# INEXPENSIVELY brand your work



## JSB (Oct 7, 2012)

This is an easy, cheap, and completely customizable way to brand your work. Don't waste your money on a branding iron or stamp! Check out how easy this is. I hope this can be of some use to everyone here.


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## Trav (May 30, 2011)

Wow. What a great idea. I will absolutely try this.


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

That's pretty slick. I wonder if a hobby iron or clothing iron would work too? May have to give that a try.

I've been using a rubber stamp and an ink pad with good results. Works best if I stamp it before applying the finish coat.


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

I've done something similar and used an ordinary clothes iron set on the highest setting. 

What I noticed was that the fresher the print the better the quality of the transfer.

If you have an ink jet printer, just take the printout to a copy service (Kinkos) and use the Xerox copy for the transfer. You may have to adjust the contrast up way high to get the most toner onto the paper.


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

I carved a brand in the 3/4" head of a 10" nail. RV
Heat that with a torch and really brand my carvings!

Dremel. #402 cutoff disks are more durable than the after market skinny ones.
Need good DC. Carving steel is fun.


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## JohnnyG73 (Sep 10, 2013)

I never knew heat could be used to transfer the toner. Thanks for the great video! John Heisz shows a different method of transferring in this video in case you don't have a wood burner or iron...

http://youtu.be/kj3X0vLWtEY


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## shopman (Feb 14, 2013)

Damn. Its 5 minutes to midnight and I just watched this. I am seriously fighting the urge to run out to the shop and try this!


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

Yeah, there's a heating wire/element in a B&W laser printer.
I did not know that you could blow off the toner.

Saw another method where the transfer was done with an acetone solvent wash.
Soaked the print into the wood (was a BIG butcherblock meat cutter's board.)

I'll stick to red hot iron. Not fancy but it is unique.
BWT, can't be registered as I am not branding livestock.


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## USNrider (Jul 26, 2013)

Cool trick, either way you do it. I'm considering making a jewelry/lingerie chest for my wife's birthday and I think if it turn out the way I envision I'll add this feature somewhere in it with a personal message to her.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

For what it is worth I have a cheap Brother Laser printer, 2270DW, that has the flip horizontal feature, actually the printer cost less than a branding iron.


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## SeanStuart (Nov 27, 2011)

This is really cool. Thanks for the video. My first try was a bit messy, burned a bit, and not super clear, but very cool trick.


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## Nate Bos (Jan 11, 2012)

wow, thanks a lot! that is awesome, definitely going to try it!


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## whatalesyou1 (Mar 18, 2011)

I used a similar method for my Christmas presents this year. Instead of releasing the toner with heat, I used laquer thinner.


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## xmas (Nov 24, 2013)

cool DIY tip, thank you!


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## Maylar (Sep 3, 2013)

Sweet. Is there a shelf life to the printed image on paper, or can the labels be made in advance and kept in the shop without degrading?

And do you guys use standard copy paper or something else?

Thanks for posting this.


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## JohnnyG73 (Sep 10, 2013)

Maylar said:


> Sweet. Is there a shelf life to the printed image on paper, or can the labels be made in advance and kept in the shop without degrading?
> 
> And do you guys use standard copy paper or something else?
> 
> Thanks for posting this.


I personally have had sheets laying around for several months and it still worked but I didn't use the heat transfer method. I hope to try it out soon.


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## whatalesyou1 (Mar 18, 2011)

I used standard copy paper and it did not seem to matter how long I waited. Some of mine sat around for a couple of weeks before the transfer. I would recommend a few tests before a trying it on a real project.


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## xmas (Nov 24, 2013)

Just tried this out on a birthday gift. Made an otherwise ok gift much more personalized. Thank you so much for the tip Jay!


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

1. With either heat or solvent, how fine can the details be before they smudge together?
2. Is there some practical extension of this for curved surfaces?
Anyone done the experiments, yet?


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## xmas (Nov 24, 2013)

Hey Robson, haven't tried any curved surfaces yet but for my first attempt I used a pretty detailed font. The results were pretty good and I definitely learned a bit that i think would make it even better/easier next time. Here's a photo of my transfer. It seems like the transfer, as long as it's taped down securely will be as detailed as the image. I did make a few copies of the image, one on the darkest contrast setting, and in that one the image it's self got blurry but i think as long as it looks ok on paper it'll look good on wood.


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## Pauley (Jan 21, 2012)

I purchased a branding iron about 25 or 30 years ago. It gets heated up with a propane torch. Back then, I think I paid $19.00 and thought it was very extravagant....until,I see the outrageous prices they get for them today.


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## JohnnyG73 (Sep 10, 2013)

Robson Valley said:


> 1. With either heat or solvent, how fine can the details be before they smudge together?
> 2. Is there some practical extension of this for curved surfaces?
> Anyone done the experiments, yet?


I switched to using heat to transfer images after viewing this thread. It seems to work better than solvents. I have also found that the wood does not need to be perfectly smooth. I get good results after sanding to 150 grit. I think that the heat from the iron "flattens" the wood enough??? or perhaps a porous surface can trap or capture the toner better and then the heat flattens the surface to lock it in?

In some experiments I tried to transfer shaded images, not simply black and white, and it also worked. I used a photo editing program to make a family photo black and white, like a pencil drawing, and transferred it to the inside lid of a box. It came out good.

As far as a curved surface, a friend asked me to put his name and club logo on a curved mug. It worked well.

Although transferred toner is much easier to sand off than an actual branding iron (in case of a mistake), I have learned to transfer as early on as possible in the project just in case it doesn't come out perfect.

One more thing I have found...if you are transferring large images, the paper tends to expand slightly over a large area with heat applied, so I start on one end and work to the other end.

I apply heat to the paper almost to the point where the paper starts to get brown or burn. I also peel the paper back as I go because if I don't it tends to re-adhere to the paper slightly.

This is a huge money saver over purchasing a branding iron:
1. If you already own a laser printer it's basically free.
2. You don't have to settle and invest on one image or logo, you can change and transfer anything anytime you like.
3. The cost of a cheap laser printer is comparable and often less than the cost of a branding iron.
4. If you make a mistake, the transfer is easier to sand off and redo because it's not actually indented into the wood.
5. Colors can be transferred if you own a color laser printer.

Bad points:
1. It doesn't have that authentic "hot iron branded" look and feel.
2. It takes a little practice to learn and perfect.

Thanks again to Jay for sharing this awesome trick/tip:thumbsup:


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

This method also lets you personalize items, you can have "Made for ZZZZ by YYYY" on those special projects.


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