Although it doesn't happen very often, we realize that even the best tools can wear out, or have a part go bad that needs replacement, (usually right before the big show ;-). For this reason we make it a point to get your repair done fast, but at a reasonable price.
If you are having any problems with your PJL tool that you purchased from PJL Enterprises, or any dealer for that matter, please feel free to send me an email, or give me a call at 1-320-594-2811. Because PJL is the manufacturer, we can diagnose and usually repair your Optima burner or grinder, sometimes without you having to send in anything. When sending email, please state your name, address, day & evening phone numbers, product name,(Optima 1 or Optima 2, etc...), Date of purchase; and of course, its symptoms.
Sometimes it is not necessary to send in your entire tool in to be repaired. If you just have a bad cord, for example, only your cord would have to be sent in or a new one sent out to you. Checking with us first can save you time, and sometimes money in shipping costs. If you have an emergency that requires that you have a working tool immediately, please give us a call. We can sometimes send you a shop model, or needed accessories overnight or 2nd day air.
Frequently Asked
Questions
Updated 01/09/2007
What's the difference between standard and Heavy duty pen styles?
Can I use another brand's cords or pens on the Optima 1 pyrography tools?
I Lost the instructions to my Optima 1 or Optima 2 Plus, where can get another copy?
Can you ship to Europe/Overseas, and/or what is the shipping cost?
Why is XYZ's Micro Motor handpieces cheaper than the Optima 2?
Q: Why doesn't PJL make burners with higher wattage ratings? I see other brands that have units ranging from 50 watts all the way up to 130 watts.
A: Well Virginia, when it comes to burner power
supply wattage ratings, their ain't no Santa Clause.... There are a lot of burner wattage
claims that are, in reality....., fiction. You should not let yourself be persuaded by
such wattage claims, as these wattage's are being produced by the manufacturer, and in a
somewhat dubious manner.... To see an in-depth detailed example and explanation of wattage
rating tests, click here. If
you have a high speed internet connections, you may be interested in this little demonstration that I did (Click here for smaller Dial-up version).
Q: Are your wood burning pens compatible with Navesink Designer Deluxe model, and can they be used on this burner ?
A: Yes, our pen bodies are directly
compatible with most other brands (except Detail Master). Most burners use an "RCA" type of jack. Colwood and Nibs also use this
same type of jack to connect to the pen body. Your pen cord should have a
"female" type RCA jack that your pens plug into (pen body has a male RCA). You
should have no problems using the Optima burning pens on the Navesink (or Colwood, Nibs,
etc...). You would, however, get better linear control (doesn't go from too cold to too
hot) with our Optima 1 power supply (Our power supply circuit design is superior to other
brands). By the way, we do sell a Detail Master adapter cord, so that our pens may be used
on Detail Master Power supplies.
Q: Can I use regular as well as heavy duty Optima pens with the Detail Master using an adapter cord?
A: Yes, you can use
either the Standard or Heavy Duty pens with an adapter cord, but we now have two different
Detail Master adapter cords to offer. The cord and pen type you choose is largely
dependant on your carving style (high heat carver or low heat carver) and which pen types
that you get. Keep in mind that our pens are detachable from the cord.
Q: What is the difference between the Standard and Heavy Duty pen styles, and which style should I get?
A: Our original slim
line pens, "Standard", are meant for doing ultra fine detailing at lower
temperatures, and are not meant for high heat or high mechanical pressure situations. The
Standard pen tips use the smallest diameter tip wire available, and are therefore capable
of doing finer detailing than any other brand. The Heavy Duty pens have a larger diameter
tip wire, carve a wider line than the standard pens, and can be used to heat carve, notch,
and burnish for longer periods of time. The tips are also more durable, and able to take
more mechanical pressure. For certain "bent" tips like numbers 13, 14, & 15
we recommend getting a heavy duty pen, and using a heavy duty cord. Any burnishing type
tip that would be "sinking" allot of heat to the wood benefits from the heavy
duty cord greatly, even in the standard type of pens. As far as which style to get, it
depends on how you are used to carving. If you are a novice, like to heat carve, or intend
to use it to notch or gouge, then you should consider the Heavy Duty style pens. If you
are looking to get the finest detail possible, then our original Standard slim line pen
style is what you want.
