Do you brand/sign/date your work?

[uglystick]

I also use a 3/4" forstner to make a shallow cup for a brand new penny that I epoxy in some hidden place.

That's a very cool idea. How did you come up with that?

[Warren]

I have one of those "Handcrafted By" irons that you have to heat with a torch. A PIA.

I also use a 3/4" forstner to make a shallow cup for a brand new penny that I epoxy in some hidden place.

Steve

Steve, I'm gonna steal the penny idea if you don't mind. Very cool!

[Tarheel]

A Sharpie with the date for all of the stuff that I complete for my beautiful daughters! Hopefully, someday they will say My Dad Made That in 20XX!!

(Sure wish I could afford a branding iron!)

Wayne

[bmyers]

I do both if something matters to me. I have a branding iron that someone got me as a gift and do the penny thing to date it and says where I made it. Some stuff I make is made in Canada so I use a Canadian penny.

I tend to brand things in batches because it is the kind you heat with a tourch.

Bill

[LCHIEN]

It seems like, as someone said the branding iron you heat with a torch is a bit of a PITA because of all the steps.

The electric ones are simpler in that all you need is right there, but it still takes a bit of timing. Too soon and you won't have any brand. Wait about 5-7 minutes and it just right and you have to hold in place for about 10 seconds give or take 5 seconds, it takes some practice depending on how hot you let it get. Let it get too hot (10 minutes or more) and it'll be too dark even if you just hit it for a second. They don't have a thermostat in it to keep it at the ideal temperature.

probably a router speed controller or a variac could keep it at the right temperature for longer periods of time. That and my handy infrared thermometer...

[mater]

It is a hit and miss with me. Sometimes I do but most of the time I don't. My daughter usually takes a picture and dates it as she thinks I should sign everything.

[jhart]

Someday I'll make something worth putting a signature/brand, etc., on. Until then, while I'm still pleased with many of the things I've made, I still have a long way to go.

[gjbivin]

It seems like, as someone said the branding iron you heat with a torch is a bit of a PITA because of all the steps.

True; sitting there for six or seven minutes holding the iron in the torch flame gets to be a bit old after the first three or four minutes. I've been thinking about making some kind of stand to hold the torch and iron, both for heating up and for cooling off.

[Wood_workur]

sharpie under the poly.

[cabinetman]

I didn't think of signing or dating work for about ten years. Then I started to do it and put it into an inconspicuous place. At first I would not say anything to the customer untill after it was installed and got paid. They were really impressed that I felt the work was a craft instead of just a check. After that, I used it as a selling point and it gave me a feeling of immortality (if that's possible), like somebody who was somewhat important (in their own mind - mine) in their lifetime. I've got lifelong friends that I'm the godfather to their daughter, and made almost all of their present furniture, and they are still looking for that hidden signature.



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[L. D. Jeffries]

I sure do. I have two rubber stamps; one small and one a bit larger, plus I have a branding iron with my logo, "Wood n' Dreams" plus my name and town. I don't usually date things however. That way if they sit around in the shop and I decide to sell/give-away people won't think its something I couldn't get rid of.

[gsmittle]

Steve, I'm gonna steal the penny idea if you don't mind. Very cool!

Me too! Me too! Ultra cool!

g.

[drumpriest]

I'm a sharpie guy, but the penny idea is very cool. Might use that on some future project.

[leehljp]

I use the old fashion method - I use a pencil.

I have a ball and claw rosewood rocker that I found out back of a store in 67/68 and bought it for $5.00. It had a pencil mark of the initials of the maker and date of 1903 in a little Mississippi river town that is now gone. (The town had a store and few houses in the mid '50s but all are gone now.)

The pencil mark on the chair is still there. It was refinished by a professional in 1989 at a cost of $400.00 (as a present for me from my parents). It is now worth about $2000.00 - at least we have had offers for that.

The pencil mark is still there on the inside of the bottom of the seat.

I have seen some pencil marks on furniture dating and identifying the builder from the mid 1800s too. Pencil marks stay.

[dwolsten]

I do both if something matters to me. I have a branding iron that someone got me as a gift and do the penny thing to date it and says where I made it. Some stuff I make is made in Canada so I use a Canadian penny.

The only problem with this penny idea is that our esteemed lawmakers are currently talking about eliminating the penny altogether. So you might have to start using nickels...