With Christmas fast approaching, I have a few cutting boards and turned bowls I'd like to brand.
I bought a branding iron from Rockler, but it's pretty much worthless.
So I'm looking for recommendations, thanks.
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With Christmas fast approaching, I have a few cutting boards and turned bowls I'd like to brand.
I bought a branding iron from Rockler, but it's pretty much worthless.
So I'm looking for recommendations, thanks.
I have the one from Rockler, also, and it works okay for me. I had to learn how to hold it to get a good impression. It's easy to have one area dark and another area light.
I don't know what could be done to a branding iron to make it work better. If they make it hotter I'd still have the same problems because I'd have to leave it on the work for a shorter time - but I could still have one area darker than another.
I heard about a branding iron that you put in your drill press and used the press to mark work. But that's pretty limiting as far as what you could put your mark on.
Mike
I have a Rockler branding iron that you heat with a torch. It works well after a bit of practice. I've considered making a clamp on metal guide that would allow precise realignment if the mark isn't dark enough.
A number of woodturners use a wood burner j stead if a branding iron to sign pieces. It’s less than a branding iron.
It might help if you clarified, "pretty much worthless".
Another Rockler electric user here with no issues. What seems to be the trouble?
On pine, I can get a reasonable brand, on Cherry, Walnut or Maple, I can hold it on the wood for 45 seconds and barely get a shadow. It's like it gets to a certain temperature that will brand the softer woods, bit not enough heat to burn the harder stuff.
I've going to try and hit the tip with a bit of heat from my propane torch.
I have the Rockler branding iron and it works fine for me on maple and cherry if you wait at least 30 minutes for it to get hot enough. The problem is that the wood has to be perfectly flat to get an even color on the brand. This is fine for furniture but is harder with the bottom of a bowl with a mortise on it. I have started signing my work with archival ink pens prior to finishing (per a suggestion in a great thread on the subject in the wood turning forum).
I got one with my logo on a custom stamp here https://buckeyeengraving.com/
Expensive, but it works. The iron comes with a temperature control.
I have the branding iron that you heat with a torch. I, too, had trouble getting an even impression. I took the handle off mine and put it in my drill press. The arm is long enough that I can warm it without heating up the drill press head. And I get an even impression every time. If the first impression isn't dark enough, I can reheat the iron and burn a second impression on the piece perfectly aligned with the first to darken the image. If the image is too dark the first time, there's not much you can do. So with this set up you can do the first image lightly but continue to improve it until you get the proper contrast. This helps because the image is dependent not only on the temperature of the branding iron (which is hard to determine using a propane torch as a heater) but also the type of wood, the length of time you hold the branding iron on the wood, and (I assume) the moisture content of the wood. Like a lot of things I do in woodworking, I "sneak up" on the correct settings and this way I can do it pretty efficiently.
Hi, I have one I use that you heat with a torch, 370C for Softwood, 430C for hardwood.
I use an infra-red thermometer to measure the temperature......Regards, Rod
That unit is defective. If I held my rockler branding iron on hardwoods for more than just a few seconds I would end up with And image that was over burned to the point of not being readable. I have to be really careful on plywood’s and veneers. I press it to the surface rock slightly back-and-forth and remove it. Grand total of Contact time is probably around five or six seconds.Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisA Edwards
My branding iron is heated with a propane torch. I time heating it for about 2 mins for oak. I always test (practice) on scrap pieces before doing real thing. Rotate the iron in the flame to heat evenly is also important.
I needed a drill press one some years ago and got it here.
I think they make irons for the folks like Rockler.
One thing I learned about doing many parts using the drill press is that the irons are very fussy about any sort of variation in the wood. That is, if the wood is no exactly parallel to the iron, you don't get a good image. In my case, things weren't perfect. What to do.
My solution was to make a sort of rocker board. I used a small core box bit to make a marble sized pit in the center of two pieces of mdf. The depth of the pit was about 1/4th of the diameter of the marble. I clamped down one board (pit up) with the pit exactly under the center of the branding iron, put the marble in the pit and put the other board on top (pit down). That allowed the top board to wobble just enough to give me an even brand across the iron. Worked like a champ. I branded 185 wedding favors for my daughters wedding with the wobble board and then threw it away. I can always make another.
After doing all the production work, I turned a handle for the branding iron and only use it by hand now.