Q: Which type of cord should I get? The Standard 18 gauge, or new Heavy Duty 16 gauge?
A: The
new 16 gauge Heavy Duty cord is recommended for use with the Heavy Duty style pens, and
will give remarkable heat recovery when using the Heavy Duty style pens. The 18 gauge cord
will supply ample power to most of our original "Standard" slim line pens. If
however you have a burnishing tip(#8), writing tip(#9), Guge tip(#14 or #15), or flat work
/ fish scale tip(#13) in either style of pen, I would recommend getting the Heavy Duty
cord. Any tip that will have allot of its surface area contacting the wood will
"sink" allot of heat to the wood, therefore you would benefit greater heat
recovery with the Heavy Duty cord. The down side of using a Heavy Duty cord with our
Standard original slim line pens, is that you may not get as low of a "low end"
range on most tips styles as you can get with the Standard 18 gauge cord. This is
especially critical when using our Standard pen tips in conjunction with someone else's
power supply, as almost all other brands do not let you set the "low end" of the
power supply output.
Q: My pen cord gets hot near one of its jacks, and my pens do not seem to work very well or not at all.
A:
First of all, check to see if the pen is fully plugged into the cord jack, and that the
other end of the cord is securely inserted into the power supply chassis mount jack, (it
happens). Otherwise you more than likely have a bad cord. Do NOT use it, as you may melt
either the plastic jack body of your pen or the power supply face plate. To see if this is
the case, you can do one of two things. If you have a friend or a local dealer that will
let you borrow a new (or known to work) Optima or compatible cord, use it to see if it now
works with the new cord attached. If the borrowed cord works, obviously it was a bad cord
problem. If it did not work (with any of your pens) then you may have a power supply
problem.
If you cannot borrow another cord, then you need to rule out any problems with the power
supply. Turn the power supply adjust knob to the lowest setting. Turn the unit on. If the
red indicator light does not light up, check to see that the unit is plugged into the wall
properly, and that your fuse or circuit breaker is not blown (it happens). Then plug your
largest tipped pen directly into the power supply chassis mount jack (be careful not to
turn the adjust knob above 3, as it may burn out the tip). If the pen doesn't get hot now,
you definitely have a power supply problem. Make sure it is not a faulty pen, by using
more than one pen to carry out these tests. You may send any cord or power supply repairs
(via UPS or US Mail) directly to PJL Enterprises, PO Box 273, 720 Perry Ave. N.
Browerville, MN 56438. Give me a call at 320-594-2811 if you are not sure what the problem
is.
Q: I use my Optima 1 burner, (or Ultima), at home and take it to carving classes. Its low end range is very different from place to place, and it sometimes even seems to shut off if I turn it down too far. Why is this, and can this be remedied?
A:
Most people are not aware that voltages can vary widely from building to building, and
sometimes vary greatly from inside the same building. In the old shop, we had voltages
that could vary from 95 volts all the way up to 130 volts, depending what other electronic
devices were attached to that circuit. We had this in mind when the Optima 1 burner power
supply was designed.
On the older units, you will find a small hold drilled in the back panel. Inside that
hole, you will see what looks like a 1/8 inch long thin slot in the middle of a round
white plastic piece surrounded by a black round case with metal leads. This is known as a
"surface mount" potentiometer. Newer units have this access hole on the
bottom of the box, underneath the main adjustment knob.
This potentiometer is used to adjust the
"low end" of the power supply. This access hole is located on the left side
bottom of the newer Ultima, or the right side of an older metal Ultima box. If you have an
older Optima 1 in the small "all black" plastic box, the access hole is on the
side usually facing you (opposite end from the 110 A/C cord). All Optima 1 and Ultima
power supplies let you have access to this potentiometer, give me a call if you cannot
find it (320-594-2811).
