Proper Care and Use of
Solid-Point Tips:
Frequently asked questions:
Q:
How do I know when it's time to clean my pens?
A: While it
is not set in stone, a good rule of thumb is when your shading/burning
starts to look muddy or you start dragging black carbon, it's time to
clean! Because your burning on higher temperatures you will need
to clean more frequently. If you burn on materials such as leather
and gourds you will also have to clean more frequently. Let your
burning be your guide.
Q: How
often should I sharpen my woodburning tips, and what should I use to do
it with?
A: Usually,
only once or twice a year depending on usage. An overnight soak in oven
cleaner can sometimes take off heavy carbon deposits, but be careful
that you do not soak the brass or silver solder (read the directions for
your oven cleaner to see what metals it will safely clean). To determine
if your tip needs to be sharpened or "re-honed", examine your tips under
a magnifying glass. If the edge of the tip looks rounded or their is not
a well defined angle, you could probably re-sharpen the tip. BTW,
over buffing (using a "leather power strop" wheel for example) will
prematurely lead to the metal "rolling over" the edge, causing your tip
to get kind of a rounded edge. To sharpen your pen, use a fine stone,
(or if need be, 800 or higher grit wet and dry sand paper). Sharpen your
pen tips at a 30 to 35 degree angle. Do NOT sharpen them at a sharper
angle, as you will then carve too deep, and have problems in the
painting stage of your carvings.
Q: How can I
make them last longer?
A: To make your
tips last longer don't use sandpaper to clean off excess carbon.
Q: How do I
clean my solid-point woodburning tips?
A: The
methods I recommend are to use a steel brush to gently clean off excess
carbon build-up or use a straight-edged razor blade to scrape it off.
Razertip's tip cleaner is also another alternative for cleaning your
tips. You can use the straight-edged razor on the tips while they
are hot but if you are going to use the steel brush be sure your tips
are cool so that you do not damage the tips.
Q: How do I
remove the tips from the burner?
A: You can use
pliers to remove the tip but be sure the tips are cool before you remove
them. Brass is a soft metal and can soften so if you remove the
tips while they are hot you can cause damage to the tips or the threads.
Q: I keep
getting brown spots when I burn, what am I doing wrong?
A: I refer to this
as "the dreaded blob" and it can be prevented by keeping your pen moving
when you touch down on the wood. In classes I make the analogy of
a plane coming in for a landing...it's moving as it touches down on the
landing strip and glides across the surface. It's the same
technique but instead of coming to a stop on the landing strip you take
back off. So, in essence you move your pen as you are landing,
glide across the wood and then take back off into the sky without
stopping. Keep your pen in motions, that's the secret! If
you look closely you can actually see some "blobs" in my samples
below...I was rushing and didn't take the time in trying to get these
samples done and as I mentioned before, the only tip I use regularly on
this type of burner is the shader so I still need practice myself.
Choosing the right
burning tips
This
guide will show you some of the things you can do with these tips.
It's not always easy for people to visualize in their minds what can be done
with each pen just by looking at the photo and description of possible uses.
The description of uses is also just a guide and not necessarily all that
you can do with each one. The bottom line here is EXPERIMENT and have
fun!!!!
I apologize in advance for the
photo qualities and the samples. I am not an "expert" with the
solid-tip burners but I do use them occasionally....mostly for shading.
Please just use this as a guide, not necessarily as the "right" way to use
them or the perfect technique!
I will start with
the most popular pens (shown with an asterisk) that we sell and work my way
down through the other solid-point woodburning tips. The 30 watt
woodburning tool that we sell comes with a double shield and really does a
great job of keeping your hands cool. but if you work at an angle such
as a slanted table that will be an added plus in keeping the heat away from
your hand.
Keep in mind that
everyone burns differently and that's fine because if we were all the same
it would be a very boring world. They have different styles of
burning, prefer different pens and this is just a guide, not the final word
on what's good for you. I was taught in art school not to outline my
work and I don't outline but many people do.
I prefer using the
shader for much of what I do when using a solid-point woodburner but others
like using the All purpose tip or even the flow point for most of their
work. It all boils
down to what you prefer and what works for you, not me or the
next guy! Play with the tips and see what feels right for you and what
you are working on. The nice thing about these tips is that they are
inexpensive!
Happy Burning©!
Nedra
To order any of
these tips
Click here to go directly to our Wall Lenk order page.
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Updated 9/29/07
