Wood burning is a part of pyrography, done by burning wood with a pen-like tool called a wood burner. It comes in different types, the most popular are wire point and solid point ones. In this article, we’ll learn about wood burning cone point. It is a solid-point type tip that gets heated through the filament in the wood burner pen. Wood burning cone point generally comes along with the new solid-point wood burning kit.
What is a wood burning cone point?
A wood burning cone point is a versatile tip that has a short cone shape at its very end, hence the name. It is used for purposes like drawing dots during stippling or imprinting lines that could be curved or just straight lines. A cone point tip is widely used for designs that have circular elements in them.
Features
- A Cone point tip is a cone-shaped tip that looks similar to a ballpoint pen. Because of this design, it is more adaptable and easy to use. When using it on the board, in comparison to other tips, it feels like you’re scribbling with a pen on paper.
- Due to its cone shape, all the heat it receives from the wood burner concentrates on the tip, which gives an evenly burn design.
- Cone point is often used in making lines, dots, and curves, making it a good choice for beginners. It also looks similar to the tapered point but better and easier to use.
- The tapered point is way longer and works pretty much the same as the cone point. More extended size reduces the control on hand, and there are more chances of damaging the wooden board.
- A Cone point has a shorter head than a tapered point, which means more control in your hand means more precise work.
- Although some might say this is not the best point in wood burning, I may also agree. But one can’t deny that it gives some of the best lines, dots, and curves.As a beginner, you can rely on cone points, and as you get more experience, you may switch to better options.
Uses
Cone point gives a deep and dark texture to the wooden board. Below are its uses.
- Best uses: Dot, Lines, and curves
- Moderate uses: Lettering
- Hard uses: Shading
Cone point could be proved as the best tool for straight and curved lines, dots, and circles. But not good at all for shading. Lettering is okayish, and you can burn a few big-size letters with some patience.
Dots:
You get lovely small and big dots with cone points. And if you do stippling, it could be even more helpful. In stippling, you make a pattern on board with varying degrees of small dots, and you can do that easily with this point type. For small dots, touch gently, and if you put a little pressure, you’ll get a bigger, deeper dot.
To get a perfect shaped dot, keep your pen near to 90 degrees with the board but not less than 60 degrees. However, there’s a limit on how big the dots you can make.
If applied too much pressure, it can damage the board. If you want to make a bigger dot and don’t have other points available, try making a circle and burn the part inside.
Lines:
Straight lines are easy and fast with cone point. You can get some of the best lines with cone point tips. Make sure you don’t rest the tip on board while making a line, or it will leave a blob on either side. When making a line, move the hand with consistent speed throughout. If you go too fast, it makes the ends of the line darker and blurs the middle part.
Curves:
Curves are good with this tip due to the cone shape; despite changing the angles, you’ll get evenly burnt curves.Just don’t make a less than 45-degree angle with the pen on the board; otherwise, the other part of the wood burner or point will touch and damage the board.
What do I like about it?
Cone point comes with a basic wood burner tool kit; hence you don’t need to spend money on it separately. It is better than the tapered point, due to the smaller head. It gives better control in hand. Beginners practicing dots, lines, and curves should look no further. Although lettering is okayish, you can make it work for big letters if you don’t want to spend any other dollar on tips.
What do I not like about it?
Not suitable for small lettering and definitely not good for shading or detailing. It often happens with beginners that, in making dots, or curves, they put too much pressure, which damages the board. To make dots, you need to keep the wood burner horizontal; this could be uneasy for the hands; if working for a long time, some people may not like that.
I hope this article helped you understand what is a cone point tip and how to use. I have more guides lined up like this below, do check them out.
Summary
Wood burning cone point is a widely used tip for solid-point type wood burner and generally comes along with the kit. It is a beginner-friendly and budget-friendly option that is great for making straight lines, curves, dots, circles, and big letters. Ball pen-like shape feels good in the hand and provides better control. Cone point doesn’t give satisfactory results for shading and detailing.