To adjust your low end, first find a small flat screw driver that will fit in this slot
(preferably insulated). Plug in your smallest tipped pen (like a #10 small skew) onto the
pen cord, and set the front dial to its lowest setting. Use a light wood like Tupelo, or
if need be, a thick paper (like tag board). Turn the unit so that the adjustment hole will
be easily accessible to you during adjustment.
1: On older units, turn the low end
adjustment all the way clockwise. On newer units (access hole on bottom of the box),
turn the adjustment all the way counter-clockwise.
2: Turn the main control knob all the way down (counter-clockwise).
3: Unplug any attached pens.
4: Turn on the unit (it should have already been off).
5: Plug in your pen.
6: On older units, slowly turn the low end adjustment counter-clockwise. On
newer units, slowly turn the low end adjustment clockwise. Listen closely to the
power supply while turning the adjustment.
7: When you hear the power supply start to faintly "buzz", you've reached
your optimum low end adjustment.
At this point you should have a suitable low end adjustment. If you unplug the burning pen
from the cord, and plug it back in again (without shutting off the power supply unit) and
you find that you again have no heat on the tip; you need to go back to step 3 again (you
adjusted into the "gray area" of the circuit threshold in step 6, or you already
had the pen plugged in when you turned on the power). Or (with the pen plugged in) you
could try and turn the unit off, and then on again, (this sometimes brings the control
circuit back to life), At which point you would need to turn the screwdriver (very
slightly) to bring up the low end to the point where it will not shut off when changing
pens.
Q: Why don't you have replaceable tips? Wouldn't it be more economical for your customers to have this option?
A: We don't do "user
replaceable" tips, because they are intrinsically problematic.
Although we've been asked to carry replaceable tip versions of our pens, we do not, and
for several very good reasons. These reasons are as follows: A non-welded tip will have
bad intermittent conductive properties between the nichrome tip and the brass carrier, and
our customers would not be as satisfied in the long run. These conditions are high heat
near the connection (which anneals any spring tension that connector might have once had),
low surface area, extremely low voltage AC current, and two dissimilar metal alloys (a
very bad combination). Although some brands have friction fitted "brass to
brass" connectors, they too will eventually suffer from corrosion, mechanical wear
(which is accelerated by annealing), and they will eventually have poor intermittent
conductive properties.
Another annoying problem with them, because of that connection, is that
the tips WILL tend to wiggle a bit when applying even a little radial pressure.
Which makes it difficult to do precision work.
This is why the vast majority of professional pyrographic artists and teachers insist on
using "fixed tipped" pens ONLY! Why else would any company that makes
replaceable tipped pens, also make fixed tipped pens (and they all do)? Because very few
high profile or celebrated artists would ever touch their products otherwise....
Besides, for what our competitors charge for their "replaceable tips" (not to
mention what they then want for the pen body), I feel that you are much better off (in the
long run) spending a few dollars more for each pen body & tip, and have a pen that
will work properly throughout its lifetime, with little or no thought needed on your part
(i.e. no fiddling with it to get it to work).
Most pyrographic artists tend to stick to only a few tip styles. So it's
not like having replaceable tips is somehow going to open up a whole new world of
opportunities, and "free" your artistic style. That premise usually results with
the person over buying several pen tips, and using only a few of them (an absolute waist
of money). Keep in mind, our pens can be re-tipped here at our factory, if you were to
ever break or wear one out, for only $7.00 each (not including shipping).
For all the reasons stated above, I tend to think of the whole concept of buying
replaceable tipped wire tip pens as being "penny wise, dollar foolish". Put
another way, would you rather buy ten inexpensive $1.00 widgets, or one $10.00 widget that
outlasts 20 of the cheap ones?
Oh, there is one more reason why I don't do replaceable tipped pens, which you may have already guessed. It has to do with something known as "pride of craftsmanship". In other words, I refuse to make junk....
Q: How often should I sharpen my pen tips, and what should I use to do it with? How can I make them last longer?
