Walking Stick Z - Part 7 - Testing Tips

At last!  My schedule and the weather finally came together.  I could go outside and get started on
wood burning.  Today I am blogging about testing different wood burning tips to see which one will work best for this design.  I tested three tips.

Pictograms from Shaman Staff.

Although it seems a ridiculously small amount of wood burning in the photo, I allowed an hour for the test.  Because I was doing my wood burning outside (charred wood smells up the house), I had to set up and break down my work area.  Because I was testing three different tips, I had to wait for each tip to heat up, which takes at least five minutes.  I also had to wait a few minutes for each tip to cool down so I could change tips without
burning myself or melting the plastic box that held the tips.  Waiting for the tips to come to the right temperature took up most of the allotted hour.  I did not waste that time, however.  While I was outside on a nice day, I did some stretching and held some yoga poses.

Lettering from Shaman Staff.

I was also performing a second test that during this project.  My husband has a bench outside that he uses when working on some outdoor projects.  It is not as tall as my portable potting bench that I use when working on projects.  I thought that if I could use that bench rather than having to carry my work bench outside that it would
save some set up time. Well that part of the test showed that I was better off spending the time carrying out my work bench.  The bench that was out there was too low to use the stool and sit down.  Standing up to do wood burning had me bending over the project at an uncomfortable angle.  Because I was holding an awkward position, I did not feel that I had good control of the walking stick or the wood burning tool.  So all in all, I guess I am glad that I was only doing a small test.

Today's photo is not the greatest photo I ever shot.   I was really having trouble getting the shot to stay in focus.  Even using a small holder for the camera, I was getting just enough movement that the picture was blurred.  This was the best photo of the many photos I took.

Anyway, on to the wood burning test. I transferred a line of the Celtic Knot Work pattern onto a scrap piece of the walking stick.  Regular readers may remember that the stick was originally seven feet long and I cut it down to size.  I used the cut off piece for my test.  Since it is from the walking stick it is going to be the wood is going to be the same shape, dryness, and texture of my walking stick.  It is important to test on the same material so that you have an accurate idea of how your wood burning tool is going to work on this project.

I first tested a flow point.  (The wood burning on the left side.) This point is usually used for making dots, shading, curves and cursive writing.  It burned a wider line, but because the tip was rounded, I felt as if it was going to get away from me.  Also, if you held it in one place too long to get a deeper burn you ended up with a series of dots rather than a line.  On the plus side, it did burn a wider and deeper line than the other tips I tested.

The second tip I tested was the Universal Point.  As its name implies, you can use it almost anywhere.  The tip did a good job of following the lines and curves.

The third tip was a Tapered Point.  Sometimes it is called a Stencil Burning Point as it also burns through plastics.  (Another job you will want to do outside or in a well ventilated area.)  It cuts intricate designs.  The point is very thin and tends to bend with the heat.  It burns a very thin line, which might be a plus on this project because the pattern is only an inch wide.  It is possible to make the line a little thicker by holding the tool at a slight angle.  There is a danger there though.  If you hold the tip too far over part of the wood burning tool can touch the wood.  That part is hot enough to burn the wood.  If you look at the test piece on the far right, you should be able to make out a rounded burn area at the end of the upper line.  That is what happens when the tool is held at too much of an angle.

I have used the Tapered Point on walking sticks before.  My walking stick called Shaman Staff was burned completely using the Tapered Point.  I have included a picture of that walking stick in this post.  One thing I learned from the wood burning the Shaman Staff was that the tip of the Tapered Point will eventually break off.  (To see the blog posts on the Shaman Staff, sign on to the blog at folkartbycaroljones.blogspot.com and search for blog posts from August 21, 2013 through December 1, 2013.)  I was almost at the very end of the project when the tip gave way.  Although the tip came with the original kit, it was not in the pack of refill tips.  This tip has to be purchased separately.  In fact my craft store did not carry the tip.  It had to be ordered online.  Amazon has it as well as other craft vendors.   So if you plan to use this wood burning tip, I suggest that you order an extra one before you get to far along in the project.  In fact, you might want to order a couple.
 
Despite its drawbacks, I do plan to use it for the Walking Stick Z project.  I also plan to use my work bench, even though it means I have to do some lifting and carrying.  It weighs about fifty pounds.  Monday I plan to get started on the walking stick. Weather permitting of course.