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 Turtle Feathers, or any other 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 11/8/97
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?
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.
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 newer 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. This potentiometer is used to adjust the
"low end" of the power supply. This access hole is located on the left side 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 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: With the screw driver (inserted into the adjustment slot) in one hand, and your burning
pen in the other, turn on the unit. Lightly press the side of the pen (not the sharp edge)
to the wood or paper.
2: If it is running way too hot, slowly turn the screw driver clockwise ever so slightly
(the adjustment is somewhat sensitive) until you reach a point where it can just barely
brown the wood or paper after 2 to 4 seconds of contact.
3: If there is no heat on the tip at all, or you went too far in step 2, (test by wetting
a finger and quickly tapping the side of the tip, listen for a "ssstt" kind of
sound), "very slowly" rotate the screwdriver counter-clockwise. When the circuit
turns back on, it will probably be too hot. Go back to step 2 and try again.
4. At this point you should have a suitable 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 2). 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) counter-clockwise 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: Although we've been asked to
carry replaceable tip versions of our pens, we do not, 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
satisfied in the long run. These conditions are high heat, electricity, and two dissimilar
metal alloys (a very bad combination for preventing corrosion). Although other brands have
friction fitted "brass to brass" connectors, they too will eventually suffer
from corrosion, and eventually, have poor intermittent conductive properties. 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 better off spending a few dollars
more for each pen body & tip to have a pen that will work properly throughout its
lifetime. Would you buy a new car that is known to constantly have problems with its
cruise control or throttle control after only a year of usage?
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 few 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 now 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.
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 hot to begin with, as they are a major bottleneck. 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.
If you have a question not listed here, feel free to send me an email about your problem or question.
Orders & Questions
843-987-6643
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The Ultima Combination Burner & Grinder
THE OPTIMA 1 WOODBURNING SYSTEM
Woodburning Books by
Cheryl Dow
