Sunday 14 June 2015

For the Love of Burned Wooden Spoons - The Pros & Cons of a Dremel Versatip for Pyrography

I recently bought a Dremel Versatip because I needed a hot knife for an entirely separate vinyl project, which actually didn't work out too well. However, I had some old wood left over from a wooden sign project, so I started to experiment with burning some patterns into one. Instant love.

So, lots of research later and I discovered that pyrography was an actual an art form -- I know, it sounds ridiculous that I'd never really come across it before. This is my new obsession. How long it will last I don't know, but I'm currently developing a pyrography product range for my craft business, starting with wooden spoons.... who doesn't love a good old wooden spoon!?





For anyone thinking of purchasing the Dremel Versatip for pyropgraphy purposes, here are some pro's and cons:

PROs
  • Cordless. Yes, entirely without cord. This alone is a massive bonus that almost (almost) outweighs the cons. 
  • Easy to refill. It works on refillable butune gas, like you'd fill a lighter up with. 
  • Easy to use. It's quite easy to maneuver and glides across most types of wood. 
  • Tips are excellent quality. 
CONs
  • It does not come with standard pyrography tips, which thinking about it is actually a surprise, as part of Dremel's marketing shows it being used for this very purpose. The solder tip draws like a pencil though, and you can get some nice markings with some of the others also. 
  • Replacement tips are expensive - almost four times the price of other pyrography tools. I haven't yet bought any, but you can actually get an entirely new tool with many tips for the same price -- are other tools as good as the Dremel? I don't know.  
  • Sometimes it doesn't quite stay hot enough. I find leaving it for 10 minutes to cool and then returning to it does help to get a 'deeper' burn.  


3 comments:

  1. Beautiful designs. I've been wanting to buy a wood burning tool for some wood projects too. Never thought about a Dremel, but something to look into.

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  2. Beautiful designs. I've been wanting to buy a wood burning tool for some wood projects too. Never thought about a Dremel, but something to look into.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for visiting Erlene :)

      To be honest, the Dremel was a bit of an accident for me - for this project anyway. Having now developed more of my new range (new post and photos to follow), I'm not sure I would chose to purchase it again as a pyrography tool and will be on the look out for something to replace it in the coming weeks. I sure will miss the cordless features though!

      Libby x

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