Capturing the bolt, turning up the thunder

Prototyping

by Alex Traxler September 03, 2015

Howdy all!

I have been busy as hell working with some great clients recently. We are mapping out the next few months and getting ready for the holiday season. I took a free hour or so and put together a system to burn some amazing patterns into wood using over 2,000 volts of electric.

The first thing to happen when I posted a video, my EMS buddy warned me to be careful. I took that into consideration when doing the research before I actually put this machine together. It's pretty damn impressive.

I use a water solution mixed with baking soda to create a conductive surface on the wood. The reaction can be seen in the video below.

A video posted by Griffen Hollow Studio LLC (@griffen_hollow_studio)

From my observations the wood grain burns out because of it's soft nature compared to the rest of the grains. I tried walnut, ash, birch, spalted maple and cherry. From best to worse reaction.

I have to say, I am quite impressed with the results and can't wait to apply this technique to a few of the products I offer.

Cheers,

Alex