Anyone use LV's Branding Irons?

[Frederick Skelly]

Ive been eyeballing a branding iron for years to sign my projects. LV sells an electric one ($105) and a non-electric version ($65) that you heat with a propane torch.

Anyone have experience with branding irons like these? How well do they work?

Thanks,
Fred

[Aaron Berk]

I've been on the same fence as you.
Ill be interested in any replies as well.

[Mike Henderson]

What I wonder is whether it's better to get a branding iron or a wood burning set. With the wood burning set I could put mark the furniture individually, even put a personal message if the piece is for a particular friend or family member.

Anyone use a wood burning set to mark furniture? Any recommendations on a set to purchase?

Today, I use a black marking pen.

Mike

[Kamil Czuba]

I got mine from Brand First.
http://www.brand-first.com/

They have a lot more designs to choose from. I got the one you heat with a propane torch, but if I was to do it again, I would get the electric one. No guessing if the stamp is ready to go that way. Plus for you guys being in the US, the shipping is pretty cheap. I had to pay over $30 to ship it to Canada. Still worth it in my opinion.

[fRED mCnEILL]

My daughter has the one you heat up with a propane torch to identify her saddles.It works fine for the few times she uses it. I have the electric one that I use to brand items I sell. It works great and I use it quite a bit. Takes a little getting used to to get a nice clear impressino but worth it.

Fred

[Rod Sheridan]

I have the LV non electric branding iron, works great.

Next time I'll get the electric one so I don't need to use the propane torch........Rod.

[Roger Feeley]

Mine came from BrandNew.net. Based on what they sell, I am guessing that a lot of places get their irons from these guys.

I had never had one until I got tapped to do wedding favors for my daughter. She wanted me to sign my work with a brand. So I got the one that goes into the drill press.

I learned that your work has to be EXACTLY flat and mine wasn't. Even an error of a few thousandths seemed to make one side or the other a bit light. I solved the problem by putting little pits in two boards with a marble in between. I centered the marble under the branding iron so that the work could teeter in any direction. That allowed me plenty of slop in any direction and the branding went great.

For what it's worth, I made 85 Chinese checker games and 85 laminated cheese boards.

[William C Rogers]

I am also looking at branding irons. I do have a wood burning set and have used that. The least expensive branding iron I have found is AABrands for about $80 for electric. They don't have the more elaborate selection that BrandNew has. My thought is to get a simple "Hand Crafted by (name)" and then use the wood burner to put my initials or whatever else I want to make it personal. The wood burner works, but writing a lot with it is hard to be consistent with the lettering. Just doing initials doesn't need to be that consistent.

[Andrew Hughes]

A true craftsman doesn't sign his work.

[Keith Hankins]

I always sign my work in an out of site place with a fine sharpie and cover with finish (small print). I include date, where it was made, and for who. It's nice to think a few hundred years someone might wonder who the heck was that person that made that. No one will ever wonder about anything with IKEA stamped on it :) Have a good one.

[Alan Schaffter]

I could never decide on a mark for my branding iron so as an interim had a rubber stamp made- much cheaper- still using it years later.

[Mike Henderson]

A true craftsman doesn't sign his work.
Oh, I absolutely disagree. Let's take the Sara Slocom chest by John Townsend, made about 1792. Because he signed the chest and indicated he made it for Sara's wedding we have a human history of the chest. I much prefer to know such details (it humanizes the piece) than to simply see the chest in a museum and not even know who made it. Such details make history "come alive".

BTW, the Sara Slocom chest sold at auction for close to $5 million in 1998.

Mike

[Andrew Hughes]

Sometimes they did when they were asked.I am mostly referring to hand made items made in mass, by hand with no thought.Thats served the needs of people and could be bought by anyone.So there was no ego or need to sign.
I am sure the fine art woodworker would definetly sign his work.The beauty from his ego could only go so far so it needed to be signed.;)

[Mike Cozad]

I have had one in my Amazon save for later cart for about a year now. I want to combine that with an idea I think I read here that someone uses epoxy to glue a new penny from the year the item was made into a shallow mortise below the brand. I think it would look pretty neat anyway....

[Frederick Skelly]

All: Thanks for all the inputs and advice. Im going to take advantage of Mr. Lee's free shipping offer!

I hear you, Andrew. Thanks for keeping me honest. Sadly, the gift I just made wont last 200 years. But I like the idea that, for as long as it does last, anyone whos interested will be able to look on the bottom and see who made it and when. But like Jim K always reminds us on the Neanderthal Forum - to each his own, huh?

Mike - I sure enjoyed hearing about that chest. Ill go look that up.

Have a good day!
Fred

[HANK METZ]

A true craftsman doesn't sign his work.



Not so, I've signed plenty of my work over the years with my DNA.
274613
:o

[Alan Lightstone]

I have the LV one. Somewhat finicky to use. I have a butane torch, not a propane one. That may be part of the reason. Easy to burn the work, or to get light sections, but I like the concept of signing your work.

[Mike Henderson]

Sometimes they did when they were asked.I am mostly referring to hand made items made in mass, by hand with no thought that served the needs of people and could be bought by anyone. So there was no ego or need to sign.
I am sure the fine art woodworker would definitely sign his work.The beauty from his ego could only go so far so it needed to be signed.;)
Oh, okay, I understand what you meant. I was approaching it from a different direction.

