any advice welcome

[Dorno]

Well guys I am extremely new to this part of the forum having mainly been a pen turner and then starting on clocks and while at Trend Timbers open day yesterday I purchased one of the iron core burners that Adrian sells (thanks Adrian) so I am now looking forward to getting into this sort of thing so I look forward to any help you all have to offer.

Cheers Ian

[wheelinround]

I thought the only wood you burnt was in the fire :q

[Dorno]

Thanks Ray I will take that advice onboard

[nz_carver]

Sell it and buy a razor tip

Ion core burners are not consistent with heat flow and for drawing the size of the pen that comes with them are massive and hard to use for long periods of time.

the fixed nib can make life interesting as well.

if it's just for burning there ok but for detail work there not that grate

[David Stanley]

I have used both the Iron Core and the Razor Tip. My experience with them corresponds with NZ Carvers on one point but not the other. Yes the Razor Tip model is more ergonomic and you have the option of fixed, and or, your own custom made tips. However in my instance I found the Iron Core to be the more consistent one with heat flow. I suspect that this sort of thing might vary according to the particular item you end up, with rather than the make or model – I was blaming Razor Tip and regretting selling the Iron Core I had. But Hearing NZ's experience makes me modify that view. I only sold the Iron Core because I thought I had lost it at a show and replaced it, because of an urgent need, with the Razor Tip.

The good news for you is (a) You get used to using the thick Iron Core pen fairly quickly and it produces the same result, just not as comfortably as the Razor Tip. (b) The Iron Core can be modified by an electrician to accept the Razor Tip pens. I did this with my Iron Core and the combination worked like a dream. I bought some Jack connections from JayCar and took them to an electrical appliance repairer who fitted the parts, resulting in a detachable Iron Core pen plus what ever Razor Tip pens I wanted to use.

I am not an electrician but knew that getting the polarity wrong with a measly 1.5v but massive 20 amps could be an expensive bit of brief, spectacular and undesired entertainment.

Now concerning pyrography in general, you need to be aware that the pyrography image that you produce will fade seriously in a few years. This effect isn't predictable and it occurs due to most of the light spectrum not just UV. Darkening of the timber you have worked on adds to the problem, further reducing the dynamic range of your tones but this darkening adds to, rather than explains the faded effect. Subtle shading is the most affected.

Combining the pyrography with coloured pencil seems to help, as you can rely more on the pigments to render subtle shades. I haven't tested this systematically but I suspect doing the pyrography over a thin layer of white gouache could to be more fade resistant. It seems that Chinese pyrography employs this technique, not actually stated though.

If you use the pyrography tool to engrave, pyrogravure, (the word is really just synonymous with pyrography but it does signify the 3D effect of the line) then fading is not such an issue.

I have pretty much given up doing realist drawings with pyrography because of the fading, but might I try a few small works over gouache. I now use pyrography for images to be cut as jigsaw puzzles (less exposure to light). With these I use an engraved line reinforced with black ink when possible and limited shading with the tool alone. For shading I rely more on pigmented media.

[Dorno]

Thanks for your comments David and all I have to say is I absolutaly love your work it looks great.

Cheers ian










I have used both the Iron Core and the Razor Tip. My experience with them corresponds with NZ Carvers on one point but not the other. Yes the Razor Tip model is more ergonomic and you have the option of fixed, and or, your own custom made tips. However in my instance I found the Iron Core to be the more consistent one with heat flow. I suspect that this sort of thing might vary according to the particular item you end up, with rather than the make or model – I was blaming Razor Tip and regretting selling the Iron Core I had. But Hearing NZ's experience makes me modify that view. I only sold the Iron Core because I thought I had lost it at a show and replaced it, because of an urgent need, with the Razor Tip.

The good news for you is (a) You get used to using the thick Iron Core pen fairly quickly and it produces the same result, just not as comfortably as the Razor Tip. (b) The Iron Core can be modified by an electrician to accept the Razor Tip pens. I did this with my Iron Core and the combination worked like a dream. I bought some Jack connections from JayCar and took them to an electrical appliance repairer who fitted the parts, resulting in a detachable Iron Core pen plus what ever Razor Tip pens I wanted to use.

I am not an electrician but knew that getting the polarity wrong with a measly 1.5v but massive 20 amps could be an expensive bit of brief, spectacular and undesired entertainment.

Now concerning pyrography in general, you need to be aware that the pyrography image that you produce will fade seriously in a few years. This effect isn't predictable and it occurs due to most of the light spectrum not just UV. Darkening of the timber you have worked on adds to the problem, further reducing the dynamic range of your tones but this darkening adds to, rather than explains the faded effect. Subtle shading is the most affected.

Combining the pyrography with coloured pencil seems to help, as you can rely more on the pigments to render subtle shades. I haven't tested this systematically but I suspect doing the pyrography over a thin layer of white gouache could to be more fade resistant. It seems that Chinese pyrography employs this technique, not actually stated though.

If you use the pyrography tool to engrave, pyrogravure, (the word is really just synonymous with pyrography but it does signify the 3D effect of the line) then fading is not such an issue.

I have pretty much given up doing realist drawings with pyrography because of the fading, but might I try a few small works over gouache. I now use pyrography for images to be cut as jigsaw puzzles (less exposure to light). With these I use an engraved line reinforced with black ink when possible and limited shading with the tool alone. For shading I rely more on pigmented media.

[Don Hudson]

knew that getting the polarity wrong with a measly 1.5v but massive 20 amps could be an expensive bit of brief
I am confused - polarity is not an attribute of ac power. Please explain why I misunderstand. I run both types and vary the voltage up to about 3 volts according to the tips I have made and the requirements of the job. I seldom exceed 10 amps. Maybe it has something to do with living in New Zealand (chuckle) and that I make my own units sans not winding the primary core.
Regards all.