Wood burning for beginners

Burning is an ancient craft, which began from the moment when artisans began to process wood, stain it, and make various carvings on it.

Today, this type of work refers to the amateur type of decorative decoration of wooden products. However, due to the fact that this technique has been constantly improved, it has now become available to children.

Features of pyrography technique

In essence, pyrography is the application of diagrams and drawings to the surface of wood using a heated object - a burner, an electrical appliance. With the help of this craft, children improve their imagination. Also, by doing this you can get relaxation and take your mind off difficulties.

In the process of creative activity, drawings turn out flat or three-dimensional. In general, pyrography is divided into:

using a pyrograph;
with the use of alternative tools.

When making a planar drawing, both the background and the drawing itself are made on the same plane, and for a three-dimensional image, the background is deepened using special knives like pins.

You can work with any type of wood - treated boards, cup holders, wood cuts.

The most important thing is that the material is completely dry.

Among the alternative combustion sources are the following:

Acid. In this case, wax is applied to the wood, a design is applied on top of it, and then acid is poured.
Pyrotopia. In this case, the image is applied using a stamp. The clarity and brightness of the drawing will depend on how much pressure is applied.
Electric discharge. As with acid, the surface of the product is treated with electrolytes, after which a current discharge is sent across the board.
Laser. With its help you can create drawings of different levels of complexity. The required pattern is installed on the machine, after which the laser does all the necessary work.
A ray of sunshine. You can work with such a source only in non-cloudy, warm weather. You just have to stock up on another magnifying glass. This type is quite lengthy and tedious; not everyone can work like this. However, for those who can show patience and willpower, they will gain significant creative experience.

Items for decoration using pyrography: paintings, boxes, furniture, etc.

Artistic woodworking has always existed. At least since a very, very long time. Including using fire, heating. And now burning on wooden (including) surfaces is a completely independent decoration technique.

By burning you can decorate a wide variety of objects and decorative elements:

Wood burning (and more) is incredibly exciting! And sketches for this activity can always be found online. There are samples there for both experienced pyrographers and beginner pyrographers.

Materials and tools

For burning, you can use the following tools:

Electric burner with nichrome or brass tip. Working with such a tool is not only convenient, but also quite fast. However, the attachments on such a tool have to be changed frequently due to the fact that they fail. During the work, the strokes are applied pointwise, so it is almost impossible to draw a non-broken line; it still turns out dotted.
Soldering iron burner. Such an instrument heats up rather slowly, but it takes a long time to cool down. Replaceable nozzles are very reliable and have a long service life. Changing them is very convenient and possible at any time during operation. Using this tool, you can create scenes with a solid fill, with shadows, transitions, and it is also possible to draw a solid line of any required thickness. However, despite all its advantages, this model has one significant disadvantage - if it breaks, you will have to purchase a new tool.

Among the materials that may be needed during creative work, you can choose the following:

plywood;
MDF;
array;
fine-grain sandpaper;
black copy;
a simple pencil;
pliers;
paper tape;
paints/varnish;
tassels;
clean rags.

The most important thing is that only completely dry wood, without knots or eyes, is used in the work.

You should not take boards that are already coated with paint and varnish. After all, during operation, when heated, toxic fumes will be released, which can easily cause poisoning or simply cause a fire.

How to choose a tool?

In order to learn how to work with a tool, you should choose it correctly. Recommendations for selecting a suitable burner:

The volume of work carried out and its complexity are determined. Small burnt designs with fine lines look attractive, but they can be almost invisible on larger pieces.
Beginners often purchase a tool from a low price category. This decision is justified by the fact that in the absence of experience, mistakes can be made, due to which the device will cease to function.
The most important parameters include power, tip dimensions, the possibility of using attachments and their number, heating time, etc. All required information is indicated in the operating instructions.
The classic version of the tool is represented by a combination of a step-down transformer, a handle and a working part. There are also sophisticated burning machines on the market that can be used to produce complex images.
It is recommended to give preference to products from popular manufacturers, as they can last for a long period.

Only over time will the master, based on personal experience, be able to select the most suitable tool. The choice of design is often made depending on the available options for burners and attachments for them.

Ready-made set for pyrography

Beginners should learn this skill using factory sets. These include:

wood blank;
template with a picture;
sandpaper;
copying;
wax;
pyrograph;
paints;
pencil;
eraser;
tassels;
a piece of clean rag.

As soon as the essence of the creative process becomes clear and simple, you can begin to create and show your imagination.

Burning with hot sand

To lightly color light wood into a warm, soft shade, you can apply hot sand treatment. This is done as follows.

Pour clean sand into a certain container and heat it up strongly. A wooden product is “buried” in the sand. Under the influence of hot sand, a wooden product acquires a warm, interesting shade and shape.

The time of exposure of sand to a wooden product cannot be specified. It will have to be determined experimentally.

