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The woodburning tool, tips, and the wood is very important
to doing the woodburning. The woodburning tool (the iron) should deliver a
tip temperature of 500F to 800F. These should have a listed wattage of around
21 watts, although that is not what they will deliver to the tip. Actual tip
wattages of 3 to 10 watts are more typical, and are enough to burn the wood
sufficiently.
The iron has a handle that is covered with some insulating
material, like cork, for example. This allows you to use the tool continuously
without burning your hand. In addition, the iron should allow for replaceable
tips. They are usually screwed onto the end of the tool, similar to a soldering
iron. There have been many times I had to change between tips in order
to get exactly the right look. A lot of the more expensive tools have the
tips permanently mounted onto the pen body. I will talk more about the
use of the tool in lesson 3.
There are four tips that I would recommend for use in this type of
woodburning. A knife tip, which has a point, two sides, and a knife
edge. This tip is shown on the iron in the first photo. This tip can
be used in many ways. A pointed, cone tip is used for very fine lines
and some shading. A rounded (spherical) tip is used for bold lines
and dark shading. Finally a flat tip, which looks like a small trowel,
and can be used for many things. You can make fine lines with the pointed
end, you can do darken the line by adjusting the tool angle, or you
can do shading by using the flat portion. The use of the tips will
be discussed in more detail later. Actually, the use of the tips will
be discussed constantly!
The wood is the last item I want to talk about here. You can use just
about any wood you would like. There are only two characteristics that
are important for the woodburner. First is the color of the wood. It
can be either light or dark, and should be selected depending upon
the subject. I usually use light colored wood, since it lends itself
to most subjects.
Another characteristic of wood is the texture and hardness. The softer
the wood, the darker the lines that will be burnt. Harder woods will
not burn as easy and leave lighter lines for the same temperature and
pressure. I would start with the softer woods, so you don't have to
press as hard to create a line or shading.
Basswood is the preferred wood for learning. The surface is uniform
and is easy to sand very smooth. Pine, although inexpensive and readily
available, is difficult to use due to its strong grain. The grain of
pine is alternating hard and soft, which can make burning lines a real
challenge. If you decide to use pine, take care that your lines don't
become 'dotted' as the burner crosses the grain.
Whatever type of wood you select, it should be smooth - at least while
you are learning. Smooth wood is much easier to work with. You can
use rougher textures later when you want to create something a little
different.
Now that you have your tools and wood selected, it's time to layout
your work area!
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