Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
Signing your work
Ezekiel Holliday
>I have mixed emotions when it comes to signing my turnings. Of course, I want people to know who made the piece. On the other hand, I also feel that the signiture can distract from the piece, even when placed on the foot of a bowl.
Does anyone not sign there turnings?
Ezekiel
Re: Signing your work
John Trant (Baltimore/DC area)
>I find that people will not buy my pieces unless I sign them. That is why the signature must reflect the same craftmanship as that of the vessels.
John
Tool to Use?
Ezekiel Holliday
>What do you find to be the best tool for signing your work. I've got a $15 wood burner that is just plain hard to sign with.
Re: Signing your work
adrien
>You could also use an icon or logo for a signature.
There was a Japanese potter, Hamada, who didn't sign his work, noting that "The pot is the signature."
Re: Signing your work
John Trant (Baltimore/DC area)
>I use a Dremel Engraver. Others use a quality woodburner pen or permanent ink (e.g. India ink, fine-tipped markers, metallic ink). When I used ink, I sealed the wood with shellac before signing. The problem with ink is that it can be removed/destroyed with many common organic solvents.
John
remove the 2 for email
Response to wrong post
John Trant (Baltimore/DC area)
>Oops. This was intended to be a response to Ezekiel Holliday's question to my original response (see above)
Re: Tool to Use?
John Trant (Baltimore/DC area)
>I use a Dremel Engraver. Others use a quality woodburner pen or permanent ink (e.g. India ink, fine-tipped markers, metallic ink). When I used ink, I sealed the wood with shellac before signing. The problem with ink is that it can be removed/destroyed with many common organic solvents.
John
remove the 2 for email
Re: Signing your work
Eduardo Sarmiento Hall-Lima Peru
>well I only sign my work when they ask me for to do it oterwise I dont
Turn the question around...
Russ Fairfield
>Would you buy something that was not signed by the artist?
Would you pay the same price for something that wasn't signed as you would for something that was?
Re: Signing your work
RonZ
>I had the same dilema that you had.
There are those works that I won't sign because I don't think they are up to par. Otherwise I sign with just my initials, year, and wood. I hope no one else has RZ taken. =o)
I use a dremel and fill it with gold gilt for dark wood and black fill for light wood.
Re: Signing your work
Bill Grumbine, Kutztown PA
>Ezekiel, I used to have one of those cheapie burners too, and used it for quite a few years. Late last year or early this year, I forget which, I forked out for an expensive woodburner, which for now is only used for signing my work. It is a joy to use, and I can sign a pile of bowls in minutes where it took hours before.
I do not sign small things like pens, confetti lights, or most things under $40.00. Bowls, hollow forms, plates, goblets, etc all get a signature. Like Russ says, it enhances the sale and drives up the price.
Bill
Which Wood Burner?
Ezekiel Holliday in Belpre, OH
>Which burner did you buy? I'm looking at the Detail Master system at Woodcraft. I may even just buy the handle and build my own power supply since I'm an electrical engineer in my "real" job. Now which handle do I want.
Zeke
Building a controller *LINK*
Jeff Gerardot, Indianapolis IN
>A while back Pascal Oudet posted instructions on how to build a woodburner controller from an old PC power supply.
Haven't done this myself, but I might try someday.
Pascal Oudet's Post
Russ, have you found a way ...
Fred in NC
>to sign your pens? This one has baffled me!
Re: Which Wood Burner?
Bill Grumbine, Kutztown PA
>Ezekiel, I have the Burnmaster Hawk, I think it is. I spent about $99 for the burner plus the handpiece. One of the things that I liked about this one was that Mark Kauder recommended it to me. Another is that this particular model will accept handpieces from just about anyone. Of course, that is a potential, since I am only using it for one thing right now, but who knows what the future holds! I do not remember the model number of the handpiece, but it is a writing tip. It can be modified to make it even thinner than it is, but I have not seen the need for that yet.
Bill