A:
Usually, only once or twice a year depending on usage. To knock off carbon from time to
time, lightly buff the tips occasionally with a leather strop or small cloth buffing wheel
(fits on a dremel wheel mandrel), with a small amount of polishing rouge or buffing
compound. An overnight soak in oven cleaner can sometimes take off heavy carbon deposits,
but be careful that you do not soak the brass or silver solder (read the directions for
your oven cleaner to see what metals it will safely clean). To determine if your tip needs
to be sharpened or "re-honed", examine your tips under a magnifying glass. If
the edge of the tip looks rounded or their is not a well defined angle, you could probably
re-sharpen the tip. BTW, over buffing (using a "leather power strop" wheel for
example) will prematurely lead to the metal "rolling over" the edge, causing
your tip to get kind of a rounded edge. To sharpen your pen, use a fine stone, (or if need
be, 800 or higher grit wet and dry sand paper). Sharpen your pen tips at a 30 to 35 degree
angle. Do NOT sharpen them at a sharper angle, as you will then carve too deep, and have
problems in the painting stage of your carvings.
To make your tips last longer: NEVER use sandpaper of any sort to buff off carbon. Burning
at lower temperatures will keep carbon build-up off of the tip in the first place, and
keeps the tips from oxidizing. Unlike what Detail Master recommends, NEVER turn your power
supply on high to "anneal" a tip. This will just lead to premature oxidation,
and may damage some of the smaller Standard style tips. Put your pens back into their pen
tubes after each use, a pen tip hitting the floor is the most common type of tip damage.
Stick a small amount of foam or Styrofoam into the pen tube's cap if you are transporting
your Optima allot. I have seen our tips last over 10 years, when properly cared for!
Q: I currently have a hot tool ("soldering iron" type of burner) with screw on tips. Can this somehow be plugged into your power supply so I could vary its heat output?
A: Well, yes and
no.... The standard Optima 1 power supply puts out very low voltage at high amps, where
your old "soldering iron" type plugs directly into 110/120 A/C, besides it
wouldn't fit into the jack.... However, for an extra $10.00, I can put an A/C plug on the
back of unit. Then you could still use your old hot tool for some things, and use our
power supply to vary its heat output (as long as it consumes less than 170 watts). I am
not sure how this would affect our pens performance / linear range, if you have it plugged
in whilst using our pens.
Q: I have recently completed my first decoy carving class. At the class, and in several publications, I have noticed two very different looking Optima 2 power carving tools. One design resembles the Optima 1 woodburner and the other is a square unit with the handpiece attached to the top. Could you tell me the difference?
A: The current Optima
1 wood burner and Optima 2 Plus micro motor tool, use the same type of box (gray box with
black front and back panels, and white lettering) for the power supply; (we're trying to
keep our costs down). The black one that you seen, with the jack connection on the top of
the box is from a several years back, (I'm assuming it was a smaller plastic box you
seen). Some publications still haven't bothered to update their photo of our units, we no
longer sell it in the old style box. Their could be some slightly different
electronics depending on the motor being used with it, or whether it had been sent in for
an upgrade.
Q: I am thinking of buying an Ultima, Combination Burner & Micro Motor Tool. I am afraid that if the grinder side of the power supply stops working, then the burner would then also stop working (or vice versa).
A: The odds that
either side of the power supply would stop working are somewhat remote to begin with. The
odds that both of them would stop working a the same time, are almost astronomical.
The Ultima power supply is noticeably larger, because it is basically an Optima 1 burner
power supply AND an Optima 2 Plus power supply in one box (2 different transformers, 2
different control circuits). The only known way for both sides to go down at the same
time, would be if you had a really bad "Burn to Grind" switch (pretty rare), or
if the 110V A/C power cord itself was faulty (very rare). Otherwise, both the motor
handpiece coil cord and the burning pen cord would have to go bad at the same time
(extremely rare, I've never seen it happen). This is why the Ultima carries a full
LIFETIME PARTS & LABOR warranty against manufacturer defects; on the power supply,
cords, and pen body (Motor handpiece has a 1 year limited warranty, pen "tips"
are not warranted as their use or abuse is beyond our control).
Q: Can I use another brand's cords or pens on the Optima 1 pyrography tools?
