Wood burning is a craft that has been around for a very long time. Aside from being a magnificent hobby, people are making money from creating and selling personalized wooden items that range from earrings to cutting boards. Whether you fancy the idea because it gives you a chance to explore and master new skills, or you’re looking to make a business out of it, wood burning doesn’t require a very large investment. How much is a wood-burning tool and how to pick the right one, you ask? We’ll tell you all about it.
Power Considerations
Plenty of brands will try to “shove” their pyrography pens down your throat by advertising their power and claiming that the more power this tool has, the better. While the concept is true, more power means higher temperatures which also means more burning power, but there are pitfalls to buying the most powerful wood burning tools.
When these tools have too much power, they are also prone to premature failure of their internal components. A pen’s power will be shown in Watts, which is a combination of amps x volts. For those of you who are interested in a fast tool, we can recommend that you look for one with more amps as compared to one with higher overall watt output.
When you think about the power of a wood-burning tool, you also should consider the voltage. Here are some need-to-know facts about the voltage of a pyrography pen:
- Two-volt systems have finer gauges in the wires and could help you when your projects are more focused on finer details. These are generally found in variable temperature burners.
- Three-volt systems have heavier gauges in the wires, and that’s something which is reflected in a loss of details in your work. These are more popular in craft-style wood burners.
Wood Burner Tips
The tip of a pyrography pen is essential in determining the results of your work. When you buy more expensive pyrography sets, you also get a wider variety of tips in your package, which adds more versatility to the end result. Some of the most common tip types that you should know about are:
- Fixed tips – These are known for their ability to heat up quite fast and are widely used when you’re looking to achieve uniform drawings.
- Interchangeable tips – If your projects are focused on a variety of styles and details that would require the use of a different tip for your pen, then interchangeable tips will be your point of interest. Wood burners that have been mastering the craft for some time actually have more than just one pyrography pen, so they won’t have to wait when changing tips is required, and they can transition faster from one tip to another. However, if you’re just at the beginning, you can get a single pen with interchangeable tips.
- Polished tips – These tips are known for their smoothness of operation, and they are preferred by those who like to run cleanly over a surface. They are really easy to work with and create clean and fine details and are often found on variable temperature burners.
- Non-polished tips – As opposed to polished tips, these are rougher and maybe a bit difficult to handle by a beginner. They offer a less-refined look and are likely to render a lot of imperfections if you’re not used to working with them. Expert wood burners prefer using non-polished tips for covering large surfaces, as they allow quick wood burning of wider areas.
The Comfort Factor
One of the things that will influence the price of a pyrography pen is the comfort you feel when you’re using it. These tools don’t just have to be comfortable for beginners (which might get discouraged if they are not comfortable with the experience provided by the craft), but also for experts who end up holding just a tool for hours on end each day.
It’s very important for the pen to be properly insulated so that the handle won’t heat up to a point where you’re no longer comfortable in holding it. However, since the tool does heat up and some of that heat is felt in the handle, it’s important for this part to be properly covered by some sort of anti-slip material. Otherwise, your hands will sweat and slide right off the pen.
How Much Do They Cost?
A wood-burning tool isn’t an expensive device, but its price is greatly influenced by the different aforementioned factors. Normally, the starting price for the most basic pyrography pen is $15, but the price can go even higher than $200. If you are a beginner, you want to invest in a less expensive tool that you can experiment with before you decide if this is something you might want to further invest in. Especially if you’re only using them for Christmas gifts or DIY projects around the home.
If you decide that you want to get a more expensive set, you should be willing to spend between $150 and $250 for a more feature-packed set that will take your wood-burning to a whole new level. More expensive sets are made from higher-quality materials, are safer and provide better heat insulation, and they also come with more tips for you to work with.
Conclusion
The price of a wood-burning kit is a reflection of the lack or addition of features and safety functions that every buyer should know about before buying such a product. With prices that go as low as $15 to as high as $250, you need to buy a pyrography pen that matches your current level of expertise with a tool of its kind.
Pyrography pens don’t just need to have plenty of tips and look fancy, but they also need to be as safe as possible. Considering the fact that you will be working on something that turns electricity into heat, you can understand why features just as handle insulation or pen stand are important if you want to avoid any accidents and injuries.
Thank you for good all round information on pyrometry . It has been mot informative, it is now up to me to decide how to proceed.