WoodBurning Tips:
The Tapered Point BEst Uses
Of all the solid-point woodburning tips that come with most kits, the tapered point is my least favorite.
It doesn't have very many great uses for art.
And those uses can totally be covered by other tips - better tips if you ask me.
But for the sake of science (and those curious souls like mine) I'm going to tell you all about it anyway.
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Tapered Point Features
It's like a really loooooong cone tip with a really sharp point.
Looks more like it's ready to stab the wood... which is pretty much it's best use.
What I love about the Tapered Point
Not much.
There are a couple things it does really well....
- Both curved and straight lines
Tiny little fine lines are pretty much it's only forte when it comes to actual artwork. But since it's longer than the cone point - which by the way also does tiny lines just fine - it's slightly harder to control.
Remember, the closer your hand can get to the tip, the more control you have.
I figure if you're going to have to work at it anyway, you might as well just use the shading point. It has a nice fine point you can use to get the same effect plus it has a truckload of other helpful uses.
- Deep holes
I'm sure you could make cribbage board holes with this tip if you wanted.
If you have a thin piece of wood - say less than an inch - you could also burn a hole clean through it (that was fun to try). So for things like ornaments, you wouldn't need a drill.
And if it doesn't burn and evenly sized hole all the way through your wood piece, you could turn the wood over and burn from the other direction.
Personally though, I'll just stick with a drill thanks.
What's Okay About it
- Circles
Again, control. Making a clean circle takes a steady hand, so you want to use a tip that is fairly easy to maneuver.
This tip is okay, but it’s hard to control over larger
areas.
The cone point or the shading point would be better.
- Lettering
Same problem with lettering. It works for the tiny stuff, but the larger the letters or the design the harder to control the tip.
Since the point is so thin at the end, it catches easily on the wood grain too. My testing board was basswood, which has a nice even grain. And the tapered point was catching pretty often. It's like it WANTS to dig into the wood.
And being so thin, it's no good for block or print lettering.
What's Hard: Choose a Different Tip
- Shading
Just look at the picture ⇣down there⇣. Don't waste your time trying to shade when I already did that for you.
Quick View:
Tapered Point Uses
Best Uses
- Lines - curved or straight
- Creating deep holes
Okay Uses - Not the Easiest
- Circles
- Lettering
Hard Uses - choose a different tip
- Shading
More Woodburning Tips
As I said before, this just isn't my favorite tip.
But I can help you find a better suited tip for whatever project you're working on.
Feast your lovely eyes on this article on the 10 of the most common woodburning tips and their uses over here.
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