Distinctive designs left on wood after the electric current has passed through it

About burnt wood anda method of protecting and staining wood called Shou Sugi Ban I've written about it before. It's wood burned by classical methods where everything is controlled so that it can be stopped at the desired time. But there is another way of burning wood - electric burning. And here I'm not referring to pyrography but to a more aggressive way in which the wood is basically curried. I've seen all sorts of material and videos about electrically burned wood, but I've always had the feeling that the wood is very tortured. Maybe my overzealous passion for wood makes me see it as a method of torture and that's why I've avoided it so far. I'm certainly very subjective myself.

Electric wood burning is extremely dangerous

What you need to know first of all is that the method is really dangerous, involving thousands of volts and I do not recommend you to try this. I find it very risky, putting your life at risk. Without thorough knowledge of the phenomenon, protective equipment and assistance when the process is in progress,NO you need to experiment with the method.

It began in 1977 when German physicist Georg Lichtenberg made an interesting discovery. Electric discharges on flat surfaces produced certain patterns, which have been called Lichtenberg figures ever since. The same patterns also appear on people's skin when they are shocked or electrocuted. They are complex patterns like tree trunks with many branches, each branch copying the main trunk.

These images occur when electrical discharges occur in an insulating material. The current does not pass through the material quickly because of its poorly conductive properties and remains trapped in it. It is as if lightning has been trapped in the material. Incidentally, interesting tests have been made in which electric current was discharged into a block of transparent plastic material that does not conduct electricity. The result is a piece of material with a... lightning bolt inside.

That's how the wood got there. As we know, wood is an insulating material. However, in order to make those drawings, the current has to enter the wood. That's why its conductivity needs to be increased. This is done by wetting the wood with an electrolyte - a solution of salts in water. Electrolyte conducts electricity much better than ordinary water. Table salt can be used, but baking soda is preferable. Salt contains chlorine, and the very high temperatures developed during the process can lead to toxic by-products. Using baking soda (baking powder) eliminates this risk.

The big risk of the process comes from using very high voltage current. A minimum of 2000 volts is needed to make drawings on a small piece of wood (10×5 cm). You can imagine how risky this is. Basically, this electric current is discharged onto the surface of the wood with increased conductivity with the help of electrolyte, this discharge remains imprinted in the wood in the form of a Lichtenberg figure. After burning, the wood is gently cleaned with a wire brush to remove the charred part, wiped, and then varnished to protect it. The result is small wooden 'paintings' with Lichtenberg figures. If the boards are larger they can be used as table tops or as part of other pieces of furniture.

Any type of wood can be treated this way, but from what I've seen from specialists, electric wood burning works best on thin plywood made of 3 sheets of technical veneer, veneered on both sides with very thin aesthetic veneer. When wetting, the solution does not go deep into the wood but stays on the surface, wetting only the top veneer layer. The board will not be totally wet and will be less dangerous.

Electric current travels better along the fibre than perpendicular to it. In my opinion, this is because the current goes more easily along the paths where the food has moved inside the tree, because those paths contain the most salts, so the electrolytes are stronger.

There is much more to say on this subject, but I admit that this time I do not want to go into detail. Electric wood burning is dangerous and I do not think it should be included and tried in your projects. The danger in this case is infinitely greater than with other ways of treating or processing wood, and can mean loss of life. Therefore I repeat: NO do this if you do not have the necessary training!