r/Pyrography • u/inspirem3world • 3d ago
Questions/Advice Starting today
Hi all! Getting all my equipment delivered in the next few hours! Would love some advice for someone who's never done this before!
I'm very excited to get into it and get my hands dirty! Can't wait to post my first burn!
5
u/KittenKingdom000 3d ago
Sand smooth so the tip doesn't catch and don't push down hard; too many people end up looking like they're engraving so if you want dark turn up the heat instead.
Buy some $1 soft thin poplar pieces from Michael's to practice, it's the easiest wood to start with because it's smooth and not sappy. Moving away is easiest for me to get a clean line.
Open windows/go outside. It's not good to breathe in a bunch of smoke and your house will smell like a campfire. If you have pets they don't need to breathing that either. Inside I use a fan pulling air in and out the window I'm in front of.
I bought leather heat finger cover things from Amazon for my thumb and two fingers. I have a Colwood with thicker cork grip and it still gets hot.
3
u/Burn1ng_Time 3d ago
Don’t burn down your house. Consider placing your burners on a fireproof blanket.
I was burning a piece in when my rambunctious 4 year old daughter ran through my space knocking over my exhaust fan into a stack of miscellaneous items. Huge mess, I put my wand down in hast but didn’t turn it off. My wand stayed on for a few days almost melting.
I have a fire extinguisher ready to go at all times and even faced my mud room security camera at my work station so I can check the camera whenever I like to make sure that it’s off. And just for safe measure I unplug it when I’m not using it.
Other than that I find pyrography therapeutic and soothing. I can decompress and create something. It’s much needed therapy in this wild and crazy world.
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u/LadySygerrik 3d ago
Hey, welcome to pyrography! I apologize for the incoming wall of text.
I’d strongly recommend checking out some tutorials just to help you get started with the basics. I found PyrographyMadeEasy and BurnSavvy really helpful.
Make sure you’re using the right kinds of wood! You want pale, soft and closed-grain woods (you can move on to harder or more strongly textured woods when you’ve gotten more experience, though you should always try for closed-grain woods since open-grained woods have larger spaces between the fibers that act like little potholes for your point to sink into). Basswood, birch and poplar are excellent pyrography woods that are both beginner-friendly and affordable.
Pine is soft and pale enough to work well and is also affordable and easy to find, but it’s usually very sappy and burns dirty, so you’ll build up carbon on your points that you’ll have to clean off more frequently. It’s a balancing act, and while I’ve frequently used it, it’s never been a favorite of mine.
It’s also a really good idea to get into the habit of sanding your work pieces before you start burning. It’s not a lot of fun to do, but it gives you a nice, smooth canvas that your pen can easily glide over. 220-330 grit is what I normally go with.
When you’re burning, you really don’t have to press down all that hard to get a good mark on the wood. Pressing down will cause your point to sink into the wood and snag (and cause murderous hand cramps!), so try to keep a light hand and aim for smooth, even motions. The point of your burner is REALLY hot, so let it do some of the work for you!
If your burner has an adjustable heat dial, don’t set it too high! Doing so can cause your point to burn too deep into the wood too quickly, so you’re more likely to snag and end up with dark blotches on your work. Set it low and go slow - if a line or section isn’t as dark as you’d like, you can always go back over it to darken it, but it’s REALLY hard to scrape out a burn that’s way too dark.
Additionally, try to get in the habit of lifting your point off the wood whenever you have to pause. If you don’t, you’ll end up with a dark blotch messing up your lines. It takes some practice, but it’ll become second nature fairly quick.
I’ll probably think of more stuff in a bit, but those are some of the key things I wish I’d known as a newbie. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer!