Woodburning Techniques

 

When drawing on wood, use a 6B pencil. Other pencils leave dings in the sanded        surface.

 

Turn the wood burner heat setting to a point just at, or below, red hot. If you run it too        high, the tip will overheat and wear out very quickly. Keep the heat adjusted        to how fast you can burn. When I’m branding the piece, the heat setting is        very high, while outlining the design, it’s lower.

 

Brace your little finger against the piece to steady your hand as you’re burning.        Rotate the piece, rather than your hand to get the curves.

 

Keep a wire brush nearby to wipe the ash from the burning tip as you’re working.

 

Leather Dyeing Techniques

 

Put a thin coat, or two, of shellac or sanding sealer over the piece before you start. This will close the pores so the dye won’t seep and you can wipe random splotches up.

 

Have a small can of denatured alcohol and some Q-Tips nearby to wipe up mistakes.

 

When covering a large area that has undyed areas next to it, use a medium length bristle paint brush with soft bristles. Hard bristles cause spatters to go everywhere. If there are deeply branded areas, dab gently rather then wipe, also to avoid spatters.

 

Mag Eyes magnifiers are helpful for getting clean dye lines. Make sure to have VERY good light.

 

You can do one or two coats. If doing two coats you can seal the first with Krylon Fixitif.

 

Spray the piece with Krylon UV Inhibitor; then Krylon Matte, or Satin, finish after the final coat has dried.

 

After the final coat has dried, we usually use a liquid wax to bring up a bit of sheen. If you haven’t used Krylon, the dye will smear all over the place (voice of experience).

 

Don’t turn the piece too thin if you’re not dying both sides equally. The dye will seep through, even if you’ve used some kind of finish.

 

Wear gloves. This dye is a carcinogen. Wear eye protection.

 

If you have a non-branded area, you can use patinating wax to bring a soft sheen to the surface. Don’t use the patinating wax in rough areas. It will just fill the voids and make the piece look mushy.

 

Sharon Doughtie

Tips and Techniques

Sharon Doughtie