V-carving Steel

[Burkhardt]

I have been doing some work lately that I want to sell eventually. So far it was all hobby, gifts and give-aways.

To support that I thought it might be nice to brand the parts and I started on a v-carved branding iron.

Design:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oLeooYGOHrQ/UvcSZd6gxPI/AAAAAAAAEk0/J1Rx85eEur8/w1232-h520-no/ScreenHunter_05+Feb.+08+21.17.jpg

V-carve pocketing with 1/8" bit. So far pretty good:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-E7pi-OASAOg/UvcSTJNlrZI/AAAAAAAAEkU/q0EGWVFmq7Y/w1149-h862-no/DSC02211.JPG

V-carving with 60 degree engraving bit. The bit tip did not last long in steel:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wVVo4ojyjGQ/UvcSVCEiztI/AAAAAAAAEkc/ZtBa8aA30Q0/w1149-h862-no/DSC02213.JPG

[Burkhardt]

Result is not that great because of the broken bit tip but usable. I will weld it onto a rod with handle tomorrow. Any suggestion for a better engraving bit in mild steel?
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-YWJxi0Gr4u4/UvcSXPJp0JI/AAAAAAAAEkk/_-fBZw9SqEY/w1598-h699-no/DSC02214.JPG

First test brand. Quite O.K. for now but I may re-do the branding iron sometimes with a less challenging font.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Cu4Vg4LwY7c/UvcSYnd8DnI/AAAAAAAAEks/8rSzvxO6vpA/w1597-h737-no/DSC02215.JPG

[ssflyer]

G,

I'd probably do them in 360 brass (free machining)

[Brian Harnett]

Ron has the right idea on the brass, it machines very well.

What I do on a lot of my furniture is engrave my logo in a spot that is hidden but easy to find, under a seat for example

[zeykr]

I've always used brass also for branding irons.

[Burkhardt]

O.K., thanks. I made another attempt in steel with a sturdier 90-degree pyramid engraver. Somewhat better but not yet great. I wonder how the tool and die maker do that who engrave even hardened steel all the time. But it is anyway a mess. Now my machine is covered with oily steel chips.

Got to get a piece of brass then....

[scottp55]

G. , We just decided yesterday to make ourselves 2 of them out of Scott W's recommended 360 brass. Waiting with bated breath for you to make all the mistakes and then tell us how to do it:) Much faster to Brand, than to do double sided machining if product doesn't call for it. Like you want to vcarve as logo has state outline in it and Maines coastline gets kind of busy.

[Burkhardt]

I finished the branding iron by attaching to a cheap 80 watt soldering iron ($30 at Amazon). I cut off the tapered end, split the tip and silver brazed it to the branding plate.

It works quite well for my small branding area, although a 150 or 200 watt iron would surely heat faster. I may also re-do the plate with a brazed-on copper back plate for better heat distribution. But for now it is well usable.

Apologize for the oversize linked picture but since Picasa changed to Google+ the choice of upload sizes is kind of limited. I guess need to resize the pictures before upload.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-NHMovx4GZKs/UwaYNmXSNeI/AAAAAAAAEnQ/wXJOfgNv3XY/w1598-h786-no/DSC02272.JPG

[khalid]

wow that a very nice idea. :).. I really like the way you have attached a cheap soldering iron to the stamping die :)

[Burkhardt]

wow that a very nice idea. :).. I really like the way you have attached a cheap soldering iron to the stamping die :)
Improvisation is the mother of invention, some say. But, as mentioned, the slender copper legs and the badly heat conducting steel make it less than optimal. I posted it here to show the idea and my ongoing improvement efforts.