I am a self-taught pyrographer. Although, my aim is not to teach you, I would like to certainly show you how easy and fun it can be.
If you are the least bit interested in pyrography, I encourage you to try it. There are only a few things you need to get started:
1. A woodburning kit. Most department stores and hobby/craft stores carry the basic kits. These basic kits sell for under $20 and come with several different tips and instructions on the use of those tips. While you are at it, you may want to pick up a slab or two of wood and the few other items that you will need...
2. The wood available in craft stores or the craft section of stores is usually basswood and is ideal for wood burning as it is soft, pale and even grained. If you are just starting out, you may want to choose slabs to practice on and get the feel of your woodburning pen. As you get more practice you can experiment with different kinds of woods that are harder, provide knots or are heavily grained, as well as begin burning on boxes and different shapes.
3. Go ahead and pick up a little bit of sandpaper to run over your burning surface to make sure it is nice and smooth before you start. Fine grit of 320 – 220 should do it.
4. A hobby blade (safety razor blade) is a good item to have on had if you plan to make a mistake. I used to use sandpaper to ‘sand’ away my mistakes but have found the end result is much nicer when I gently scrape it away with a hobby blade.
5. You'll need some transfer paper to trace your image on to the wood. Graphite transfer paper is better than regular carbon paper as it is easier to erase wayward marks after you are done burning. If you find yourself using the same pattern over and over again, I recommend using craft tracing film to make a template of your design. This tracing film is a durable plastic and as an added bonus you can see through it which allows the exact placement on your wood much, much easier.
6. After you finish your woodburning project, you will want to seal it with a coat or two of non-yellowing, matte acrylic or varnish.
7. You may want to pick up a pattern book or you can make your own patterns from your own pictures and I will explain how to make your own in a later post.
Okay, that is the bear basics of what you might need for our little woodburning adventure. My next four posts will be step by step processes of a woodburning project....