A: Yes and No... You can use certain Mfg.'s cords and pens on the Optima 1 (those that are plug compatible ONLY), but we can't guarantee their performance. The Optima 1 pens and cords are made and optimized to be used with the Optima 1 power supply unit. If you do use another manufacture's cords or pens, make sure that the cord jacks fit snug, as a loose connection will heat up, not work correctly, and possibly cause damage.
A notice on using a 1/4" mono jack cords with an adapter jack on the Optima 1 burners. DON'T DO IT! (It may void your warranty)... I felt that I should put this information here, as a few unscrupulous dealers had recently sold this setup to a few Optima 1 owners.
The 1/4" mono phono jacks used on a few other brands can get VERY hot to begin with, as they are a major bottleneck (Upwards of 260 degrees F internally). If you also introduce an RCA to 1/4" jack adapter, so that you can operate 1/4" mono jack type pens from the Optima 1 power supply, the heat generated by both of those components/bottlenecks will cause the insulation inside our chassis mount jack to melt, and eventually cause a dead short (which will then melt other components). This is not a fault of the Optima 1 burner design (our jacks do not even get warm under normal conditions); but it is rather an inherent fault of jack adapters, of any sort, and 1/4" mono phono jacks (they are both big bottlenecks, that's why they get hot). Using a replaceable tipped pen with that jack/adapter combination will cause it to fail even faster!
You will not get much for heat recovery from that setup any ways (extremely poor actually), and it will void your warranty. It is also liable to start melting components on/inside your power supply. If you have older pens with 1/4" mono jack pen cords permanently attached (i.e. Detail Master), we can retrofit their cords with our standard male RCA jack, so that it can be used on the Optima 1 power supply (for a nominal fee of $5.00). If you do this yourself, or have someone else do this, our warranty will not cover any damage incurred (so be very careful). If not done properly, a short may develop (always test to see if jack gets hot, it shouldn't). If one small wire strand causes even an intermittent short close to the power supply; the Optima 1 power supply is capable of producing enough amperes to melt the lead/tin solder, not to mention the plastic insulation, inside of the jacks! It is best to have us, the power supply manufacturer, fix or retrofit any malfunctioning or mismatched cords. The use of "home made" or "non Optima 1" cords on the Optima 1 power supply is also not recommended, and may void your warranty if any damage to the Optima 1 power supply occurs.
Click here for our current Optima 1 Instructions. Click here for our current Optima 2 Plus Instuctions. Ultima owners just download each of those instructions.
Q Which Pen tips should I get?
A. Well, that all depends on what you are doing. If you plan to do "flat work" art similar to Cheryl Dow's (see books & videos section of my web site for pictures), I would probably recommend the PH12 and either the PH18M or PH18. Cheryl's art is somewhat realistic, with textured parts for the fur or hair. If your art is more abstract, I may recommend something else entirely.
Here are some general hints about pen tip designs. There are three basic
tip styles, and a few "odd ball" types that we make.
Many of the pen tips are what we call "blade tips" (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11,
12, 12s), and are used to make very fine textures on wood (or gourds or leather). These
tips are just a little bit thicker than a standard single edged razor blade (0.015"
or 0.381mm thick) for the HD style pens, but are usually only sharpened to a 65 to 70
degree edge (bevel to bevel). Most, of these pens are used for carving, but a few are used
for flat work.
A few tips, while still flattened like the blade tips, do not have a sharpened edge like
the blade tips, and they are bent at a 45 degree angle to be used as shaders (13s, 13m,
13L, 18s, 18m, & 18). The 2 and 3 can also be made into shaders, they are then
referred to as the 2B and 3B when made into a shader (the "B" stands for bent).
There are then the writing tips, which I refer to as "single point of contact"
tips (9, 9PP, 9MS, 9M, 19S, 19M, 19L, & 19XL). These are good at making small circles,
writing (text sized depends on tip size), pointillism (using small dots to make up a
picture), and sometimes used for shading (on gourds). While good at doing these jobs, they
are not particularly good at extremely fine detail (except for the 9PP), or drawing
straight lines (the wood grain tends to keep it from going in a straight line). One thing
you have to keep in mind about writing tips (except the 9PP) is that they are usually used
to make finer lines than their actual size. For example: Even though a tip like the 19M is
about 2mm in diameter, you would have to push it into the wood 1mm to get a line 2mm wide.
