Signing work

Gary, I sign my work with a fine tip sharpy currently after one coat of finish and then add finish on top of that. It doesn't bleed, but I'm not sure about how long it lasts. I've got plans to make a woodburner from a battery charger and a few parts from radio shack that I need to finish soon.

What do you use?
 
Hi Gary,
I now use a wood burner. My first attempt was with an inexpensive version from a craft store. The kind that looks like a soldering iron. This works, but my hand was so far from the tip that it was awkward to write with. For Christmas my daughter gave me the Detail master set up. (got to love it when your kids are old enough to work from a wish list) This works very well because it feels like a pen and heats up very fast.
(I stand in front of the microwave and yell hurry)

I recently attended a one day demo by Cindy Drozda. She applies a finish to the bottom, then uses a dremel engraver. This has a reciprocating needle and she signs with very fine detail. Next she uses an engravers pencil and rubs the engraving. This pencil is colored wax, in this case it was gold. When she wiped off the surface, only the gold that filled the engraving remained. This is why she finished the surface first, so the pencil would not work into the grain. The piece she signed was dark, so the gold was easily visible. She is also very artistic and her hand writing is far better than mine.
 
I use black ink on nice stationery. Then I glue that on the underside of a table, or inside a drawer with yellow glue. Holds up very well, but ages with the piece. FWW had a nice article about signing work a year or two ago.
 
i have a custom brand that i had made,heat up with a propane torch and burn in to the piece before finish and the touch sand to clean up the edges then finish. wont be no one erasing my name and puttin theres:) if they would ever want to:D
 
I laser-engraved the two pieces I've done so far - hubby made up a circular logo I can just engrave on the bottom. I've made some PSA veneer logos for a couple of people who really like them. All it takes is a little time.
 
Right now I'm using a fine line sharpie.. I mark all pieces with a piece number, the wood type and my name....on light woods, I'll sign right on the wood, then finish over it... it doesn't work so well with the darker woods.
So now I'm looking to buy a writing tip for my Razor-Tip wood burner and will start burning the signature in.
 
I started with an extra-fine tip Sharpie over the finish, but that seemed to fade after a year or so. I switched to a 1/32" ball tipped woodburning pen for the wood species, date, and serial number, and I use a "VM" shaped nichrome wire in another woodburning pen for the 'brand'.

Burning Pens.jpg Brand Example.jpg
 
I just engrave mine with a really small burr. I don't use contrasting color or anything else. It looks OK. One day I will buy a detail master and burn it in.

Good luck

Alan
 
I've used the Sharpies and the paint pens and a few other things that placed some kind of ink or paint on the surface. Got fussed at the first gallery I had my stuff in, but assured that the best in the business signed their work the same way. When I got my work back from her, my signatures were faded even though they were under finish. Made me a bit agrivated.

I then tried an engraving burr in a Drimel tool. So much better. Only problem was that the rotating burr would try to grab the grain from time to time and would go off my intended line. It was obvious that it was going to be better than the pen, but still looked bad. Why? Because of the spinning burr going off line, but also because of my poor hand writing. I used a laptop in college and master's programs because I couldn't even read my own notes. Not good.

I was looking through a HF catalog one day when I ran across an engraver with a reciprocating tip on sale for $5.00, I think. I thought that I could give it a try since I'd heard that others were now using them. Besides, I've wasted a lot more than $5.00 of other turning stuff that I'll never use again. Why not. Long story short, it is the only way I'll sign another turning. Before or after the first coat of finish really depends on the wood. Hard woods don't need that first coat, while softer woods like cotton wood do. I would suggest using a pencil to put it on the piece and then use the engraver to go over what you did with the pencil to make it perminent. You can then either cover it with finish of choice or some kind of colored wax. Shoe polish works wonders.
 
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