Post #468091 by TIKIVILLE on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 10:25 AM

I use anything I got laying around ,chisels ,wire brushes , a dremmel ,propane torch , stain ....Tips?
I heard that cedar is bad to inhale like some other woods ( a guy told me he got a nosebleed cutting a piece of kokobolo wood without a mask,YIKES) so being that I'm not a fan of masks or helmets , gloves or glasses...I stick to wood like pine.At the home depot or where ever I root through the pile of scrap wood cuts and if there is nothing there I look in the stacks of lumber for a board that has a really strong and prominent wide grain with no knots. I don't always get really lucky but it's wood so there will always be another piece somewhere...
I take my time and I'll do the burn gig more than once on a piece if I cant seem to get that grain to pop dig? And of coarse a smooth finish before you attack to grain helps (thats the drag part trying to sand all the corners and sides before you play with the fire) but I'm still learning as I go along so ,
mahalo for the encouraging comments!