Pyrography Is Not For Me...

Having recently added the wooden tiles to the range, and already having rather a lot of equipment from my other life - I figured I should absolutely try pyrography, the art of burning a beautiful design onto wood.  Well, I can sort of draw, and I'm pretty deft with a torch, so I figured it should be easy.  

Easy?? Yeah, right.

This is one of my smaller torches, my trusty little dremel Versatip.  It comes with various attachments that I can't figure out, so I generally just use it as an open flame - however, it has a nifty tip for pyrography.

One-handed-switch-on and off I go sintering away...

 I'm resting on two soldering sheets over a floor tile over an Ikea table!

 

By this point I was already worried - it is harder than it looks to hold the torch steady, and despite the fine point I was sinking into the wood faster than I could move it!

Result - a pig's ear.  That's meant to be a "J" surrounded by tasteful swirls, but I think I really can spy an actual pig's ear.

I'd need more practice, but probably a thousand years of practice couldn't change a bad pyrographer, so that's, regretfully, another one I'll leave to the experts I think.

....Or at least until the would-be conqueror in me pushes me to try it *just* one more time.

Then I can have a matching set of pig's ear-rings!  oink oink!  :)