# Fractal Burning (my attempt)



## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

Before I say anything, a tip 'o the hat to Jim Jakosh for presenting this technique to me here on LJs!

I read with interest on Jim's adventures into this "fringe" area of woodworking and potentially re-animating corpses.

Being a fan of both wood and electricity (I'm a EE by day-job), I had to give it a go.

Step one was to ask the Google what wisdom lies yonder. I learned a few refinements, but not much beyond what Jim presented. These are also known as Lichtenberg Figures as he did much of the early work looking into high voltage discharges. 
My 'tool' of choice is my old trusty high voltage transformer that used to spend endless hours as a Jacob's ladder on Halloweens. I had thought it was 20K Volts (I hadn't seen it in years), turns out it is 'only' 12K Volts (that's a '1' under the divot).










Plenty good though!

*First things first, burn something!*

Wisdom seems to agree that the burn path tends to follow grain and plywood with it's thin veneer and glue layer works well. I have plenty of 1/4" Lauan plywood scraps so that had to be first. Of course I had the grain perpendicular to the intended path of the burn, but hey, it's just a test! 
The wood was dampened with the baking soda solution and a light wipe with a sponge.

Consider the wisdom of another LJs member.

*"Don't try this at home! Do it over at your neighbors house instead"*










I drove screws into the wood and connected the power leads to the screws. This was an obvious failure, but I got to see what happens and learn.

Several more attempts with the same plywood, different results, but I'm beginning to see what guides the current.



















Ok, I see now that maybe the grain is too much, I'll try something with a bit more 'mellow' grain

Popular worked well, unfortunately I don't have pictures. I do have pictures of Russian Olive (top) and Apricot (bottom) however:


















I see the problem with the arc selecting a path and sticking too it. Corrective advice was to use a small spritzer bottle (I use an old lens cleaner spray bottle). This allows one to change the 'wetness' of the wood in a semi-controlled manner.

For the Apricot (1/4" thick), I used alligator clips. It may be possible that the screws allow the current to start off deeper into the wood (bad) whereas the clips keep it on the surface.



















*Better! *The bottom picture (Apricot) looks much better as I was able to cool hot spots and 'push' the burn path around. The top picture (Olive) is not any better. I determined that the olive tended to soak up the liquid in the open grain areas. This causes the electric current to concentrate and penetrate down deeper into the wood where the liquid absorbed.

Now that I had a basic grasp on the techniques, I brought out some more Apricot scraps and went for it!










I think I see some paneled boxes in the future featuring this technique!

What I learned on my first afternoon.

1. Jim, you 'productively wasted' my Sunday afternoon having me act like a crazy person. Thank you 8^)

2. *Wood grain matters.* Random burning (my goal) does best with smooth wood, the liquid tends to concentrate in the open/porous grain and messes things up in my opinion.

3. *Don't over-saturate the wood*, this lets the current travel deeper and just doesn't look good. Under wetting just creates a spray of sparks jumping the dry gap, no burning. A spritz of solution cures this..

I think I have enough 'skill' now to at least control the burning direction, at least I think I can force which side of center the burn travels on. I can see that this will be a great way to trash all my small scraps and maybe get a gem or two in the process!

I think Maple is worth a try. Soft Maple has bland grain (at least lack of porous grain lines) which holds promise. Rock Maple will not allow the solution to penetrate which has potential for better branching.

Party on Garth!


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## ralbuck (Mar 12, 2012)

Very interesting and unique!


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## bobasaurus (Sep 6, 2009)

Looks amazing, I kind of want to try it. I want to see this done to a huge slab of wood.


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

Thanks guys!

I agree with the test on a large slab. With Jim's wands, that allow multiple start points, one could really go crazy burning a large slab tabletop.

I don't see any hard limit to how far apart the electrodes can be, I'm thinking 4 feet probably will still work as long as there is a layer of conductive liquid (the baking soda mix).


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## AandCstyle (Mar 21, 2012)

Splinter, I think you are on to something. I know you like A&C style, so you can make some of your "trees", then inlay leaves on the trees and end with a panel that looks something like this. You may have just created a new art form!


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## ErikF (Apr 3, 2012)

This is cool


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

> Splinter, I think you are on to something. I know you like A&C style, so you can make some of your "trees", then inlay leaves on the trees and end with a panel that looks something like this. You may have just created a new art form!
> 
> - AandCstyle


Nice stuff!

Wife.com does glass work so I'm thinking about a way to incorporate some of her work. She saw the Lichtenberg patterns done with glass and wanted me to try that. The problem is they use a particle accelerator to 'burn' the glass. I'd have to evacuate the neighborhood down range when I fired that contraption up.


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## JimYoung (Jan 20, 2014)

I saw this on "Outrageous Acts of Science." Very cool effect.


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## Sigung (Nov 20, 2013)

That is pretty cool!


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

Nice work, Bruce! Are you using baking soda and water? Try vinegar and water. it mixes completely and does a real good job too. Those figures are really neat. I am going to do inlay into the deep grooves, but i don't like to sand them because it removed some of the fine figures at the end of the pattern.

I was going to do a demo for our guild but they cancelled it because the AAW banned fractal burning because 4 guys got killed in the past two years. I redid my two burners with PVC handles high above the contacts and I feel pretty good about the setup now.

Cheers…thanks for the plug!.................Jim


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## rustynails (Jun 23, 2011)

> Nice work, Bruce! Are you using baking soda and water? Try vinegar and water. it mixes completely and does a real good job too.


Jim what kind of vinegar are you using and what is the mixture / amount of vinegar to water? Also have you tried vinegar and baking soda together?

