Signing the work

[Gene Davis]

I thought about spending a hundred or more on one of the branding irons. I choked on the price when I realized what it might take to have my sig plus the year.

So I am exploring doing it with a little trim router, using a 60 degree v-point solid carbide bit, going freehand over a penciled scribble.

Here is the first attempt. I'll raise the bit a little which will make the lines finer. The bit was about $15, Amazon Prime.

[Prashun Patel]

That's really great. I got a Dremel engraver that is next to useless. I will try this. I had previously been using a 1/8" or 1/4" spiral bit in the trim router, but it left a very router-esque look. Yours doesn't have that same objectionable feel that mine did.

Thanks for the tip!!!

(edit) $13.00 on AMZN. PURCHASED!

[Lee Schierer]

I received a branding iron (heat with a torch type) as a gift. I use it and a penny of the current year set in a 3/4" dia recess on all my projects.

[Cody Colston]

I have a branding iron, the Rockler "Handcrafted by (insert name)" but I've begun doing what you are doing (initials and date) except I do it freehand with a Dremel.

[Bill Space]

I received a branding iron (heat with a torch type) as a gift. I use it and a penny of the current year set in a 3/4" dia recess on all my projects.

Lee, that is a cool idea, or should that be spelled kewl...?

The thought that came to mind to me when reading the OP's post was the possibility of buying the signature iron alone, and maybe using cheap number stamps like available from Harbor Freight for the years...I think they come in 1/8, 1/4 and 3/8" sizes (not 100% sure about 3/8" but pretty sure). Could be heated with a propane torch and burned into the wood...separately.

Just an idea, never tried it...

Bill

[Frederick Skelly]

Great idea. Thanks Gene!

[Lee Schierer]

Lee, that is a cool idea, or should that be spelled kewl...?

The only draw back is that new pennies don't usually show up until late February. So projects that get finished in January have to get their penny later.

[Dave Lehnert]

Gene, Like it a lot. Going to give it a try.
I noticed on amazon people buying stencil ink in a spry can to fill in the lettering.
Like Lee, I also use a branding iron and a penny for the date.

[Jebediah Eckert]

I like the look, more of a natural handwritten feel.

[John T Barker]

I use a pencil.

[Jamie Buxton]

Sharpie for me. Hand-done, just like the furniture.
I sign the piece and date it, someplace where somebody really has to look to find it -- on the back, or on the bottom, or the like. The idea is that people should be able to find it if they want, but not have the signature out front yelling at people.

[Aaron Hooks]

I had a customer ask his son to make me a simple brand consisting of my initials. I really like the penny idea for a date!

[Brian Lamb]

I've done a few options of signing your work... a customer who builds high end Arts and Crafts style work had me make him some copper name plates on our CNC mill. We recently picked up a laser engraver for other parts and could engrave labels, or cut wood coins. I have seen wood coins done double sided, one side says 2016, the other 2017, that way you get double duty out of a minimum purchase. Use a forester bit to match the coin size and glue them right in like an inlay.

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[Marc Burt]

Those look great! Years back I ordered some metal plates from a fellow in the UK that I was really happy with. I'm not sure if he's still around, I can't recall the name. The could be recessed in or nailed on.

[Steve Peterson]

I like the hand created look of the router signature. Doing it in caps converts most of it to straight lines. I guess I could do the same with my name.

Precicebits has 1/8" shank cutting bits that would allow you to use a Dremel instead of a trim router.

Steve

[Joe Adams]

My brother and I build furniture for a living and understand the importance of signing your work. We like to joke that "this table may be on Antiques Roadshow some day and we want them to know who made it".

Occasionally, we find an existing piece of furniture that needs some TLC and transform it into something beautiful again. This machinist cabinet is a good example. It was filthy and in rough shape but had good bones.

We were amazed to find the original builder's signature hidden inside. "Jos. R. Geschel - January 1902"

I actually did some research on Ancestry.com and found he lived in Wisconsin (1868-1944).

Pretty cool!

We sign our work with an inlaid 1-1/2" medallion.

[Robert Payne]

Here is the Medallion that I use with my significant projects. A colleague makes custom engraved plates for printing documents like wedding invitations and he had leftover photosensitive copper plate scraps. He made a bunch of these for me and I spray painted the etched portion with some black spray paint and then rough cut them out on a scroll saw, followed by a session on my disk sander. Since the entire 1-1/8" diameter "coin" was covered in black, some automotive wet/dry paper removed the paint from the flat surface. I sanded to about 800 grit and then drill an appropriate hole in the project (like a drawer interior) and epoxy the medallion in place. A bit of Deft clear spray keeps them shiny forever.


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[Roger Feeley]

I never signed my work until I made favors for my daughters wedding. She wanted them branded so I sprung for a drill press mounted branding iron.

I found that it was extremely sensitive to the slightest deviation in angle and just finish sanding caused a lot of problems. My surfacer may be a bit out or the Performax sander was a bit out. It didn't matter. I had 170 items to brand and things looked bad.

My solution was a rocker table using a marble as a bearing.
-- Using a core box bit, I drilled a pit into two boards. The depth was about 1/3rd the diameter of the marble.
-- The bottom board was fixed to the table on my drill press so that the pit faced up and was exactly under the center of the chuck.
-- Drop a marble into the pit.
-- The top board went over the marble so that the board could rock in all directions a few degrees. I used blocks to keep the board from rotating. More blocks to position my work.

When I branded the piece, the board rocked just a bit to compensate for any deviation in level. Worked great. It took me a couple of hours to build my little setup (including dreaming it up) and a couple more hours to do all the branding. The thing has been in a drawer ever since.

I like the penny idea.

[Jim Finn]

Are they using a coin as a branding iron? Does it not then appear a mirror image, thus backward?