Pyrography....hot wire, or machined tip?

[Les Symonds]

So....having accepted advise and decided that 'applied art' could well be the way to go, I'm now left with a decision to make about what sort of pyrography machine to invest in. The way I see it, I can either go down the 'hot wire' road, or down the screw-in, machined tip road for repeated textures. Several months ago I bought a cheap, soldering-iron-type machine so that I could write a few details on the base of each piece that I made. Big mistake! It was so under-powered that it instantly cooled down each time that I tried to use it and the other day, when trying to endorse a bowl that I made a s a wedding present, the pressure that I was putting on the tip, in order to get it to write a decent line of text, caused the tip to bend over and it now resembles a black banana!

Help, please, guys. I'm fed up with reading reviews that state that '...it does everything that I need' because that doesn't tell me anything.....I don't know what they need and just how it compares with what I need. So, here's what I need...

• to be able to write my name and a reference number on a piece
• to be able to keep a line burning without the tip cooling off each time that it touches the wood
• to be able to burn a repetitive pattern/texture into significant areas of the surface of a piece
• and possibly, to just burn-out a whole area into total black-out

I'll welcome any response, but please put your response into context, compared with the needs that I've listed above.

Many thanks.....Les

[bodrighywood]

The Peter Childs one is probably about the best one you can get without going really expensive. I have a friend who does most of my pyro work for me and has written a couple of books on it and he used one until recently. The solid point ones aren't really worth it as they are limited whereas the hot wire ones can be made to suit your work with different gauge wire and shaping the wire as well.

Hope this helps

Pete

[Les Symonds]

Hi Pete....wow, that was (another) speedy reply! Yes, that is helpful. I hadn't really thought of shaping one's own wire tips, but it sounds like a useful idea.

Is there a double-headed machine that accepts both hot-wired tips, in one head, and solid-point tips in another. If so, hoe does its price compare with the standard, hot-wire types?


Les

[bodrighywood]

As far as I know your choice is one or the other. For the hot wire ones you can buy ready made shapes in wire or reels of the wire which you can shape and cut to size. The PC one is usually somewhere around the £100 mark give or take a bit. It varies.

Pete

[Mark Hancock]

Hi Pete....wow, that was (another) speedy reply! Yes, that is helpful. I hadn't really thought of shaping one's own wire tips, but it sounds like a useful idea.

Is there a double-headed machine that accepts both hot-wired tips, in one head, and solid-point tips in another. If so, hoe does its price compare with the standard, hot-wire types?


Les

The burnmaster takes 2 pens so you can have a solid tip and a hot wire plugged in at the same time. It is more expensive but is a great machine.

http://www.classichandtools.com/acatalog/Pyrography.html

[Andy Coates]

I'd echo Mark's comments...the Burnmaster is a top-end tool and well worth the money. I have one and use it in conjunction with this one made in the UK http://www.woodart-products.co.uk/4_gallery.php

Solid tip pens take a comparatively long time to re-heat, and are therefore slow to use. High current wire tips have almost no re-heat time so make the process quicker and less frustrating. You can also pyro=carve with these units. You can't do this effectively with the 40w Peter Child unit.

[bodrighywood]

Not seen the Burn master. It is definitely a lot more versatile than the one I mentioned. 3x the cost though LOL. If you are going to do a lot of pyro work I can see it being a better choice. What exactly is pyro carving Andy? Not heard that phrase before either?

Pete

[john taylor]

If you are going to do it seriously and given the criteria you list then the only one I know of which fits is the Burnmaster.   My wife has been using one for about 18 months and never had a problem with it.

As said it will take two hand pieces so you can have different tips in each.   It will take pens other than the Burnmaster ones and our one came with 2 different converters to take other makes of pen.

As mentioned above the soldering iron type arent worth bothering with unless you are going for a custom stamp like the ones Toolpost sell.   Link to PDF about them http://www.toolpost.co.uk/images/Branding.pdf

john

[Mark Sanger]

I agree with the burn master comments. It is from what I have tried the best and the one in line for my next purchase. Currently I have the Peter Childs which is very good but the Burn Master is another level.

[Andy Coates]

The woodart machine is actually my favourite. John Woods can make you adapters to take almost any handset. And as it's a British made machine keeps it local!

[Les Symonds]

Thanks, everyone, for all the input; I've now got much food for thought.

Andy....a further question, if you don't mind! I'm assuming that by the term 'pyro-carve' you are referring to carving away the surface to provide a texture, simply by burning away at it with the hot-wire. When you do this, do you shape your wires into special shapes, or do you just use the standard, double-backed loop of wire? I notice that some pyrographers hammer their wire tips flat to produce broad-tipped tools for burning with!

Thanks again...Les

[Andy Coates]

Pyro carving is simply the creation of deep relief by burning away wood. A low powered machine can achieve this but the process is boringly slow. The high powered machines, razortip, burnmaster, woodart products Etc., are better suited to the process.

Graeham Priddle famously built his own machine, which he calls "the wood vaporizer". If you have a qualified friend you might have them build you one. I have an electrical qualification and built one from an old fashioned car battery charger. It works a treat. BUT...please do not attempt if you are not qualified or have little understanding of electricity and electrical components.

http://www.woodturnersresource.com/extras/projects/priddle/WoodBurner.html

I make lots of tips from wire...bent, twisted, spiral, flattened. And I have lots of the pre-formed burnmaster tips and razortip type. All are useful.

[Les Symonds]

Thanks so much, Andy, for taking the time to reply again.

This  afternoon, a friend loaned me a pyrography machine - hot wire type - made and marketed by Davan, a little known Welsh company from Tywyn, on the west coast. It absolutely beats the pants out of the little soldering-iron type that I used once, then confined to the bottom of a tool box, never to be used again. So the Davan machine will do for now, but I'm sure that I'll soon discover its limitations!

Les

[bodrighywood]

I have heard that Davan are better than PC machines bit he doesn't advertise so it would be a case of word of mouth. Might be giving Sui an email at woodtattoos@hotmail.co.uk and asking him. He's the friend who specialises and writes on Pyrography. Tell him I mentioned him.

Pete

[Les Symonds]

Cheers, Pete, and thanks for the help. I'll drop him a line tomorrow.

Les