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Fractal Woodburning Tutorial

manbuckwal said:
Wheres @Tclem he needs in on this ................ Tony, do not show Paxton how to do this !
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As much electrical wiring as he has helped me with so far he can probably do this by now. lol
 
I've gotten into fractal burning recently and have produced some nice burn patterns. I'm using a baking soda/water solution as a conduit and have noticed a grayish discoloration on the wood from this. Has anyone else had this problem and what have you done to correct it. The mix is 1 cup(8 oz) of water and 2 tablespoons of baking soda. The wood is alligator juniper.

Thanks Frank
 
Although fractal wood burning looks cool it's just not worth the risk to me. You will only make one mistake! And then your instantly dead, no do overs.
 
woodtickgreg said:
Although fractal wood burning looks cool it's just not worth the risk to me. You will only make one mistake! And then your instantly dead, no do overs.
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The dangerous ones are the ones you diy with an old microwave. There are some commercial ones that don’t even have a hospital rate yet and are not banned by the eu yet. They are also not affordable for any hobbyist.
 
There are some exotics that this process does not work on, like padauk. I think it may be the high oil/wax content in the wood that stops the process cold.
 
WoodLove said:
4) Creating the circuit in the wood. As is common knowledge, wood is not a good conductor of electricity and therefore something that is a good conductor must be used. A mixture of 1/3 cup of baking soda mixed with 2 quarts of water is my preferred mix. The water is the vehicle to complete the circuit and the baking soda helps control the extent of the burn. (baking soda helps the wood to burn, not ignite into flames)
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5) I fractal burned a bowl this evening in order to do this tutorial. From start to finish the wood burning took approximately 5 minutes. As seen in the pictures the more water the wood absorbs the more electricity travels through the bowl.
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In the above pic you can see the flare up that is caused when the two contact points fully connect in the circuit.

6) Once the fractal burn is complete you can use a nylon or bronze bristle brush (I use a dish brush and/or a toothbrush) and clean the item. Set the item aside and let it dry completely before finishing. NOTE: You can sand the item to 220 prior to fractal wood burning, and then sand again with the same girt after the wood is dry. This may take away the shallow surface burns and soot caused by the flare ups as well as allow the deeper burns to be accentuated. Finish the item as you normally would and enjoy your HIGH VOLTAGE ART.

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IMPORTANT NOTE: As seen in the pictures, although the contact point may be on one side of the item the electricity my create additional burns elsewhere..... wherever the wood is wet there the electricity will be also.

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Jamie do you know what gauge of wire you used? Thank you for the tutorial.
 
Anyone ever used a 24v doorbell transformer to do this? I assume it wouldn't have enough power to really burn the wood deeply enough but it would be interesting to see if it worked at all.
 
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