Woodburning
made easy! These
tutorials are just the tip of the iceberg. Check out
my books, "Pyrography 101" and "Lifelike Pyrography from
Photographs" for more detailed information and step-by-step instructions. These tutorials are intended to provide some basic
information for people who are just starting out.
"Lifelike Pyrography
from Photographs" was my first book was first published
in 2003. It was revised and reprinted in January, 2005.
"Pyrography 101", my second book was published in 2003 and
was revised and reprinted in July, 2005. Both books have been on Fox
Chapel Publishers best seller list continuously since they were first
published.
FREE TUTORIALS....WHAT ARE
YOU CRAZY!
I started these free
tutorials back in 2002 when I created this website. It was a
compilation of hand-outs I gave out in my classes as a means of giving
people something to take home and keep as a reference as they began their
journey. After getting so many requests from people for information
on woodburning I decided it was
a great way to reach people who could not attend my classes and so I
started putting all that information on my website as a tutorial. As my
hand-outs grew so did these tutorials.
Some people said I was crazy
for giving away all this free information while most everyone else was
thrilled at having access to all this free information at their fingertips. A fellow in
our woodcarving club, who also teaches, said to me "why on earth would
people buy your book if you give away all this free information on your
site". My response to him was that I do it because I love woodburning and
want to share my passion with others. My goal has always been to help
people learn as much as possible about woodburning any way I can. I
knew that not everyone could attend my classes and I want people to have
the opportunity to learn and give them access to as much information as
possible to help get them started. I guess I'm not so crazy because
now many others have started offering free online tutorials. The
best part of these tutorials is that I can update them anytime which is
something that can't be done once a book is published. So, as as
something comes to mind that I have not included in these tutorials
already I update these tutorials giving you the best up-to-date
information possible.
These tutorials
will provide people with opportunities to learn more about pyrography,
including techniques, safety precautions, wood selection and preparation,
woodburning pens and their uses and more. I will also include some works
in progress to help you visualize how I begin and progress through a
project.
Some of the information in
these tutorials are in my books but the books are more like taking my
hands-on class
with step-by-step instructions that are not available in the tutorials.
Here's just some of the information you will find in the tutorials.
Woodburning pen tutorials...The
Colwood and Razertip tutorials provide you with a wealth of information
that can be used with just about any brand of woodburning pen such as
Optima, Detailmaster and Nibsburner. I have included a list of FAQ's for
Razertip and Colwood.
You will also find
information on how to clean the tips, photos of some of the most
frequently used pens along with samples of some of the things you can do
with each pen. There is also a tutorial on the single temperature
(solid point) burners as well.
Safety...Anyone who knows me, knows
that safety is one of my pet peeves. Please do not rely on the
recommendation of other people without researching it yourself. Just
because people are expert pyrographers or gourd artists does not mean they are experts in
other fields such as chemistry, toxicology, etc. Please be safe and keep
pyrography a safe art form. Don't risk your health or that of others
in your household for a shortcut!
For help with burning on
gourds please check out my new
Gourd Pyrography Tutorial.
Classes...My
classes are not just demo's on how I burn. They include hands-on
instruction at YOUR level of burning. I spend time with each student
working with them on each project in a positive teaching environment.
If you are interested in taking one of my hands-on pyrography classes please check
out the events
calendar. Only classes with space available are listed.
If there is nothing scheduled in your area, please feel free to contact me
to discuss the possibility of scheduling a class in your area. I am
not teaching as much as I have in the past but I am still teaching from
time to time.
My goal on this site is to
reach out to anyone interested in learning more about pyrography and
provide them with some basic information. If you have any ideas or
suggestions for my tutorials please feel free to
email me. I'd love to hear from you
and I will be sure to give you credit for any additions that are used in
these tutorials.
Happy Burning©!
Nedra
Here's an email message I
received recently from someone regarding the free tutorials. She lives
across the big pond and was not a customer but the tutorials helped her
make some important decisions.
"I
was, and still am, eternally grateful to you for those precious free
tutorials. They alone prompted me to choose Razertip over any other
manufacturer.
Just think of it. A total newbie, knows nothing about woodworking,
starts to play with a soldering iron on wood and enjoys it. Graduates to
a DIY store single temp for a couple of months, then longs for something
more refined. There is a bewildering choice of manufacturers out there,
but where to start? Which to choose? What are all those nibs, whatever
do they do - manufacturers provide adequate info about their equipment,
but nothing on how to use it. Then she stumbles by accident (probably
Google) on to a website packed with information about burners and pens,
techniques and advice, written by someone with solid, hands-on experience
of woodburning, who obviously cares, and willingly shares that knowledge
with anyone who wants to read it.
Your tutorials contain, first and foremost, vital basic information. They
also provided all the answers, and all the guidance I was seeking. They
formed my choice. Your peers may have considered it nuts to diffuse free
info, but in my case, the above just proves the contrary!
So thank you again. And for recommending the new pen. With best
regards, Katy Spence"
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
No portion of the printed
book "Pyrography 101" or the web pages containing "Pyrography 101"
tutorials may be copied, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted
in any form or by any means without prior permission of the publisher and
copyright owner.
Material from this site may
not be, in part or in whole be distributed, redistributed, published,
republished, copied, reproduced, altered or modified and sold or otherwise
made available to others in any form for any purposes whatsoever.
Tutorials updated 3/19/09