Mike

[Bill Huber]

I have one from Rockler, it is not electric and I use the torch to heat it up. It is the one that states "Custom Made By" and my name. I then put the date under it with a sharpy before I put any finish on the item.

The problem I have always had was getting it good and straight and flat where the whole thing looked the same color without just burning the wood all around it.

What I did was to take the handle off and chuck it in the drill press, heat it up with the torch and then just press it down on the wood and it comes out really nice. On items that are to big when finished to get under the drill press I burn one of the parts.

I just finished another little rocking chair and put the brand on the under side of the seat before I glued things up. I also like to run the sander over it after I burn it, it just makes it look better and sharper.

[Alan Schaffter]

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/2459/medium/P10100297.JPG

[Andrew Hughes]

Don't mind me I'm just being a smart ass,plus I am reading a book called the unknown craftsman right now.
Nothing wrong or bad about sign ones work,I am proud to be part of the sawmill creek where we help other with experience strength and hope.
I sign my work sometimes and sometimes I forget.But mostly just to embarrassed to even charge for my amateur woodworking and leave it unknown.

[HANK METZ]

Don't mind me I'm just being a smart ass,plus I am reading a book called the unknown craftsman right now.
Nothing wrong or bad about sign ones work,I am proud to be part of the sawmill creek where we help other with experience strength and hope.
I sign my work sometimes and sometimes I forget.But mostly just to embarrassed to even charge for my amateur woodworking and leave it unknown.

I used to memorialize my work by attaching a custom made plaque made of a zinc/ copper construction, sometimes referred to as a penny, bearing the year of the build. Funny thing was though, I had repeat customers looking for where I mounted the dedication plaque like they were more interested in that aspect of the final product, so you never know where your small touches are going to take you.

[Larry Browning]

I have one of the BrandNew torch heated irons. I have debated in my mind as to when I apply the brand. It seems like many of my pieces are stained very dark and if I apply the brand before the finish goes on, it seems to be covered up by the finish so that it can't be seen or is very faint. So I hve been applying it after the finish is on and dried, just before it goes out the door. When is the best time to apply the brand?

[Keith Westfall]

My daughter got me one of the LV 'heat with a torch' ones and it does work, but I find it hard to know when its at the 'right' temperature. It will either come out "light" or burn everywhere, so you end up with square burnt line where you should only have the letters burnt in.

I did make a block with a cutout in it the size of the branding head which I can clamp to the work to help prevent it from moving during the process. I have a few 'blurry' stamps from a slight wiggle..., the block has helped with that!

I would really consider the electric one, if only for better temperature control.

klw

[Ellen Benkin]

A true craftsman DOES sign his/her work.

I have one from Rockler that is not electric. It is too much trouble to use it very often so I usually go with the Sharpie solution. I would probably use it on everything if it were electric.

[Gordon Eyre]

I have the electric one and use it often. Most of the things I make are for my kids and they love me to sign them. I also embed a penny to denote the date.

[Alan Lightstone]

Do people all use propane torches for the torch version, or butane like I have been doing? I'm wondering if the propane produces a hotter flame.

[Dave huber]

I have one from Brand New
Great customer service.
I submitted custom artwork, and the brand is completely faithful

No regrets

I use it on every single project.

dave

[Rick Potter]

Got a torch powered one. Don't use it too often because I either burn it or it's too light. Plan to get an electric one to replace it.

Also put a penny somewhere unobtrusive. Problem is, my kitchen redo is taking so long, I am gonna need a pocket full of change, and an assortment of dates before I finish.

Rick Potter

[Mike Chalmers]

I built a simple stand to put the brand in, and I time the amount of time the torch is on it. 2 minutes. Sometimes it is darker than others. No big deal to me. After all, we are talking custom work, not big box store.

[Dave Verstraete]

I have the electric version and use it for each piece that I make for the family, since they gave it to me for Christmas. They wanted to make sure that my name was on it for future generations. I almost cried at that one.

[Lee Schierer]

I've used a branding iron for years. Mine is a heated with a torch type. Mine was made by Rockler and was received as a gift. I brand all my projects in an inconspicuous place and also imbed a penny of the current year right next to the brand. I've received nothing but positive comments of this practice since I started it over 30 years ago. A penny fits nicely in a recess made with 3/4" Forstner bit . Regular wood glue will hold the penny in place.

I heat the iron (actually brass) with a torch, test it on a pieces of scrap and then carefully press it into the wood on the finished piece. Then I lightly sand over the brand to remove most of the scorch marks, but not so much that the brand is removed. It takes a bit of practice to get the heat right and the dwell time right to leave a good impression without burning the wood too badly that the brand is unreadable.

One final hint. Be sure to disconnect your shop smoke detector before you do the branding unless you like loud noises. DAMHIKT.

[Gene Waara]

As a birthday gift, my wife bought me the iron that needs to be heated. I usually have to heat it and trial the brand on a scrap piece a few times. The finished product is nice but if I had to use it on a daily basis it would likely get old. Few times a year though - works great.