[Captain_Bandaid]

??? I wonder if anyone else might like to see a forum on woodburning? I use my burner to enhance some of my carvings but I also burn some of the relief patterns as framed art (i.e., no carving, just pyrography). Anyone interested?

I too ave used a simple burning iron to bring out the detials on some of my carvings. Yes I would like to see a forum on tips and techniques of woodburning.

[Captain_Bandaid]

OK, then lets just start one right here. The webmaster can set one up if we get a good dialog going. I have a Detail Master IV with up to 100 watts of power. However, any setting over about 7 (it goes to 10) and it is hard to tell which is being burnt faster, the wood or my fingers. I already have the overpriced rubber grips and they don't work. I should mention, I use the replaceable tip pens as the fixed tip pens are equally overpriced although I would be they are cooler. Does anyone have a solution to hot fingers?

Sounds like a good idea for a forum. I am away from home for a while but would like to follow up with it when i get back home.

The Moonraker

as far as hot fingers,turn the heat to 4 slow down,burn at an 45 degree angle,that lets the heat excape upwards and not at your fingers,i can't speak about the replacable tips as i use fixed.when you slow down your burning speed,you save the tip from exess pressure this also keeps your tip from wearing faster.

[Captain_Bandaid]

:P Well, I will give it a try but to get a really black burn, I need the higher heat. I found that high heat created a very dark spot with a brown halo around it and this was perfect for creating dragon skin ( see the new issue of WCI for the pattern). This may be a good lesson for those considering the purchase of a wood burning system: 100 watts may be too much power to really use. 35-50 watss may be sufficient unless you have asbestos fingers!

[img]URL[/img] Sounds like a great idea for a fourm!
I have been considering a wood burner, I currently
use a 'hobby' burner. Anyone have comments on the
Colwood detailer, or the Optima 1? After reading the last post,
it sounds like you can have too much heat.
Chips Happen
Rando

[Captain_Bandaid]

:P I tried lowering the heat to 4 and just could not get the black burn I wanted, but my fingers did stay cooler. Regarding the Colwood and Optima burners, I'm sure they all work very well, it's like your personal choice of carving tools. I stumbled onto a 'heated' discussion on the choices and a lot of Colwood people felt that the manufacturer of the Detail Master overstated the actual power available. They also said that the type of connection from the transformer to the handpiece allowed too much power loss. I can assure you that the Detail Master Sabre IV has more power than you can use and that some of the heat does dissapate through the connections....and into your fingers! At higher heats, this means you work for 10 minutes and turn it off to cool down.

I have used a Detail Master for several years and it burns as hot or as cool as you want. The aluminum handpieces are hot no matter where you set the heat dial, even when you use the optional o-rings they offer for 'hot burners'. The fixed tip handpieces work well (except for the heat) but I have had problems with the ones with removable tips. They are even hotter than those with fixed tips and, due to poor design and product failure, take a long time to change the tips.

I purchased a cable and several plastic or graphite handpieces from a different manufacturer and they work fine and stay cool. The problem is I have a number of removable tips for the Detail Master and they won't fit the other handpiece! But after burning for a while I found that I only use a couple of tip styles anyhow.

I just got done burning some morning glories and humming birds on a table I built my wife for Christmas (OK I am running a bit behind). I used my Detail Master 3 at about 5.5 setting.
I can't imagine what I would have to endure to burn at 10. I use fixed tip pens. New Year!

Dave