"Leon" lcb11211@swbelldotnet wrote in message
...
On 3/18/2014 11:38 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 18 Mar 2014 22:50:49 -0500, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet
Please, not that. It would take too long to sign my furniture. Did
you
sign your new cabinets?
Leonardo de Cabinetman & Bubba? : )
I only sign the check that the client gives me. ;~)

I don't know. Bill may have hit on a good idea. Perhaps you should
consider a custom made branding iron with the name in question? It
wouldn't take you too long to sign your name either.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/pag...56,43462,32190
LV even has free shipping over $40 right now March 19 - 31.



I have considered the branding iron but see no advantage. My customers
know who I am. I seriously doubt than any one has sold any of my pieces
to some one that would want more. I simple leave them several business
cards. I think for the type work that I do the branding iron would be
more of an ego accessory. OTOH furniture with no signature mark screams
custom made.

Back in the day when I used to make custom furniture, I had a customer who
wanted some branding done. I pointed out the huge expense for what she had
in mind. She wanedt some words and a number of patterns burnt into the
wood. I was actively trying to discourage her.

I told her the only way to achieve what she wanted was to use a blacksmith
approach. Heat up some iron bars that had a few basic shapes ground into
one end. Heat them up in some charcoal or with a flame of some kind and
apply to the wood. Slow and labor intensive. So I quoted her a hefty price
to make her shut up and go away.

It did not work. She agreed to it and paid me half right then and there. I
had no idea how much it would cost to do this or how much labor it would
take. She called my bluff. Now I had to perform. So I went to a few folks
I knew and managed to get most of what I needed for free and worked hard for
an afternoon to grind some profiles in the end of the steel bars.

I dug a hole in the back yard and lined it with some firebrick my room mate
had lying around. Poured some charcoal in there and went to work. It was
hot and smoky, but I got the job done. I got the patterns and words burned
in, wire brushed it all smooth and sanded everything. When I got it all
done it looked really nice. And it was a hit. I ended up making several
more pieces with the "branded" designs.

It wasn't my favorite thing to do, but it paid a lot better per hour than
the furniture itself. The thing that is interesting about most of the
designs was that you often see those designs these days as tattoos. These
were some kind of "wood tattoos".

Now there is an idea Leon. Maybe you should just get a Leonardo de Bubba
tattoo! And your wife is an artsy type. She could design it for you. ;-)