I am a Veteran of the United States Army and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. I started Fractal burning about five years ago as a hobby after seeing a demonstration from someone else. I became determined to do it, did the research on how it works, how to make the machine, and how to remain as safe as possible while building my machine and burning.
As we all know, wood is not conductive. To begin the process, I add a solution to my project to make it conduct electricity. I then use the machine I made to apply 2200 volts to the wood. When I do so electricity travels from one of my leads to the other, trying to complete the circuit. I do have a bit of manipulation using my solution in specific ways and moving my leads where I want them to be. This is a DEADLY process and should not be performed by anyone!
Once the burn is complete, I am left with a burnt up, charred mess. I take a wire brush and scrub out all of the char, leaving various fractal ruts and rivers throughout the wood. I then sand it to a fine grain and add a few coats of polyurethane or sparurethane depending on the project. If doing a cutting board, I use a food safe cutting board wax on the functional side.
As we all know, wood is not conductive. To begin the process, I add a solution to my project to make it conduct electricity. I then use the machine I made to apply 2200 volts to the wood. When I do so electricity travels from one of my leads to the other, trying to complete the circuit. I do have a bit of manipulation using my solution in specific ways and moving my leads where I want them to be. This is a DEADLY process and should not be performed by anyone!
Once the burn is complete, I am left with a burnt up, charred mess. I take a wire brush and scrub out all of the char, leaving various fractal ruts and rivers throughout the wood. I then sand it to a fine grain and add a few coats of polyurethane or sparurethane depending on the project. If doing a cutting board, I use a food safe cutting board wax on the functional side.