Ok, I know there have been a ton of threads on wood burning, but there has never really been a list of what tool people use (correct me if I'm wrong). I am looking to start wood burning and I would like to get one for under $30. Does anyone have any suggestions on which tool I should get? Are there certain kinds made for beginners? Thanks!
I am quite new to this wood burning deal, but the most success that I've had has come from a traditional bonfire. I would say that they are easy to set up and they burn quite fast. Very easy for beginners. I would also recommend a good old bunsen burner, as they are slightly more technologically advanced and easy to learn for beginners. Best of luck and regards, Kendama Player Trying To Be Helpful
I have burnt a couple of designs onto tamas/kens, what i have used is just like a $15 little wood burning tool that you can get at joann fabrics, or other large crafting suppliers. It just plugs right into the wall and heats up, and you have a choice of different tips to leave different patterns, it can be tricky to get the exact design you want so patience is key with a tool like that.. Best of luck man
I think he meant putting designs on the ken / tama using a woodburning tool. Here is a link to a burned in design: https://shop.kendamausa.com/products/painted-bluu-sundarata-woodburn Here is a link to a woodburning tool: I hope this was a help!
Question: Would different wood types react differently to being woodburned? For example, how does a wood like Keyaki stack up against your run-of-the-mill Beech wood for wood burning?
Depends on what part you are burning. For instance, the skinnier part of the ken just under the cups and up to the tip will burn easier than lower towards the basecup and on the tama. As far as I can tell, there isn’t much difference between wood types to be considered significant but denser wood types will take slightly longer (again, not significant in my experience). The biggest difference I can attest to is fresh v seshed kendamas to burn. One isn’t easier than the other, but seshed kens and tamas (especially tamas) will make it harder to get clean lines because of the dents and knicks or any other sort of wear and tear on the wood. You can see in my pic below the san stripe GT tama I burned on the right, if you zoom in you’ll see very small gaps on the burn lines where they go over the wood grain.
@Carlos Habbenero merged with a similar thread. For DIY projects you'll find a lot of info in The Lumber Yard. You might also take advantage of the search function to find previous threads before starting a new one on the same topic.
@Carlos Habbenero, you didn't need to delete your post since it was already merged. Your questions are still valid they just didn't need a new/separate thread to express them. If you would like, repost your questions.
A questions for anyone that has used a soldering iron rather than an actual wood-burning tool. Do you know what wattage iron would work reasonably well? I have a 10W I use for small electronics but it is really not very strong which is why I use it; don't want to cook the components. I've never burned wood however and don't know if it would take something considerably stronger to get decent results. I'm thinking about putting a couple of tama stripes on a Red Elm or Ash RWB I have so it's no big project.
Nope , not yet ... I'm a firefighter and I'd be afraid that mine would either be a pile of ashes , or be the wettest Tama you would ever play ... haha.