On Tue, 7 Apr 2015 22:34:00 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

I finally got the round tuit to work for me yesterday and today . The
result is a branding iron to brand all my bee hive equipment with . I'll
also be using it to create the logo to go on all my labels for honey and
packaging for other products we may sell in the future .
The hot end is made from a piece of salvaged 3/4" wide flat stock that
used to be a scroll on a porch awning support . It consists of an A nested
in the bottom of a W with a 1 and a 2 in the v's of the W , stands for "12
Acre Wood" . I used my vertical mounted portaband to cut the pieces ,
cutting only partway thru where I wanted to fold the strips to form the
letters . Welded it all up with the little MIG machine using a piece of the
strip to attach it all together . I had limited success flattening the face
with the mill , ended up with a light pass on the neighbor's belt sander .
I need to practice how hot and how long to hold it to get a nice
impression without burning the wood in between lines , but I can do that as

You'll get a feel for it as you go, determining which is of more
importance to you: number of brandings you get from 1 heating or a
cleaner brand. How will you heat it, BTW? Electric will give you a
more regular heating time


I brand the hive bodies . When I get an acceptable impression I'll take a
photo with the new camera to use as a basis for the labels and such .

Cool. Looking forward to seeing it.

Just make sure to always do the branding horizontally, as the hot
smoke will 'tarnish' other wood if it's done vertically. I've seen
brands made like that on purpose, incorporating the damage into the
brand, but most of them look like hell.

I know a little bit about the effects of branding because a
friend/colleague of mine did his business cards on adhesive backed
wood veneer with his Epilog laser. Then he did all the gift boxes,
case box ends, and barrel tops for several local wineries. We talked
a lot about it when he came to Friends in Business meetings.

--
When a quiet man is moved to passion, it seems the very earth will shake.
-- Stephanie Barron
(Something for the Powers That Be to remember, eh?)