I burned a line drawing of a herrin on the back of my millcreek, turned out good.  I will try and find a pic to post

try this link....its from my facebook page    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=612484&l=45f9a6bad1&id=1136115237

Thanks -- looks great. All done freehand?

I'm going to test my theory tomorrow that the burn edge will hold stain from bleeding.

Wish CLC had given me more scraps to work with...

Eric

I have a woodburned design over the entire deck of my Ch 17.  In burning, take care not to compromise the grain of the wood too much - you want to allow the epoxy to penetrate.  My boat has been on the water for three years and I have not had any issues with delamination.

 I'm working on a Ch 16 now that combines woodburning and staining. I've tested water-based stains and water-color paints.  Both work well.  Avoid oil-based stains as the epoxy won't adhere.

 I'll have picture of the Ch 16 on the website by end of summer.

(My LinkedIn profile shows a picture of the deck of the Ch 17 - David Rhodes)

Dave 

Result of my wood burn tests and staining:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ericcompas/Chesapeake16Kayak#5484532089242567090

http://picasaweb.google.com/ericcompas/Chesapeake16Kayak#5484532103008458978

The burn lines certainly kept the stain from bleeding.

Any concerns about this weakening the wood at all? I'll be burning lines into the deck and the side of the bow.

Dave, I couldn't enlarge that picture at all to see any detail. Available larger anywhere else?

Eric

Trying image links again:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/851cUc5oZeWBGdo12bINAg?feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gccbkwsjAkfxDALoW914Eg?feat=directlink

Results -- wood burned lines and stain on the bow of the boat:

Wow! That is simply amazing! You have given me, and I'm sure everyone else, some inspiration for their next build.

Can you please briefly explain the technique? Is it a special wood burning tool and stain? Do you tape off, or just brush? How does the pancake mix compare as filler compared wood flour?

Really, that is incredible. Please post more pictures of the finished product!

Thanks!

Jean.

My procedure (pretty simple):

1. Draw lines on wood with pencil. I used a strip of flexible metal to obtain smooth curves.
2. Burn in lines lightly (didn't burn through veneer) by hand using cheap wood burning tool (one my daughter had for her crafts). It did have a chisel tip that helped follow lines smoothly. Make sure tip is hot enough so you don't "jump" on each growth ring in the wood.
3. Copy pattern from one side with paper and duplicate on other side of hull (didn't have to be perfect -- you'll never see each together)
4. Stain using two brushes, one small (artist brush with about 1/4" wide tip) and one medium (1" foam brush). I'd lay done a line just shy of the wood burn edge and then feather away from the line. Finish area with bigger brush and then go back and clean up burn edge (stain never bled past burn line)
5. Wipe away excess stain.

The lightest area is bare wood. The next dark, one coat of stain. The darkest, two coats.

The water-based stain did raise the grain quite a bit and after sanded that it did leave some lighter colored spots. I should have raised and sanded the grain before staining.

Eric

I've been strongly considering a woodburning design on my deck -- never thought of multicolor stain applications, that looks really beautiful raw.  I'd love to see what it looks like under varnish.  Any examples anywhere?