Pyrography Troubleshooting Guide

Pyrography, or wood burning, is a beautiful and rewarding art form, but like any craft, it comes with its challenges. Whether you're a seasoned artist or just starting, it's common to run into problems that affect the quality of your burns.

In this guide, we’ve made it super easy to find solutions to common pyrography problems. Just scroll down and click on the issue you're dealing with to get quick tips and fixes. Whether it’s adjusting your heat settings, picking the right wood, or fine-tuning your technique, we’ve got you covered.

Find your issue below and get back to burning with confidence!

Burn Quality Issues

• Uneven Burn Marks

  Cause: Varying pressure or inconsistent heat distribution.
  

  Solution:

  • Ensure the tip is fully heated before burning. Allow the tool to reach its working temperature for consistent burns. Some tools heat up super quick, others take longer.

  • Practice even hand pressure. Try a few test strokes on scrap wood before working on your project.

  • Use a smoother wood surface to avoid uneven grain affecting the burn quality. Check out: Sanding Your Wood: Before and After You Burn + Prepping Wood Surfaces for Pyrography

• Splotchy or Patchy Burns

  Cause: Dirty tip, uneven wood grain, or resin in the wood.
  

  Solution:

  • Regularly clean the tool tip with a fine wire brush or cloth to remove buildup. Check out Tool Care for your Woodburning Tool to learn more about cleaning and caring for your tools.

  • Choose fine-grained, smooth wood types like basswood or birch for more uniform burns. To see a list of woods we like to use, go to: Best Wood for Pyrography

  • Avoid resin-heavy woods like pine, or sand and seal the wood before burning. Check out this blog post to learn more: Common wood types you should NEVER burn on

• Burn Marks Are Too Light

  Cause: Low heat setting or quick hand movement.
  

  Solution:

  • Increase the heat setting gradually, especially for harder woods.

  • Slow down your hand movements to give the tool enough time to burn the wood. Patience (and consistency) is the key with pyrography.

  • Clean the tip if it's dirty or has residue build-up. To learn more, check out: Tool Care for your Wood Burning Tool

• Burn Marks Are Too Dark or Deep

  Cause: Excessive heat or too much pressure.

  
  Solution:

  • Lower the heat setting or use a lighter touch with the tool. You should never be pressing too hard onto the wood anyways! But if you like to burn hot, then reducing the pressure and moving faster will help.

  • Not always the best solution, but you can try to use fine-grit sandpaper to reduce overly dark areas. This will most likely not take away the burn marks, but can lighten them a little. This is not the best solution though as sanding can damage the surrounding design and create a different look to your burn marks compared to what you do not sand...

• Lines Are Too Thick

  Cause: Wrong tip choice or excessive pressure.
  

  Solution:

  • Use finer tips for detailed work and intricate lines.

  • Reduce pressure when burning, as pressing too hard widens the burn line.

  • Consider using adjustable heat settings to create finer burns with lower heat. Lower and slower is the motto for thin and crisp lines.

Line Control and Precision

• Burn Lines Are Shaky

  Cause: Lack of hand control or movement.
  

  Solution:

  • Use a stable surface and proper support for your hand. I see many artists prop up their wrist with a bean bag or elevate their hand using another wood slice.

  • Practice straight lines and curves on scrap wood to improve steadiness.

    • Usually pushing the nib away from you is easier, but try pulling it towards you as well.

    • Rotate the wood to find the most comfortable and best angle.

    • Try different angles of the pen too. Experiment which one feels most comfortable.

    • You can try using different nibs. Ones with a sharp edge can often be easier to make lines with. A curved sharp edge is also very different than a straight sharp edge...

  • Consider using a stencil or guide to help keep lines smooth and consistent. A metal ruler for example could work great to keep a long straight line looking straight.

• Unwanted "Glow" Around Burn Lines

  Cause: Excessive heat or movement that is too slow
  

  Solution:

  • Lower the heat setting to reduce the amount of heat radiating from the tip.

  • Use a faster, controlled hand movement to limit the time heat is concentrated in one area.

  • Sand the wood after burning to remove the glow. To learn more about that, visit: Sanding Your Wood: Before and After You Burn + Prepping Wood Surfaces for Pyrography

  • Choose a wood that is less prone to scorching, like basswood or maple, which tend to produce less "glow" than softer woods like pine.