Another thing you have to keep in mind, is that the smaller the writing tips, the easier
it likes to dig into the wood. So for finer tips, you need to have a lighter touch. For
the 9PP, you actually have to "float" the tip, to keep it from digging into the
wood (i.e., you don't rest it against the wood while using it, you use your hand and wrist
to keep the tip depth into the wood even). Of the writing tips, the PH9 is considered an
old design (obsolete). It was primarily used by carvers to just sign their names. Because
it does not have a "choke point", it tends to inject a lot of heat into the
handpiece, and is only good when using for only short periods of time. The 9M (M stands
for "Modified") and 9MS are derivatives of the 9, but are ground symmetrically
so that the end is perfectly round, and not oval shaped like the 9 is. Because the 9M
& 9MS are ground like this, they have a "choke point" near the end of the
tip, and tend not to inject as much heat into the handpiece like the 9 would. The 19
series of pens tend to heat up a little slower than most other pen, as they have a bit of
mass on the end, so bigger ones take longer. The 19 pens can be used for shading, on
either flat work, gourds, or leather. One technique is to use something like a 19S or 19M,
and basically move it in small tight circles continuously moving it around to make foliage
for bushes and trees.
The odd-balls in our collection of tips are the 8, 14, 15, 16 and the 17. The 8 & 17
are nearly identical, but for one critical difference. The 8 is simply a piece of
resistance wire shaped like a blade, but not flattened (that's it). It tends to inject
more heat into the handpiece than most tips because of this. The 17 starts out the
same, but its working edge or "face" is ground into a "V" shape, so
that it works like a micro wedge. The 8 would be used where you want longer straight lines
that would match up better to tightly curved sections you would make with a 9 or 9M tips
(makes a U shaped trench). The 8 or 17 can also be used for larger calligraphy. The
17 will make a V shaped trench. It is typically used to make course hair or fur on wood,
or (what is known as) a "stop cut" line on gourds when using leather dye or
water colors to stain them. People doing pyrography on leather tend to like the 17
over a blade type pens, as it tends not to cut through the leather so easily. The depth
and width of a line made with either the 8 or 17 are directly dependent upon not only on
the heat level and speed you use them at, but also the amount of pressure you apply. You
can get a fairly fine line with a 17 when used with only a little bit of pressure (at low
or high temperatures). The 14, 15, & 16 are also "odd balls". The 14 &
15 are used by bird carvers to burnish down the "feather bums" when making
feathers on a 3 dimensional bird. These two are the only left and right handed tips we
make. The 16 is about 1/10th to 1/8th inch wide, and is used for calligraphy 1/4" to
3/4" high letters.
Now, I'll discuss some of the basic shapes in the different tips, and their uses.
Of the "blade tips", the 1, 4, 7, & 11 are what I call "long contact
tips", and they are used to make longer fine straight lines (with maybe some
curvature). Because of the length of the blade (or working edge), they tend to follow
themselves through the cut/burn, so they tend to make straighter, and more evenly burnt
lines even through wood grain. The 8 & 17 are also long contact tips, although not
"blade knife" types, they too are used to make longer lines, just wider.
Basically, any tip that has a straight working edge that is longer than 3mm, and is pulled
through the wood from its heel to its point is considered a long contact tip. In some
respects, the 14 & 15 could be considered in this category too, but they are used to
burnish down wood on the edges of bird feathers.
Three blade pens that are the opposite of a long contact tip, are the 10, 12, & 12S.
Because the 10 is relatively short, it is not the greatest at making longer lines. The 12
and 12S are similar in shape, but different in size. The 12 is used for making short hair
or fur, among other things. Because of its curved edge, the blade is not ideal for long
straight lines. However, it is ideal for making texture that looks a lot like fine fur,
and it can turn very quickly (unlike an 11). The 12S is very similar, and is usually used
when pyrographing very small items or features on flat work or a carving. Almost everyone
gets the 12, as it is a very versatile texturing tip on carvings, flat work, and even
gourds.
