[Hanna]

Hi I recently purchased a Colwood Detailer, and it came with several tips. Problem is I have no clue which tip is for what purpose. I have searched and searched online and I haven't found much detail.

The tips are B, C, J, MR, MC, S....etc.....Any information will be greatly appreciated.

I am glad I found this site. A lot of very talented people here.

[BobD]

I know Alfie Fishgap uses a Colwood exculsively for all of his flat burnings...he's really busy lately with commissions, but I'll ask him to stop by! For some of his work, visit www.fishgap.com.

Bob Duncan
Technical Editor

[AlArchie]

Here's a link to a Colwood site that lists various tip patterns and some of their uses. There are some uses defined, and then several different sizes of similar shaped tips....maybe this will help you figure it out.

http://www.woodburning.com/toolshop/...pe=26&offset=0

Al

[Pyrographer]

My thoughts for flat burning: looks like the B is a flat skew which is good for straight lines; C is a writing tip that you can do some pointilism, hatching, cross hatching and signing; J is another one that you can do lines with but not sure what else I'd use it for in flat burning; MR is like my #14 round-heeled knife that will do curved lines nicely; MC isn't there so I can't say what it is. I do believe I got one in my kit when I had a colwood but no clue what it was for; S is a shader but it looks like a round shader. It will be food for overall shading but you will not be able to get into tight spots with it. If you have something shaped like a spear and you don't know what to do with it you can bend it at a 45 degree angle and creat a spear shader which will work just great.

Nedra

[Lindy]

Hi Hanna and welcome!

I would strongly recommend that you play with the tips on a practise board as well as buy one of Nedra or Laura Irish's pyrography books. It's surprising just how much any one tip can do. The writing tip for instance is wonderful for pouncing which gives great texture. I personally use Razortip so I'm not at all familiar with the burner you've bought, other than to say I've heard it's good as well.

Please make sure that you come by and post pictures of your projects as you complete them. It's always nice to see everyone's work.



Linda

[Pyrographer]

Originally Posted by Lindy

Hi Hanna and welcome!

I would strongly recommend that you play with the tips on a practise board as well as buy one of Nedra or Laura Irish's pyrography books. It's surprising just how much any one tip can do. The writing tip for instance is wonderful for pouncing which gives great texture. I personally use Razortip so I'm not at all familiar with the burner you've bought, other than to say I've heard it's good as well.

Please make sure that you come by and post pictures of your projects as you complete them. It's always nice to see everyone's work.



Linda

Ok Linda, what is "pouncing"....never heard of that one.

Hanna, I do agree with Linda about using a practice board. I still use one everytime I burn to test tips, heat, experiment, etc.

And like she said, you can do so much with only 1 pen. I use my bent spear shader for 95% of what I do so they can be very flexible. My theory is that you are only limited by your imagination....

Nedra

[Lindy]

Originally Posted by Pyrographer

Ok Linda, what is "pouncing"....never heard of that one.

Nedra

Pouncing is tapping the pen on the wood creating dots of varying shades and depth done randomly on the board. It creates "dots" of texture and can be used to create a leathery texture. If you look at the Rose box with the "halo" I used the "pouncing" technique there. I'm sure you use this technique, just under a different name.
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[Pyrographer]

Originally Posted by Lindy

Pouncing is tapping the pen on the wood creating dots of varying shades and depth done randomly on the board. It creates "dots" of texture and can be used to create a leathery texture. If you look at the Rose box with the "halo" I used the "pouncing" technique there. I'm sure you use this technique, just under a different name.
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Oh, you mean pointilism. No, I've never heard the term pouncing. I don't use that technique. I tried it and found it very tedious. I do have some friends who use it but I prefer the softer shading technique that I use in much of my burnings. But that's just me

Nedra

[Eddy Smiles]

Hanna... Check out the Smoky Mountain Woodcarvers Supply, Inc. website (see URL below). They give a brief description of the use for each pen that they sell. Unfortunately, you'll have to cross reference because the stock numbers that they use are their own, not Coldwood's. But if you run into a snag give them a call at 1-865-448-2259. They're great folks to deal with and I'm sure that they'll help you if they can.


http://www.woodcarvers.com/colwood%20rep%20pens.htm

[Hanna]

Thank you all for your responses. I now have a whole line up of web sites to go check out.

As to what kind of tips I have. That is another puzzle. I see people talking about their tips being fixed, yet they change them, so that doesn't seem to be fixed....go figure

All I know is I can pull the tip off my pen, and plug a different one in.

I have tried the different pens on practice wood, but when you don't know what a pen is supposed to do, you don't know if it is you or the pen that needs changing I suspect its me

As for posting pictures. I don't have anyway to do that atm, but maybe by the time I finally get something worthwhile finished I will.....its gonna be a while....practice practice practice.

Oh and I do have a wood burning book by Lora Irish. And yes, there is a piece about pens and tips, but some of mine don't look like the ones in the book and of course there are no matching part numbers. Anyway, it is a beautiful book. So much a piece of art I hate to USE it. She is a very talented lady.

Again, thanks....a surfin I go