel I know where I have gone wrong reading the above post. I am going to sand the wood with a finer grit. I was using 120 initially but will now use 240 after the 120 and then 400 to finish. The wood i am using to practice on is birch plywood, 6mm thick. I have cut other wood into pieces in readiness for when I improve and these include, Maple, Red Oak, Red Grandis, Lime and some Cherry. The other thing I will do is reduce the heat setting, on the peter Chil;ds machine I had it set at 7 so maybe 5 or 6 when I can get the time to have another practice. Someone told me to hold the pen upright rather than using it like an ordinery pen for writing.

 

[Samfire]

Hi Geoff, turning the heat down to 5 should help but you will notice the difference when you get your spoon tips. If you are doing letters, use the spoon inverted and cut around the letters first. Once the outline is in place you can fill the centre of the letter in. Here is plaque I did for somebody who had done the coast to coast walk which has a lot of letters on it, all done with a spoon tip.

Sam

 

[martinka]

Nice plaque, Sam.

It's a good job the coast to coast walk finishes at Robin Hoods Bay, otherwise walking up the hill out of Robin Hoods Bay would be enough to put anyone off.