Making the burn line

[sdb777]

Have seen tutorials on the 'net(can't recall the link), but the fella used a piece of wire to 'burn' a mark into the wood being turned.

What kind of wire works best for this? I know the MIG wire isn't worth a cold fart(it snaps in half when heating up)....cause I done it twice.
And paperclips are to stiff and short, fingers get really hot.....hmmm wonder why?


Scott (what ya using) B

[fredbelknap]

Scott I use a piece of electric fence wire. It is about 16 gauge, doesn't rust and is pretty strong. I use a piece about 14" long with a couple scraps of wood the ends to hold onto and apply pressure. I use mine on bowls but for spindle type work a shorter piece would work. I like to see a little smoke. ;D

[TDHofstetter]

Plain ol' steel "mechanic's wire" (from the auto parts store) works just fine for me... but stainless-steel picture-hanging wire works best. Galvanized is fine, but eventually the zinc coating goes away from the heat. Don't try it with copper wire - chances are good you'll break it while it's annealed from the heat of burning.

Come to think of it, music wire (guitar strings or piano strings) would work great - they'd be lousy for music afterwards, though.

You can get steel wire (plain, stainless, or music) in all sorts of different sizes for different-sized burn lines.

[Ruffnek]

Jan 9, 2010 8:23:43 GMT -6 TDHofstetter said:

Don't try it with copper wire - chances are good you'll break it while it's annealed from the heat of burning.

Actually, copper wire works very well...that's what I use cause I've always got it around fron 14 gauge to 10 gauge. I expect about any wire would work. I use the copper because it is clean (no rust).

I turn a couple of handles about 1" diameter x 3" long and drill a 1/8" hole through the middle...like drilling a pen blank. Stick the ends of the wire through the holes and twist a knot on the end. A dab of thick CA glue helps, too. Now you have a burning wire with handles.

For burning small stuff, you probably want the wire shorter. I'm usually burning bowls and hollowforms.

[sachbvn]

How long does it take to get that nice black, smoking line when turning? I've tried a piece of wire....not sure - I think it was that "twisted strand" picture framing wire....the stuff that if you twist the opposite direction, it unwinds itself. I didn't have good results at all - but I think this was probably awfully thick to be using..... so.... if you are using a good wire - should the results be pretty obvious, pretty quick?


Zac

[TDHofstetter]

Depends on how much pressure you use... if you use very little pressure, you may never get it to scorch the wood. Heavy pressure & you'll get scorching within not many seconds. The lathe speed makes a lot of difference, too - the higher the speed the faster it'll scorch.

[maxwellsmart007]

I use copper wire too - I cut a bit off of a piece of leftover Romex, wrapped it around two large wooden dowels to keep my hands clear of any wire!

I also have a few smaller ones made of guitar strings and dowels...

They all work quite well - no breakage yet, and I've used them quite a bit.

Takes a second to work - you can see it begin to burnish, and then 'bang' - burn mark! Once that wire's heated, the second burn mark goes MUCH quicker!

Andrew

[sdb777]

Found a guitar shop in Jacksonville, and walked in. Told the guy behind the counter what I needed and what I wanted to use it for..... Well, he just stood there with his mouth open!

I left his shop with three strings that measure 0.027"(measured them at home with calipers). Everything else I've been finding would be in the 0.040" to 0.055" (a little too big-yes, I tried it).

Trying to find a vendor that carries replacement wire for pianos, but I'm not sure how to convert 'gauge' to 'inches(or thousandths of)? Anyone know?




Scott (I know 12ga...and so do the crows) B

[fredbelknap]

I find it helps to make a small groove with a tool so the wire will track where you want it. I use the corner of a parting tool.

[triplefreak]

I've seen burn lines made by a simple piece of wood. Usually Walnut.
Cut it on an angle to the thickness you need, and just hold it against the spinning wood. It makes a nice dark line in seconds.

[sawduster]

I like using that really thin green coated florists wire. It is thinner than bell wire and you can make itty bitty burn lines with it. Also works great for re-opening the tips of CA bottles. ;D