AWGB Woodturning Forum
General Category => Tool tips & reviews => Topic started by: Mary on November 01, 2015, 02:45:44 PM
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Hello,
I'm just about to start making some coasters (in ash) with names burned on them as favours for my brother's wedding. I've been using a cheap pen from Aldi which isn't good enough for what I want!
The pen does a nice deep burn, but I'm struggling with getting around the curvature of some of the letters - hopefully the attached photo will show you what I mean!
Can you recommend a decent tool to use? I don't mind spending some money but don't want to spend a fortune. I find pyrography quite therapeutic so might use the tool afterwards. I'd also like to keep the depth of the burn.
Thanks in advance,
Mary
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Hello Mary,
although there are many of these tools and machines on the market I expect the one most used ans reccommended by the forum members will be the Peter Child machine. After attending the seminar this year and watching Cynthia Carden- Gibson doing pyrography I bought a set of razor tips and they work well in the PC machine. Turn the heat down a bit and they work like a dream.
I wish you success.
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Hi Mary,
Perhaps some more details on what your machine is like would help? For example, if yours is the type with a separate power supply, you could just use a different pen. If it takes the wire tips, you can buy all sorts of different shaped tips for different applications.
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Hello,
Thanks for your replies - I've heard about the Peter Child one but wasn't sure if it would give me the depth I wanted - it sounds like with the razor tips it would.
The pen I've got is quite similar to this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-742690-Woodburning-Pen-Set/dp/B004P4406W (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-742690-Woodburning-Pen-Set/dp/B004P4406W) and I realised the photo gave no scale, the discs are about 7cm diameter so the text is fairly small.
Thanks
Mary
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The tool you've linked to is no more than a soldering iron with a tip that gets very hot. The temperature and length of time it stays hot depends upon the wattage of the element, A good soldering Iron will normally be in the range of 45 Watts to 65 Watts. The tool you show is only 30 W, not very good at all.
To do what you want, you need is a tool with a separate transformer, with wire tips (Nichrome) which heat (glow cherry red) due to the current flowing through it.
It gets hotter, reheats faster, and will give you the control you need to write.
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I'm not sure your conclusions are correct - the Peter Child pyro machine also quotes power as 30W!
I think we agree on one thing - the limitation with the machines like the Silverline is that you can only use their tips. The ones with a two electrode pen allow you to use a wide range of bits or even make your own.
Another make worth looking at are the Razertip range.
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I am hoping to get a new pyrography tool so have been looking around.
I can not really advise on the best options but the Peter Child one, that so many reccomend, is so much in demand it is not available until well after Xmas.
I am personally torn between the Razor tip, Firewire by Antex and the Woodart machine.
The one I end up with depends on how generous the wife is. ;)
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Hi Mary
Currently I have four pyrography units the Peter Childs, Antex, and both of the woodart ones and have used them all for some time and put them through their paces.
The Peter Childs and Antex are good machines but for me the reheat time especially with thicker wire 20swg is limiting and the depth achieved with them is also limited as the power is drawn out quickly if burning deep.
However I should clarify that I produce deep branding/texture on my work and need to achieve it efficiently as such the Peter Child and Antex are designed as pyrography machines and not branding machines and are both good for this process.
The machine I have found can be used for heavy branding with wires up to 16 SWG although they state they will take max of 20 SWG
Out of the two woodart machines the smaller one is compact and powerful enough to brand but the handle gets hot fairly quickly as do the previous two if you are putting a lot of power though them to brand/deep burn.
The hi powered Woodart unit, the only one I can see on the woodart website at the moment, has an air pump in the unit and pipe that runs through the handle through which air is blown to help keep the handle cool and works well.
The power of this unit is exceptionally powerful compared to the others and excels at deep burning/branding yet has a full range of power and sensitive control which can be turned down for light pyrography work.
The hi power unit is by far the best machine if you want to pyro as well as brand, the re- heat time is very fast and the power is huge and only £50 more than the Antex but you get far more than £50 extra for me it is an easy choice, but as always funds often dictate.
Next machine I would go for would be the smaller woodart machine
then the Antex
then the Peter Childs
I have also used the razor tip machines and again the hi power woodart machine for me is better
hope this helps
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Mark
"The hi powered Woodart unit, the only one I can see on the woodart website at the moment, has an air pump in the unit and pipe that runs through the handle through which air is blown to help keep the handle cool and works well." ????
I'm familiar with most of the manufacturers you mention, but not with Woodart, you mention a web site but Google does not get me there.
Do you have a web address to get me there.
Richard
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Hi Richard -- I think this is the one that you are looking for Wood Art Products (http://www.woodart-products.co.uk/index.php) -- Julian
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Hi Richard
Apologies I was in a rush this morning and forgot to past the link in. Julian is correct it is the woodart-products one here (http://www.woodart-products.co.uk/3_pyrography%20machines.php)
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Your welcome Mary,!!!! the information is free, as is a thank you. ::) ::)
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Apologies! I spent a lot of time mulling over different tools and eventually went for a Davan. I was watching a Peter Childs one on ebay (the waiting list for after Christmas wasn't quick enough!). I've not yet used the Davan as it only arrived this week but once I do I'll post a photo of the difference :)
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Mary,
Looking forward to the results.
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Here's a photo of the font - to show what I've been aiming for, the old one and the new one. The new one hopefully should be obvious but it's to the right of the font and took about 5 minutes.
Quite happy, this is the first attempt at using the Davan so it can only get better!
Thanks for all your help folks
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Hi Mary,
I too have just got a Davan machine and I am hoping to improve my pyrography.
I am most impressed by your replicating the font from paper to wood, and have to ask what type of tip did you use to achieve it? You have achieved a nice broad line horizontally yet kept a much thinner one for the verticals. To achieve that with pen and ink, I would use a broad nib but I wondered if that was the same for your pyrography?
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Hello,
I used the basic v nib that was sent in the pack with the Davan, I cranked the temperature up high which allowed me to get some nice depth to the burn, with the thinner parts of the lettering I just ran a bit quicker than the thicker bits. Some of the thicker bits I went over twice to give the correct size. I'm burning into ash which I'm told burns very easily and is perhaps not the best wood to use but I quite enjoy it!
Hope that helps
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Thanks ever so much for the detailed reply. I am even more impressed by the results you have achieved with the basic nib. I will have to practise much more to get anywhere close to your results. Please post more of your work for us to see.