# Burnt/scorched wood finish (and other finishes)



## milkbaby (Sep 24, 2016)

Hi, I recently made my first two sayas, the first out of balsa then the second out of basswood. Both these I ended up staining and sealing with polyurethane because they don't show very interesting wood grain, plus the poly helps give a bit of protection to the soft wood surface. 

I was thinking of trying a burnt or scorched wood finish but was wondering what types of softer woods might be best to try scorching. I currently have some basswood, poplar, and pine for making more sayas, and I tried to select pieces that had some nice grain figuration.

Also trying to stick to softer woods because I am doing everything by small hand tools, basically all I have are a coping saw, a few small hand chisels for carving soft woods (definitely need sharpening!), and sandpaper and sanding blocks for post-saw shaping.

I'd also like to hear if people have suggestions for other finishes that will add a little more pizazz to these woods since they are kind of plain. Was thinking of getting one of those heat pens for wood pyrography...


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## jessf (Sep 25, 2016)

How are you going about burning the wood? Direct flame can work on larger pieces but for smaller and softer wood you might want to heat something up and drag it across the surface. Ive seen the burn and brush method used with great effect.

https://youtu.be/MV53BM2n4S4



milkbaby said:


> Hi, I recently made my first two sayas, the first out of balsa then the second out of basswood. Both these I ended up staining and sealing with polyurethane because they don't show very interesting wood grain, plus the poly helps give a bit of protection to the soft wood surface.
> 
> I was thinking of trying a burnt or scorched wood finish but was wondering what types of softer woods might be best to try scorching. I currently have some basswood, poplar, and pine for making more sayas, and I tried to select pieces that had some nice grain figuration.
> 
> ...


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## pleue (Sep 25, 2016)

Fir and cedar work pretty well


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## milkbaby (Sep 25, 2016)

jessf said:


> How are you going about burning the wood? Direct flame can work on larger pieces but for smaller and softer wood you might want to heat something up and drag it across the surface. Ive seen the burn and brush method used with great effect.
> 
> https://youtu.be/MV53BM2n4S4



Wow, thanks that video is awesome, amazing to see the techniques by hand and how much work to get the finished products. 

So far I tested propane torch on balsa wood with wire brush after burning. Too easy to scorch too much, warp, and no interesting grain patterns arose. That hot metal on wood technique looked interesting but adds another layer of complexity. 




pleue said:


> Fir and cedar work pretty well



Thanks for the info! I'll have to keep an eye out for thin pieces of these because I don't have a table saw for rip cuts, only hand saw.


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