Safety regulations

When working with a burning tool, you should be very careful and careful, and most importantly, adhere to several important rules:

You can only take the switched-on device by the handle, as it is very hot;
you cannot play with the pyrograph;
the working tool is placed only on a special stand;
after turning off the pyrograph, do not touch the tip, as it cools down for a long time;
nozzles can be changed only with pliers;
The device should be periodically disconnected from the network and given time to rest;
Under no circumstances should the pyrograph be left on unattended;
If damage occurs, use of such a tool is strictly prohibited.

When a child is working with a pyrograph, supervise him and remind him to follow safety rules with the tool.

Tips for Beginners

The contours should be drawn in one line, moving the tip slowly.
The beginning of the line will be smooth if you blow a little on the sting when you start drawing it.
The fastest way to fill is at the average temperature of the device.
The tip should be cleaned from time to time to remove carbon deposits.
You only need to change the tip with pliers.
Do not leave the device online unattended.
You need to give the pyrograph a rest, turning it off periodically. This way it will last much longer.
If the burner malfunctions, you should immediately stop working, wait until it cools down completely, and then take it to a service center for repairing household appliances.

Burning techniques and methods

There are several types of equipment that can be used when working with a burning tool. Let's look at them in more detail:

Contour. This type of technique is perfect for those who are just learning the basics. Work here is carried out only on the designation of the contour line. Among other things, work is also carried out on shading and inscriptions.
Silhouette. To obtain a drawing, the surrounding background is burned out here, the drawing itself will remain untouched, but the background will be completely shaded.
Artistic. In this case, the above techniques are mixed. In this case, the drawing itself turns out to be quite complex. The perspective is perfectly drawn here, every detail is worked out. In order to get a picture, you need at least some skills in creating pictures using pencil techniques. At the very beginning, you should think about starting with simpler shapes - geometric ones. In this case, it is necessary to carefully work both with chiaroscuro and with the volume and depth of the picture.

Here are the basic techniques that are used when working with a burner.

Friction burning

You can decorate turned wooden products on a lathe using friction.

Masters usually do this in the following way. A piece of hardwood is applied to a product that has already been manufactured, but has not yet been removed from the spindle, during rotation. Due to the force of friction, the top layer of the craft is charred, turning into a brown stripe.

For those who are the first to learn the basics of this technique, it is worth starting with elementary images. To begin with, take simple pictures, sketches, diagrams, on which you can hone your skills in working with a pyrograph, and then proceed to more serious and original plots. But first, let's look at how to work at the very beginning.

Images

Since not everyone can draw a finished drawing, you can find ready-made pictures on the Internet and transfer them to a wooden blank. After the drawing has been transferred, you can begin the work itself - burning.

To do this, you should take a heated device and burn in small lines along the contour of the design. In this case, the pressure should be the same. After all the lines have been worked out, you can turn off the device and put it aside to cool. And start the finishing work yourself - painting and varnishing.

Sketches

A huge number of sketches can be found for different ages. They are quite easily transferred to a wooden surface; if necessary, you can use carbon paper.

For children seven to nine years old there are many contour sketches that can also be transferred using copying. The burning work will be carried out at the initial stages in the same way as in the first case.

Scheme

To apply any patterns or stencils on the board, it is best to use soft wood, as it will be more convenient to work on such a product.

In this case, it is worth printing out the diagram, then attaching it to the workpiece and transferring it to a wooden surface. Once this stage is completed, you can begin burning. At the end of the work, the product must be given a finished look - varnished.

As you can see, learning how to burn is not that difficult; the most important thing is to have the desire and desire to create something new, beautiful and unusual with your own hands, and then everything will definitely work out.

Pyrography: master class for beginners

We will need:

device (pyrograph) for burning;
dried wooden cuts;
simple soft pencil;
acrylic paints (set);
brush for painting;
picture loops;
magnets.

So, let's work:

1. Burning only seems simple. Moreover, on saw cuts, in which the fibers are arranged in such a way that they make the treated surface loose and heterogeneous.

To achieve straight lines, you will have to make some effort, that is, press the pen of the burning device. Work with strong, confident movements – “smooth” the wood fibers. If the burning of the lines is uneven, go through it again, and maybe again.

3. Now let's take white paint and place the necessary accents on the almost finished work. The white color sets off both the wood and the burnt lines very favorably.

4. That's it! The decor is ready! These cuts can decorate the New Year's table, become Christmas tree decorations, elements on gift wrapping, coasters for cups... whatever!

Making a simple burner

If you wish, you can assemble a wood burner with your own hands. To do this, you will need a small set of tools and some improvised means, commonly used household items. To assemble a homemade burner you need the following materials:

Wood bead.
Insulating adhesive tape.
Power unit.
Nichrome alloy filament.
Soldering device.
Flux for soldering.
Tin for solder.
Electric drill with attachments.

Other materials may be added to the list, such as sewing threads and rubber thermal tubes.

Burning with a gas cutter

Using the cutter burning technique is suitable for filling in backgrounds or burning edges on a variety of pieces. Or for burning abstract figures. Such as, for example, clouds or water.

This is due to the fact that it is very difficult to control the burn accurately using a cutting torch. But still, a butane cutter is also actively used in combination with traditional pyrography. Or as an independent burning tool.