You may want to practice using the various woodburning tool tips before burning the pattern. If this is your first experience with woodburning, you may want to practice on a scrap piece of wood. Find a piece of scrap lumber (preferably flat) or a small piece of plywood. You really won't need much, since you will get the hang of it in a short time. Whatever scrap piece of wood you use, make sure that it is relatively smooth. Finish reading this lesson before you start practicing.

Start with the Universal Tip on the iron. Plug the iron into the outlet and give it about 5 minutes to heat up. Make sure the iron is in the holder and the tip is not touching anything that will burn or melt.

Once the iron is hot, use the knife-edge to make straight lines. Move the tip quickly for fine lines, and more slowly for darker lines. Practice until you can control the burn, the darkness of the line. Be sure to practice a variety of lines from very fine to very dark.

You can also use pressure to vary the line. Press harder for a wider and darker line; use less pressure for a finer line.

The flat side of this tip can be used for shading. The closer the side of the tool is to the wood, the darker the shading. Slide the tool to the side (to the right if right-handed) and away from you slightly. This seems to give the smoothest shading.

Although you can do most woodburning with the Universal Tip, you should become familiar with the other tips that you may have. They all give a different character to a line of shading. Discover each of your tips and find out what they can do.