I made up some boards,then cut them up for projects.
Here is the write up of the wood burning technique known as The Lichtenburg pattern Wood Burning.
Before we get into this burning There is a big Warning I want to pass on to everyone.
This is not for everyone, and especially if you have young kids that think it is cool and try it while you are away. It is extremely dangerous.
There have been upwards of 625 persons who have died trying it. Mostly attributed to homemade Microwave transformers. I would not ever try this by making my own transformer. I bought mine from a company that makes them and sells them with all the instructions and warnings. Plus I used thick rubber gloves,they recommend linesman gloves,which are expensive. I stood on a rubber mat on a concrete floor and had a person with me in case something went wrong. Here is a link to an internet article about the caution. Also a foot operated switch is best, called a “deadmans” switch.
That said, I sold my unit to a well qualified person,an Electrical Engineer who has no young people to use it when he is gone.
The procedure is as follows:
paint on a dilute solution of vinegar and water.
2,Wait a minute for it to soak in.
Place the probes apart several inches, I did it on top/bottom, side to side.
4.Step on switch. The electricity will do its own thing. it will try to hook-up from probe to probe . The probes can be moved around somewhat to kind of control the pattern, but it will do what it wants. Step off the switch before you move the probe. Here are some pictures of the procedure.
That is a unique idea, Stick. Maybe even print them from an inkjet printer and iron them on to the wood, then take a standard wood burning tip and burn then into the wood.
Our local corner store has a Lichtenburg board displayed behind their counter. These are really interesting photos of the process, Herb! I like pyrography but haven’t tried this burning, mostly because scared off by the risk Thank you for sharing.
Thank you Yuka, I was intrigued with them too,when I first saw them and researched the subject. There are lots of information on the internet. Some operators have made set-ups to do this remotely. They set it up and stand back quite some distance to activate the machine. Then observe from a distance the progress. In fact I found some set ups just for that purpose that were being sold.
Thank you for the information. If I ever attempt it again I will go for the remote set-up. But I would discourage anyone wanting to do this if they have young children. The risk/temptation is too great for unsupervised operation. They didn’t have the remote set-up when I bought mine, It would not be too hard to adapt the one I had to remote.
Herb
Those designs look really good. I see that you are using Conestoga fractal kit. Honestly speaking I don’t think that the best machine out there. I was recently searching for some good fractal kits in my research I found that Coolneon fractal kit is the best one in the market. If you ever get time do check that fractal kit. This coolneon suggestion i got from this article: Finding the best fractal wood burning kit ? Here are top 4 picks
Thank you for posting this very in depth informative link to the forum, Kelly. I agree with you everyone thinking of buying the kit should be required to read this. I did not run across this article before I purchased mine. Maybe it was written afterwards. It would require a substantial budget to purchase and test all these machines. Being a novice at woodburning, this information is quite valuable.
Herb
Thank you for sharing.