pyrography

Leather Pyrography Wood Burning Tools

Plaid 30725E  Low Temperature Tool – Available through Plaid Online

Plaid was kind enough to send me a sample wood burner the other day … like I need another wood burning unit to add to my dozen plus one temperature, soldering style wood burners that I have collected over the 25 years of being a wood burner …

Well, I didn’t know it, but I did!

This is a one temperature burner that is pre-set at the low temperature of 750 degrees – 200 degrees lower that the average pre-set unit, which makes it perfect for leather burning pyrography.

Plus … it has the standard four interchangeable tips that we all know and love that are available with most one temp tools.

I already have several low temperature, soldering style tools that I often use for my leather crafting.  Each of those comes in the package with only one, cone point tip for fine line work.

Plaid has included the universal writing tip, leaf shading tip, the fine point cone tip, and the wide ball tip, all for under $17.00.

 

Plus Plaid’s low temperature leather burning tool has an on/off switch right on the cord and a handy little stand for safety.

I happened to have a sample journal cover that I could grab as a practice board … It has been quite awhile since I have used the soldering style pen and every  pen, no matter who manufacturers it, needs a little practice time to get your correct grip, pressure, and movement.

 

So, here is my first using the Plaid one temperature leather burning tool – feathered green man journal cover.  Pale tones are created using the cone point tip and a light hand pressure, wide strokes are made with the universal tip and medium hand movement.  The darkest tones were made with the wide cone tip and a simple touch-and-lift stroke.  The tip of the leaf spear shader is wonderful for thick-and-thin line work as in his beard.

And then I did this one … a giraffe leather journal keeper with suede cord.

Number three is also a journal keeper made from scrap leather and with elastic cord.

 

The wide cone tip is so much fun to use it lead to this wood flower journal cover – number four.

And number five is this easy leather journal that has the front cover cut open to show the burning on the inside flap.

My whole weekend got eaten up by a Plaid One Temperature, Low Temperature, Interchangeable Tip Wood Burning Tool … grin!

 

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Wood Burned Pyrography Free Bird Pattern

This little “Let the Stress Begin” Bird Pattern for pyrography and wood carving is worked on a mini-clipboard that measures 6 1/2″ high by 4″ wide.  The outer 1/2″ edge of the clipboard was covered with painter’s tape after the pattern was traced.  This protects that area of wood from being burned and when it is removed you have a clean, straight-lined border.

This is a simple silhouette burn on a high setting for your wood burning tool for the bird’s outline and body fill.  The background grass was worked using a ball-tip pen on a medium temperature setting.

The white and yellow were added after the pyrography was completed using acrylic craft paints.  After they dry finish your wood burning using your favorite spray sealer.

Please click on the image above to open a new window with the full-sized – 7″ x 10″ – pattern.

Please click on the image above to open a new window with the full-sized – 7″ x 10″ – pattern.

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Wood Burned Twine Box Mouse

Paper Mache Wood Burning Pyrography Project

I use little bits and scraps of twine all the time in the studio.  But after an hour of searching for my current twine ball I decided it was time to make something specific just to keep that bit of string easy to locate.

 

Supplies:

4″ wide heart-shaped paper mache box

Walnut Hallow Creative Woodburner

some 1/4″ and 1/2″ ribbon

some glue

a white colored pencil

bench knife

a bamboo skewer

a small ball of twine or cordage

 

A few ovals as my guidelines, made with a #4 soft pencil, create my mouse’s face and ears.  Working with my ball-tip pen and as hot a setting as the Walnut Hallow will take I began the burn.  Paper, especially paper mache, needs a high setting to burn both the paper and the glue content of the mache.

White colored pencil highlights her eyes, nose, and a few of the long hairs inside her ears.

After the burn was complete I used my bench knife to cut a small 1/8″ diameter, hole just above her ear, through the heart box lid.  Next, using my ball-tip pen on its highest setting I cleaned the sides of the hole by burning around the cut edge.

Now I grabbed a bamboo skewer that fits the hole I just created.  I wrapped a 1/4″ ribbon into a bow around the skewer, added a little glue to just the ribbon, and drop the skewer into the box lid hole.  The skewer holds the ribbon in place while the glue sets.  While that is drying you can add a 1/2″ wide ribbon along the outside edge of the box lid to add a little more sparkle.

After the glue on your ribbon has dried, gently remove the skewer.  Put your twine ball inside the box.  Thread the edge of the twine through the box lid hole, leaving about a 6″ tail.  Loosely tie the tail twine in a simple knot and move the knot against the box bow.

Your twine end will stay in place, and be ready to give you that next piece of twine scrap that you need.

Quick, easy, and fun …

 

 

 

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How to Clean Wood Carving -Burning Projects

Antique Road Show may call it patina … but I call it dirt!

A.K.A.  The Joys of Murphy Oil Soap

In wood crafting – wood carving and wood burning – patina is the natural color change that any wood surface goes through with age because of oxidation.  This darkens the wood because the iron in the wood begins to rust over time.  A clean, fresh piece of white pine will turn into a deep golden-orange color as its patina develops.

This morning I have been taking photos for my next book with Fox Chapel Publishing and needing a backdrop I grabbed one of my very first relief carvings – a photograph box.   But even before I got it to the photography table I knew that carving desperately needed a good cleaning.  What I am posting is the same procedure that I use of my wood burnings.

Because we display our carvings, handle our carvings, and use many of them on a daily bases our artwork does begin to pick up an ugly layer of common household dirt that both dulls  the surface finish and begins to fill in that fine detail carving that you worked so hard to achieve.

This project was carved in butternut, circa 1995, and used in my first book Classic Carving published by Taunton Press.  Over the twenty years of being used as either a jewelry box or photo box, the lid had become quite dingy.

Note here, this is not some precious 200 year old antique … at least not yet!

I use Murphy’s Oil Soap.  Murphy’s is a concentrated wood cleaner that is safe to use around children and pets. Not only can it be used on raw wood but also over most of your polyurethane or acrylic sealers.  Remember to do a small test on the bottom of your project before you work the carving.

  1.  Dust your work well before you begin.  Use condensed air to clean what you can out of the deep details.
  2. Mix about 1 cap of soap with 1 1/2 cups of warm water.
  3. With a kitchen dish washing brush, work one coat of soapy water over the surface of your carving.  Let the soap mix sit on the wood for a few moments so that it can loosen the dirt.
  4. Gently scrub over your carving or burning with the kitchen brush to lift the dirt.
  5. With a large ox-hair brush, work the puddles of dirt out of the crevices and corners.
  6. Use a clean, lint-free cloth to rub away the dirty soap.  You do not need to or want to rinse your work after you have wiped the wood.  The oil in Murphy’s will refreshes your wood surface.
  7. Repeat if necessary.


After my jewelry box thoroughly dried it was ready to be returned to my dresser as my family photo box.  The shine you see on the box edges and carving curves directly comes from Murphy’s Oil Soap.

 

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