• Wrist pain or discomfort

  Cause: Unstable positioning and/or awkward wood size.

  Solution: Try one of the following but also make sure to take a lot of movement breaks (I like to set a timer for that).

  • Use a stable surface and proper support for your hand. I see many artists prop up their wrist with a bean bag or elevate their hand using another wood slice.

  • For tiny pieces of wood: use masking tape, roll it into a circle (sticky side out), stick it to the back of your small wood slice and onto a larger piece of wood for stability.

  • For large pieces of wood, try a turntable, an art easel, or propping against a wall.

Wood Surface and Tool Interaction

• Nib Sticking to Wood

  Cause: High heat or resinous wood.
  Solution:

  • Lower the heat setting to prevent sticking and charring.

  • Keep the tip moving steadily to avoid lingering in one spot.

  • Clean the tip regularly to remove sticky residue. To learn more, check out: Tool Care for your Wood Burning Tool

• Smoke During Burning

  Cause: High heat or burning on resin-heavy woods.
  Solution:

  • Lower the heat setting to reduce excessive smoke.

  • Work in a well-ventilated area or use a small fan to disperse smoke.

  • Avoid working on damp woods or highly resinous woods such as pine or cedar.

• Wood slice is tiny

  For tiny pieces of wood: use masking tape, roll it into a circle (sticky side out), stick it to the back of your small wood slice and onto a larger piece of wood for stability.

• Wood slice is very big

  When the wood slice is too big, it can be hard to get a good angle and be comfortable with the process. Two options here can include using a turntable or an art easel.

  If you still find the piece is too large for either option, try proping it on the wall and burning.

  Remember to take a lot of breaks to avoid any pains.

Tool and Equipment Troubles

• Tip Not Heating Properly

  Cause: Faulty tool, loose connection, or dirt build-up.
  

  Solution:

  • Check the power cord and make sure all connections are secure.

  • Clean the tip. Visit the following post for different ways on how to do that: Tool Care for your Wood Burning Tool

  • If you are using an interchangeable nib, ensure that it is properly installed. To learn more on which nib you have, check out: Wire Tip Vs. Solid Tip Burner

  • If the tool continues to malfunction, consider replacing the tip.

  • If you still don't have any luck contact the manufacturer for further information.

• Tool Tip Overheating

  Cause: Using a high heat setting for too long.

  Solution:

  • Use lower heat settings for longer sessions to prevent overheating.

  • Take breaks during your work to allow the tool to cool down and maintain consistency.

  • Use multiple tools or tips to switch out and give each time to cool.

• Entire Pen Overheating

  Cause: Low quality tool or using a high heat setting for too long.

  Solution:

  • Use lower heat settings for longer sessions to prevent overheating.

  • Take breaks during your work to allow the tool to cool down and maintain consistency.

  • Get a better tool. Check out out favourite tools here: What Woodburning Tool is Right for Me?

  • Wear finger protection, a half glove, or whole hand protection

Design and Transferring Issues

• I don't know what/how to draw

  You don’t need to know how to draw if you want to try out pyrography. Below are some options for you to get started:

  • Grab some free templates here.

  • Join Burn Club for FREE to get even more free monthly goodies.

  • Visit The Templates Store for even more designs including royalty free ones!

  • Check out our Community Books full of templates!

• How do I get the designs onto wood?

  There are two main ways to get designs onto wood:

  • How To Transfer Designs To Wood Without Heat

  • How To Transfer Designs To Wood Using Heat

• My transfer lines are not coming off the wood

  If you are left with lines from transferring your design, check out this blog post for ways to help you remove them: How to get rid of mistakes and graphite/pencil lines

Troubleshooting in pyrography is all part of the creative process. Don’t let a little smoke or uneven lines get in the way of your masterpiece! With the tips and fixes from this guide, you’re now equipped to tackle those pesky issues and get back to making beautiful, detailed woodburned art. Remember, every artist faces challenges—it's how you handle them that helps you grow.

If you come across any issues we didn’t address, feel free to drop a comment in the section below, and we’ll do our best to help out.

Keep practicing, stay patient, and most importantly, have fun with your craft.

Happy burning!