Razertip Wood Burning Systems – Getting Started

Wood burning can be used for detailing wood carvings, creating decorative embellishments on turnings, or producing images and text. Premium-quality Razertip systems are versatile and built to last. Here are some suggestions on how to get started.

Understanding the Common Tip Shapes

There are numerous pyrography tip profiles and sizes available for use with the Razertip wood burning system. Here is a summary of the three most common styles and their main applications.

Type	Applications	Suggested Heat Setting
Skew	Lines and small details	5-6
Shading	Textures and landscape	6-9
Ballpoint	Front, stipping and signatures	6-8

When using the high heat settings, taking intermittent breaks, such as several minutes after every half hour of use, will prolong the life of your equipment and tips. It’s also good practice to switch off the system when not using the tip.

Wood Selection

In general, softwood will burn faster, while harder wood will take significantly longer to burn. Basswood, pine and poplar are common species used for wood burning. Woods should have a non-porous grain structure, have a soft to medium-hard texture, and be light in color. In open-grained woods, the pyrography tip will tend to follow the open pores, and a light background provides contrast to the burned lines.

Here are some additional cautions:

• Avoid treated wood and panel material, such as MDF or particleboard, because the fumes that it may emit can be toxic.


• Do not stain, paint or finish the wood before you burn.


• Avoid burning over glue lines or epoxy.

In the next section, we’ll cover the main tip styles in more detail, show you how to maintain them, and answer some common questions.