Several people seem to be buying or thinking about woodburning units lately. I carved decoys for many years and built this burner unit about 15 years ago. It has had a lot of hours of use, and been trouble free. Although when I opened it for the photos I noticed signs that the transformer has run a little hot in the past.
It can be as simple as a ceiling fan motor speed control hooked to a stepdown transformer hooked to your burning pen. I like the pilot light if for no other reason than to remind me to turn it off when done. The fuse is probably a good idea as is the radio shack box to mount everything in. The size of the transformer is not too critical, as the input will be controlled by the fan control. I think anywhere between 6 and 12 volt output should be OK. The higher the amperage rating the better. If you are want a 150 watt unit you should be looking for a rating of 1.5 amp or higher. Mine is labled as 6.3 volt output. It came out of the junk drawer so that is about all I know about it.
I labled the knob with nine positions. I usually burn around number 6. At 8 it will cause any of my commercial tips to glow red hot. I only use the highest position to clean residue from the tip. I have pens form several manufactures and they all work OK.
Burner in.jpgBurner inside.jpgburner drawing.jpg