Tool care and cleaning is important for getting a smooth burn, and for keeping your tool working for a long time.
Caring for a pyrography machine ensures its longevity and consistent performance.
If you are in the market to buy, but don’t know what to choose, check out this blog post: What Woodburning Tool is Right for Me?
Below are some general wood burning tool tricks for keeping your pyrography tool in tip-top shape.
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For general wood burner (machine)care:
Make sure your burner has good air flow.
Make sure it is free of dust and dirt. Do not use harsh chemicals or water to clean the machine, as this can damage its components: Wipe the machine and pen with a soft, dry cloth instead.
Be sure to give your burner breaks, especially if you are burning on high temperatures. This will help keep your burner and pens happy for a long time and avoids damaging internal components.
Avoid pulling or yanking the cords; instead, unplug it gently.
Follow manufacturer instructions: Refer to the user manual for specific care recommendations for your pyrography machine.
When traveling or Storing: take care to pack your burner well.
Keep the machine in a cool, dry place, away from moisture or extreme temperatures.
Do not to bend any of the cords with force or pressure or excessively. This will cause the wires to break or become weak inside the palstic. You usually can’t see this happeneing but it does, especially with lots of bending.
Store the pen with its tip detached or in a protective case to prevent damage. Usually the pens come in individual cases… Keep these for travel or storage. I travel quite often with my burner and found that putting it in a hard shell duffel style case helps keep in tact and secure. Here I am using a vintage sewing case. It’s hard outer layer allows everything inside to keep from squishing!
nib care:
Ensure the tips or nibs you use are compatible with your machine.
Handle tips with care, as bending or forcing them can damage the connectors. This goes for when in use and storing them!
Nib Cleaning:
You will want to have a way to clean your tools while they are hot, and a deeper clean while they are cool.
My favorite cleaning tool while my burner is hot is a brass brush. I give my nip/tip/pen a gentle little scritch-scrath whenever my lines are looking a little '“jumpy” or I see char build-up.
Every once in a while I also like to give my tools a deeper clean while they are cool. To do this, I use a leather strop with white compound. You rub the white compound onto the rough side of the leather, and then rub your nib until it’s nice and clean. This is the best way that I have found to clean nibs.
These are other ways that you can clean them.
These all work fairly well, but are not my personal favorites.
Tea Strainer: Many pyrographers use this, but I feel it is a little too rough on my tools. To use this method, take a simple metal tea strainer and give your nib a little scrape to brush off any excess char that might be getting in the way of a clean burn.
Parrafin Wax: This is a fairly new method that I learned about from Pat, the creator of the Optima 1 pyrography machine. You simply touch your nib to the wax while it is hot. The wax will burn right off and rid your nib of that extra buildup on the nib. It works just fine, but I didn’t enjoy the smoke it gave off. It is the exact same as a candle burning, though.
Sand Paper: I don’t recommend this for any wire tip burners. It is too rough on their delicate wires. Even with the bulk of a solid-nibbed burner, you will want to be gentle and go easy on the sanding. It will wear your nibs down over time, and this is why many pyrographers will even cringe at the idea of mentioning this option. This is a “use the tools you have on hand” situation. Since you already have sand paper, using it to carefully, and gently scrape off excess char buildup on your solid-nibbed burners just makes sense.
Damp High Heat Sponge: This is was soldering iron users use, and it works pretty well to get big chunks of char off. It won’t clean your nib’s surface completely, but it will keep your lines smooth. Does require minimal prep of dampening the sponge before you start burning, but is great because you can use it while it is hot. Be sure to use a high heat sponge for this.
In a pinch and with solid-nibbed burners, sand paper can work. I like a damp high-heat sponge as well. Not as big of a fan of the parrafin wax or the tea strainer, but I know other people in our community are. Do what works best for you!