How to Change Wood Burning Tips: Stuck, Hot and Broken Tips

Wood burning tip stuck, loose, hot or broken: find your case

The rows run from the most common case to the least. Every fix on a solid-point pen starts the same way: the pen is switched off, unplugged and completely cool before pliers touch the tip.

How to change tips on a wood burning tool with brass tips

This routine follows Walnut Hollow's instructions for its solid-point tool, and it suits any pen with screw-in brass tips. You need pliers and the pen's stand. Makers give a heat-up time, about 4 to 5 minutes, but no cool-down time, so do not go by the clock.

1. 1

   Turn the switch to off and unplug the pen. On a pen with no switch, the plug is the only way to turn it off. Rest the pen on its stand with the tip clear of the table.

2. 2

   Wait until the pen is completely cool. Walnut Hollow says to let the tool cool completely before changing points. No maker gives a time, so wait until the metal barrel has no warmth left.

3. 3

   Hold the handle in one hand, grip the tip with pliers at its thick base and unscrew it. Walnut Hollow says to always use pliers to change points, not fingers.

4. 4

   Start the new tip straight in the thread and screw it in with the pliers until it seats. Snug is enough: no maker gives a torque figure, and a brass thread is easy to damage.

5. 5

   Plug in, set the heat and wait 4 to 5 minutes. Burn a test line on a scrap of the same wood, because each tip shape burns differently at the same setting.

Note.The barrel stays hot long after the tip stops marking wood, and hot metal looks the same as cold metal. When in doubt, wait longer.

Can you change wood burning tips while hot?

On a solid-point pen, no. Walnut Hollow's instructions state that points should not be changed when the tool is hot. The tip and the barrel both cause burns. If one project needs a line tip and a shading tip, burn all the line work first, cool the pen once and then change.

Wire-nib burners are the pens built for fast changes. Walnut Hollow says the nichrome points on its wire tool heat and cool quickly, so points can be interchanged without a wait. Colwood's rule still applies: turn the unit off when changing tips or handpieces. TRUArt adds a plain one: do not touch the tip while it is hot. If you swap tips many times a session, a wire tip wood burner or a second pen is the real fix.

Wood burning tip stuck in the pen: how to remove it

A tip seizes when it stays in the pen between sessions. Walnut Hollow calls this freezing in the tool and tells owners to take the points out with pliers after every use for that reason. TRUArt gives the same warning for its brass tips.

To free a stuck tip, work on a cold, unplugged pen. Hold the handle firmly, close the pliers on the base of the tip and apply a steady turn, not a jerk. Do not heat the pen to loosen the tip and do not put force on a hot tip. If the tip will not move with a firm, steady turn, stop. More force snaps the tip or twists the barrel, and then the pen is finished anyway. Once the tip is out, put dry graphite on the threads before any tip goes back in.

How to remove a wire nib from a wire-nib burner

Turn the power unit off first. Colwood says this prevents injury and increases the life of the unit. On a pen with replaceable nibs, the nib unplugs from the pen. Walnut Hollow supplies a tweezer tool for point removal with its wire burner: grip the nib with it, pull it out, then seat the new nib fully. On a fixed-tip pen the nib is soldered in and is never changed. You swap the whole pen, which Colwood calls a handpiece.

Colwood notes one drawback of replaceable nibs: the connections can get loose or corroded over time. If a nib sits loose in the pen, try a new nib and then a new pen. After any nib change, set the heat again on scrap.

Wood burner tip broke off in the barrel

Unplug the pen and let it cool completely. If enough of the stub stands out of the barrel to grip, close the pliers on it and unscrew it like a whole tip. If the tip broke flush with the barrel, replace the pen. Drilling or picking at the stub means working next to the heating element, and this site gives no advice on opening or repairing a mains tool. The beginner kit guide lists replacement pens that come with a set of tips.

A tip that snapped was probably pressed hard or turned while hot, so check the tips you have left. The page on worn, bent and pitted tips shows what a tip looks like when it is ready to be replaced.

How to stop wood burning tips from sticking

Two habits from Walnut Hollow's instructions prevent nearly every stuck tip: taking the tip out after each session and keeping graphite on the threads.

• Take the tip out after every session, once the pen is completely cool, with pliers. Store tips in the box, not in the pen.
• Put dry graphite lubricant on the threads. Walnut Hollow notes that hardware stores keep it near the keys and locks. TRUArt recommends graphite powder for the same job.
• Screw tips in until they are snug, not as tight as the pliers allow.
• Use only tips listed as fitting your pen. A tip with the wrong thread can jam part of the way in. See are wood burning tips universal.
• Clean carbon off a tip before you store it. The methods are in how to clean wood burning tips.

Quick answers

Short answers on changing and freeing wood burning tips. The full routine and the makers' wording are in the sections above.

• How to change wood burner tip? Pen off, unplugged and completely cool. Unscrew the tip with pliers, screw the new one in snug and reheat for 4 to 5 minutes.
• How to change wood burning tips while hot? Not on a solid pen: the maker's instructions say no. A wire-nib burner cools in seconds and is made for quick changes.
• Wood burning tip stuck: what now? Cold pen, pliers on the base of the tip, a steady turn. If it will not move, stop and replace the pen.
• Weller wood burning kit: how to change tips? Follow the leaflet in the kit. Weller's page lists 15 interchangeable tips and gives no method for a hot change, so treat it like any solid pen: unplugged, cool, pliers.
• Wood burner tip broke: can the pen be saved? Only if the stub can be gripped and unscrewed cold. If it broke flush with the barrel, replace the pen.