Thanks


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## fuigb (Apr 21, 2010)

Cool-looking stuff, but if the linked story (and comments) are correct then this can be an extremely dangerous subtype of woodworking. Carpe diem…

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.detroitnews.com/amp/38900689


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## rustynails (Jun 23, 2011)

To many people are making there own to save money and getting hurt. I have one from Conestoga and they are a very safe unit.

https://conestogaworks.com/woodburners.html


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## EarlS (Dec 21, 2011)

I guess dabbling in the dark arts (EE) has it's advantages. Anxiously waiting to see how you incorporate this into your woodworking pieces. Like A&C mentioned - maybe time for some inlaid leaves and trees?


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

> Nice work, Bruce! Are you using baking soda and water? Try vinegar and water. it mixes completely and does a real good job too. Those figures are really neat. I am going to do inlay into the deep grooves, but i don t like to sand them because it removed some of the fine figures at the end of the pattern.


I'm backed up now with some other work so I haven't been back to playing. Vinegar is first on my list since you have had such great success 8^)

I'm still thinking on trying to make a "perfect" tree, just seems to be a natural end result.



> I was going to do a demo for our guild but they cancelled it because the AAW banned fractal burning because 4 guys got killed in the past two years. I redid my two burners with PVC handles high above the contacts and I feel pretty good about the setup now.
> 
> Cheers…thanks for the plug!.................Jim
> 
> - Jim Jakosh


Sad to hear!

I understand not wanting to propagate something dangerous, but I believe in Darwin. Of course a spinning sharp blade seems to carry its own warnings whereas invisible electricity doesn't.


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

> Cool-looking stuff, but if the linked story (and comments) are correct then this can be an extremely dangerous subtype of woodworking. Carpe diem…
> 
> https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.detroitnews.com/amp/38900689
> 
> - fuigb


Scary article! I wish they could elaborate on his setup as I'm always curious about failure modes. Nothing is ever fool proof.


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

> I guess dabbling in the dark arts (EE) has it s advantages. Anxiously waiting to see how you incorporate this into your woodworking pieces. Like A&C mentioned - maybe time for some inlaid leaves and trees?
> 
> - EarlS


 I did make a simple box a while back as a test to see if anyone was willing to buy something like that (they were 8^).

What I need to do is make a bunch of burns on blanks then cull through them to find a worthy set suitable for a project.

I'm not as brave as Jim, I can't burn a finished project, I need to burn first and then decide if I can continue 8^)


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## Woodchuckswife (Oct 24, 2014)

I just read about 2 guys getting killed last week doing that one was an electrician..
Chuck


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## ajshobby (Jan 30, 2012)

A guy my wife went to high school with recently died doing this stuff. We ran into his widow while we were back home for the holidays and had a long talk about what happened. Needless to say its interesting but not worth the risk to me. Be Careful out there for those interested in this stuff.

AJ in Mpls.


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## rustynails (Jun 23, 2011)

> I just read about 2 guys getting killed last week doing that one was an electrician..
> Chuck
> 
> - Woodchuckswife


 It's not good that people are getting killed but did they use the proper safety requirements that these units demand? From what I have read the people have not. They recommend that your work piece is on a rubber mat and stand on one as well and using a pair of heavy rubber cloves. If you follow these rules and don't try to jury rig a unit you should be okay. Just like any tool in the shop if you don't follow the safety protocol you can get hurt or killed. As I have worked in a commercial cabinet shop and have seen people injured and killed for not following and respecting the tools safety guidelines. 
I was at a show last summer wear a guy was demonstrating one that he made out of a microwave and he was following none of the safety guide lines and was being arrogant in his use of the system. I cringed while watching him demonstrate as there was so many people around and thought some one was going to get hurt. I questioned him about it and he just laugh and started to ark the unit and said see its safe?

Safety is your friend with all tools.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

Our turning club had a demo. On a concrete floor. And some of the demonstrators were "knowledgeable" on things electrical. I refused to get within twenty feet of the mess.

Oh, and I played marine electrician at PSNS, electronics fabricator and repairman at Keyport, wired my entire house. . . .

Yes, it can be done, but I'd start with my 1" rubber floor mats, a wood bench, other than a microwave xformer (neon signs type, instead), one hell of an insulated handle (e.g., like the ones used for painter poles). . . .


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

Dealing with high voltage in general does require some special considerations. Probably the one I'm most familiar with is keeping one hand in your pocket (basically to prevent you from contacting both poles of the HV across your chest).

One consideration I used is an isolation transformer which greatly reduces any risk from the HV traveling through your arm and out your feet. Many HV transformers are "auto transformers". The key relevance here is that they are not isolated since the primary and secondary windings are electrically connected. This leaves the ground as a path for the voltage should you touch either pole. The isolation transformer is designed to eliminate this.

Another precaution I take is one of the HV poles is attached to the workpiece and I only use one hand to move and place the other pole.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

The left hand, under the theory the current would not flow through your heart.


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## Andybb (Sep 30, 2016)

> I was going to do a demo for our guild but they cancelled it because the AAW banned fractal burning because 4 guys got killed in the past two years.
> 
> - Jim Jakosh


Wait…..WHAT?? Just when I thought a TS kickback was the greatest danger in the shop!

I saw a custom Fender Stratocaster done like this. Incredible effect but the potential death thing gives me pause.


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## corelz125 (Sep 23, 2015)

There's nothing Jim can't do, everything he does is amazing


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## Marc301 (Jan 26, 2019)

This is a super cool technique that I'd like to try someday. Can't wait to see what else you make with it!


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