This ad for the Pyro Pantagraph appeared 80 years ago this month in the August 1938 issue of Radio Craft. For a mere $2.75, the enterprising young man or woman could go into business and “burn your way to extra dollars.” The burning tool was designed to burn designs onto leather, wood, cork, bakelite, or even gourds. The electric pencil plugged in to any 110 volt outlet, with “plug and cord furnished as part of equipment.”

Pantograph. Wikipedia animation.

But what made the set special was the pantograph, which allowed designs to be reproduced in the original size, enlarged, or reduced, as illustrated by the animation here.

As far as I know, the Pyro Pantagraph is no longer available, but inexpensive wood burning tools such as the one shown here are readily available, as is a pantograph such as this one.  Most modern pantographs appear to be made of plastic, so you’ll need to figure out a way to affix the burning tool.  And most of the negative Amazon reviews are fixated on the fact that the instructions are in Chinese.  But we’re confident that our readers are smart enough to figure these things out themselves, and have no need for the instructions.  You can still burn your way to extra dollars, or this could be the basis for a most interesting science fair project.