Need pyrography help... razertip pen and nibs

[monicaj]

Hi all.  I'm desperate for your help.  I'm using a razertip pen and nibs on a burnmaster machine (there's a setting to lower the heat so you don't burn out the razertip nibs).  

I'm mostly using a writing nib and at first it was great. It almost felt like I was using an ink pen to draw with.  I could write out a whole sentence and it worked great.  But after some time, the nib got gunked up.  So I researched and one bit of advice said to use a tea strainer and wipe off the gunk.  So I tried that.  Other advice said to use a strop.  So I tried that.  (my rouge is a little cakey though and doesn't seem to rub onto the leather right, so maybe that's part of the problem).

What happens is... If I burn a straight line, I can only go less than an inch before the nib stops burning and starts the bumby skid.  I have to rub it on the tea strainer a million times while I'm trying to draw something out.  The burn lines aren't as smooth as they were before either.

Also, when i first started doing this, if I remember right, I could get a decent burn with the machine set at about 4.5 to 5.  Now it's up to 6 and I'm even inching it to 6.5.  Sometimes I try going super slow to help it burn better, but my hand where it's closest to the nip gets real hot, and I have to stop.

So I've been rubbing on the tea strainer every 3/4 inch of burning, but I also noticed... I can actually see the moisture/liquid coming up from the leather where I'm burning.  I wear those headband magnifying glasses, and I can see the liquid being forced out of the leather from the heat.

I don't know what bothers me most, wiping the nib off a million times or my hand burning.  Could it possibly be something as simple as the leather being so moist that the nib can't burn?  Maybe the other leather that I first had was dryer and that's why the nib worked so much better?

Should I try to dry the leather out?  How?

[CaptQuirk]

I can't help with your pen "gunking up", but your other issue, the pen getting too hot to handle..Heat Resistant Gloves might help you out some

 

Tom Petty ROCKS

[monicaj]

Thanks Capt.  Just wondering though, since it never used to be hot like that, if it's normal.

[CaptQuirk]

That I really couldn't tell you. I have never tried pyrography, only heard some mention of it. I sort of wanted to try it, but haven't gotten around to it... I'd likely procrastinate about it, but keep putting it off? However, I do have experience burning my hands on stuff, and learned that modern science has developed gloves for people like me. I'd like to give you a review on how well these gloves work...  but I haven't gotten around to actually buying a pair yet.

[monicaj]

lol!!!  Well, I'm a big fan of procrastination myself, it's the only thing I don't procrastinate on.  I waste no time gettin right to it. I'll check into the gloves... maybe later. Probably later.  

[CaptQuirk]

Sorry I couldn't be more help. The only reason I checked into this post, was hoping to get some info on leather burning. So... I'm still waiting.

 

And there are two good things that come from Gainesville. Tom Petty is one, and the Florida Gators ain't the other

[monicaj]

Eeesh.  I hate to go against the grain, because I'm a stout practitioner of people pleasing.. but I have to knock Tom Petty off your list of good things to come out of florida.... So basically, that leaves zero good things to come out of florida.  I'm risking a public flogging I know.  Even now after the words are out of my mouth, I'm ducked down cringing, every cell in my body screaming for mercy.

[monicaj]

I have every intention of giving you some info you were looking for on leather burning but it'll have to be when the procrastination period wears off.  :D

[CaptQuirk]

I don't know... I came out of Florida an I'm pretty dang nice And I heard about something green coming out of G'Ville that is supposed to be really good too. Against my wishes, the wife chose Midwives who graduated from UF. I made sure they knew how I felt. There was really no question about it, when the wife went in for a C Section, and there was the FSU Seminole painted on her belly, with "Nole Parking Only" underneath it.

Sooo... how you liking pyrography?

[Northmount]

On November 7, 2016 at 9:27 AM, monicaj said:

Thanks Capt.  Just wondering though, since it never used to be hot like that, if it's normal.

The hotter you turn the juice up, the hotter the handle gets.  

I would suspect that there is a big difference in how various pieces of leather respond.  Higher moisture content is going to be harder to burn, and will coat your tip with chemicals boiling off the leather.  I burned some initials into alum tanned cowhide some time back.  I was using the rough out, suede side.  A test left ash in the suede around the initials and would make a smudgy mess.  So I tried another test piece with an acrylic finish diluted and rubbed into the suede.  Burned nice and didn't leave messy ash behind.  Must have stayed imbedded in the acrylic.  It burned nicely, no problems with the tip.  It had been left to dry for several hours before burning.

So I would say use dry leather, lowest moisture content to avoid the gunk accumulating so quickly on the tip and keep the temperature down.  Build up the density with more passes or shading rather than going hotter.  Hotter sticks to the leather easier, making a more bumpy appearance.  You might need to dry some of your leather with a hot box.  Oil it afterwards to replace oils and moisture lost in drying.

Tom

 

[monicaj]

Capt, I meant to say that zero good came out of Florida except you and everything you just mentioned.  :D   -Sloppy save but all encompassing lol.  I like pyrography a lot.  It's easy to draw and get any design I want.  But at some point I really need to get some good stamps and try to master tooling too.  The envy I feel when I see great tooling skills is almost painful.  

Tom, I really appreciate the tips.  I'm going to try a hot box.  Good to know about burning on suede too, now I'll know how to make it work the first time.  Thanks! 

[CaptQuirk]

Hey Monica, you live in a hotbox. Just set the leather on your front seat of your car for an hour, maybe two since it is Fall/Winter. And I am being semi serious here.

[monicaj]

Thanks Capt! I love that easy idea.  Was going to research DIY hot boxes... automobile hot box is much simpler.

[CaptQuirk]

Another tip- If you have heated seats, you can put your cheese samich down and have grilled cheese. Sit on it, and you have a Paganini

[bullmoosepaddles]

The misses and I both burn wood. Last year we had the same problem from one of our tips. We took the Colwood unit/tips ect. we own to a local retired engineer who repairs pretty much anything electrical for local craftsmen. His assessment was the handpiece had gone bad and we could buy a new one for less than his hourly rate to rebuild ours. If you have another handpiece and the tip is replaceable try changing to a new handpiece, if it's a fixed tip, then try a new handpiece unit.  

We clean our tips on course denim while in use and polish them after use when they are cool.       

[Brown64]

I would have to say northmount took the words right out of my mouth. You have to dry the leather because the moisture cools the tip too fast making it harder to control. You will have to turn it up causing a quick burn then nothing that is why you are getting the bumpiness, and inconsistency.  And I also found out you get a lot of residue when it is wet. Your hand is heating up because your turning the heat up to compensate for the moisture. Like was said the hotter the tool the hotter your hands. I clean my tips on a coarse cloth like a jean material, and if they get too gunked up I use a very fine emery cloth to polish them.