Pens like the 2, 3, & 5 are usually used on carvings, to get under wings and similar
situations. Because these 3 tips are symmetrical, they can be left unsharpened and bent
into a shading tip instead (2=2B, 3=3B, & 5=18M when bent).
Shading tips: Our two standard shading tips which most people use are the 13 and the 18,
which are both each available in 3 sizes (Small, Medium, and Large). Most people either
get the 13M, the 18, or the 18M. The 13M is used on flat work pyrography for when
your drawing man made structures, which tend to have straight lines, and (for example) is
good for doing things like putting a shadow on the inside of a door frame. The 13
can also be use somewhat like the 14 or 15, in burnishing down the edges of bird feathers
and the like, especially on smaller bird carvings. The 13 has a 3rd use as a freestyle
fish scaler on fish carvings (but not recommended for that use on flat work). The 18
& 18M shaders are used more for animals, people, or anything found in nature. Because
the 18 has a curved edge that comes to a point, it is more conducive for shading curved
edges (things in nature tend to be curved). The 2B & 3B are also shading tips,
used for various situations where you want a tight rounded end. Any shading tip can also
be used as a "stamper" tip. For example, you could use an 18 or 18M and
stamp the heel around a central pivot point or small circle to make a simple flower
design. The edges of shading tips are not sharpened, but it can still be useful.
For example, you might use the edge of a 13 or 18 to make the foreground grass in a
field by turning your work upside down (grass is similar to fur in that it is thicker at
the base, thin at the tips), and pulling the tip edge toward you in short fast strokes.
You would then use the 12 in the same fashion to do the finer background grass, and
overlapping it a bit into the foreground grass. Larger shading tips (13L, 18, &
3B) have a gap in the center section of the tip, as they are only made of 18 gauge thick
wire. The smaller versions of these tips (13M, 18M, & 2B) do not have a gap, but
do have a fine (almost microscopic) "crack" where the metal wires met each other
when they were pressed flat.
Q Can you ship to Europe/Overseas, and/or what is the shipping cost?
Yes, we can ship overseas to most countries. Shipping costs depends
on what the weight is.
You can calculate the shipping cost via www.usps.com
(U.S. Post office web site). Direct link = http://postcalc.usps.gov/ Select your country from the
drop down list menu, check the "Package" option, then enter the weight (see next
paragraph), and click the "continue" button on the bottom right. Select
Express or Priority Mail International, and use the "online" postage rate column
to calculate your postage. Be sure to add the insurance amount after this screen (it
should be insured for the price of the unit, plus any accessories or extras)..
The Optima 1 Single unit weighs about 2 pounds 8 ounces (add 1 ounce for each extra pen
ordered).
The Optima 1 Dual weighs 2 pounds 12 ounces (add 1 oz for each extra pen).
The Optima 2 Plus tool weighs 3 pounds 8 ounces.
The Ultima weighs 5 pounds 8 ounces (again, add 1 ounce for each extra pen).
If you are ordering a Cheryl Dow book with your Optima 1 burner, add 9 ounces for your
initial book, and 6 ounces for each additional book (we have to go up a box size for that
first one). Cheryl's DVD set weights about 4 ounces.
USPS is the least expensive method of shipping overseas. Generally, for complete units we
only ship with methods that are insurable (Priority mail or Express mail International).
Global Express can also be used, but it is generally more expensive. For small, less
expensive items (a few burning pens or a cord), First Class mail is acceptable, and much
less expensive. I believe that APO/FPO addresses are shipped at the domestic rate, but may
only be sent via priority mail.
We do make 220/240 VAC versions of all of our tools. It only costs $2.00 more, as we add
an AC adapter jack to make our US jack compatible with European wall sockets. Just make a
note of it in the "Notes" field on our order form.
Q Why is XYZ's Micro Motor handpieces cheaper than the Optima 2?
Well, they are "cheaper", but they are also more expensive in the long run. Click here for a detailed explanation in our "tools tips" section, which gives several compelling reasons why that "Cheap Handpiece", will end up costing you much more money down the road after just a few years.
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If you have a question not listed here, feel free to send me an email about your problem or question.
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