OT- Good idea or bad idea?

[oic0]

I've never played with powder burning so I'm going to ask and research before I do this. Anyhow, I had a plan of taking thick cardboard letters, putting em on a plaque, and using a little laser I built to burn the wood all around them in strokes to make an aesthetically pleasing pattern, Remove the Letter and you have a burnt in patter with clean spots spelling out letters in the middle of the plaque. That wont work though as I cant find my laser safety glasses to protect my eyes. Valentines day is quickly approaching! Would it be safe to use smokeless powder? set the letter in the middle to protect that area, surround it with powder in a pattern and light it on fire? Also, if I arranged it in rough pattern or shape would it burn in to the wood in that shape or would the char obscure details (its bare pine)? It is my understanding that smokeless powder burns rather than detonates and in my head it seems safe, BUT I still thought I would double check. Was planning on lighting it with an incense stick from a safe distance

When I was a youngin I crushed up a damaged model rocket engine and poured it on a paper plate, long lighter wouldn't work right so me being a genius I just used a short match while standing over it WOOOOOSH, mushroom cloud. Turned me black with soot but otherwise unharmed like one of those ol cartoons. The lesson has stuck with me though, so I'm a bit paranoid this go around.

[FWiedner]

I remember one time my Dad had some black that he wanted to "get rid of" and he decided to have some fun and lay it out on a paper plate make a short trail "fuse" and touch it off with his Bic.

Took 3 months for his eyebrows to grow back.

You can think on that and wonder what the aveage fella might learn, or you can ignore it.

Just seemed like a good place to insert it into a conversation.

[pwl44m]

Oh YOUR gonna Get it

[JB]

I believe your powder will burn off rather quickly. Probably too quickly to leave much of a pattern on the wood.

[Tycer]

I believe your powder will burn off rather quickly. Probably too quickly to leave much of a pattern on the wood.

+1

[86er]

Smokeless powder is nitro based, so it will burn towards the greatest source of oxygen. In other words, away from the wood. I don't think it'd leave a good mark on it with any consistency.

[mikld]

Lay a few lines of powder on a bare board and see how much is charred...

[oic0]

I was worried about that too, don't know if it will generate enough heat over a long enough period of time to char it. I bet it would if I put something heavy on top of it crushing it down in to it but.... I'm not going to try that lol. With my glasses I have poor depth perception, I can't dodge things falling from the sky very well.

[adirondakjack]

Try this. Cut your letters out of thin wood, soak em in water, freeze em in the freezer for a couple hours, place em on the pine, and immediately burn around the pattern with a propane torch. By the time the wet, frozen wood reaches kindling temp, you will have a fair char around it.

[TMair]

Try this. Cut your letters out of thin wood, soak em in water, freeze em in the freezer for a couple hours, place em on the pine, and immediately burn around the pattern with a propane torch. By the time the wet, frozen wood reaches kindling temp, you will have a fair char around it.

I think this is the best idea, I have burned pine with a torch before to get the grain to stand out, I don't think you would need to soak the letters unless you want to keep them looking good, pine will take a torch pretty fast.
You may have to use a little double stick tape to keep the letters in place wile you burn.
Terry

[El Chivo]

if you don't have a propane torch, try a hot air gun, the kind that are made for removing paint. Mine is for shrink wrapping and it gets hot enough to darken wood.

Since you wanted a pattern, sit down with a soldering iron and make your strokes with the letters pasted on. Shouldn't take too long.

[Blaine]

Here, Bubba, hold my beer, I want to show you something....
Stop, and do it properly with a decent wood burning tip on your soldering iron

[Rusty]

It might just work. you could test it for burn results on a small scale first.

[oic0]

I should probably learn to use the wood burning tip for my soldering gun. The laser is similar if I could find my darn glasses. I wanted to use powder though as I can basically form it and shape it just how I want it before a single mark is made on the wood. If only I had some aluminum powder to mix with it, that would leave a mark

[Tumbleweeds II]

Or you could use wet fingernail polish. Light it with a match, and it burns for a minute and goes out, leaving a shallow charred place. I used that method to initial the handle of my hatchet when I was a Boy Scout.

[AJMD429]

I believe your powder will burn off rather quickly. Probably too quickly to leave much of a pattern on the wood.

I'd do it outside, for obvious reasons, and on a moist day with a hose nearby.

A fuse wouldn't be a bad idea, but I don't know where a law-abiding citizen can buy "underwater cannon fuse" like we used to buy all the time as kids...

[Blaine]

I believe your powder will burn off rather quickly. Probably too quickly to leave much of a pattern on the wood.

I'd do it outside, for obvious reasons, and on a moist day with a hose nearby.

A fuse wouldn't be a bad idea, but I don't know where a law-abiding citizen can buy "underwater cannon fuse" like we used to buy all the time as kids...

Evidently, any number of places..... Gun shops in WA can carry it legally.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe ... CGEQ1QIoAg

[stew71]

"If you've ever used burning gunpowder as a woodworking tool....you might be a redneck."

[vancelw]

You shouldn't need a fuse. Smokeless powder burning in the open is almost a non-event. It's when you confine it that it gets interesting. The same cannot be said for BP-entirely different animal. Try the slowest powder you have.

[TMair]

You shouldn't need a fuse. Smokeless powder burning in the open is almost a non-event. It's when you confine it that it gets interesting. The same cannot be said for BP-entirely different animal. Try the slowest powder you have.

One of the worst burns I ever got was being a Dumb *** with BP , believe me that stuff can be violent even in the open.
Terry

[oic0]

Well I did it....

I'm still here and in one piece



In fact it was so weak it makes me ashamed. Barely even changed the tint of the wood. The only major effect was all the powder bits stuck to it, they didn't completely combust. I finished it up with a torch. I think if I had used the entire 1lb container it wouldnt have done it.