Is there really a right way to sign Woodturning Pieces? My Take and How I do it.

In this video, I want to show how I sign my work. Please see below some links to videos and gear.
🤝
Cheers,
Kezza
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DISCLAIMER :
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My methods may not be the safest, so please be responsible for your safety and follow the manufacturer's guidelines and all safety instructions.
Thank you,
Kerry C.

[@jennybarnes4806]

Very good advice Kerry. I either use a permanent marker or nothing at all. Will be investigating a burner in the near future. Cheers from the far south coast of NSW

[@KerryCorney]

@@jennybarnes4806 thank you, Jenny. It will set you apart for sure. That trade flame is a good little unit. He has signed a lot of work and is still going strong. Let me know how you go. Cheers, Kezza

[@shedmanx3640]

I am an Aussie wood carver and have been using a cheap pyrography kit I purchased from EBay. It has two pens, a multitude of tips and variable heat settings. Cost me about $40. Great unit, has been going for years and works well for my purposes. I’m always amazed at how quickly it heats up or cools down. Great video buddy.

[@KerryCorney]

Thanks for sharing, mate. Sometimes, I have a win on the cheaper stuff. Sounds like a winner of pyrography pen you have as well. Thanks for leaving a comment. Have a great weekend. Cheers, Kezza

[@johnnyb95678]

Thank you for the tips on signing. I always struggle with signing. I have a burner, but still need to practice more.

[@KerryCorney]

I'm glad you got something from it, Johnny. I sometimes have scrap pieces of timber and do a trial run to make sure the burner is set to the right temperature and to get my eye in. Hope you're well, mate. Kezza

[@walonguy111]

I really like the short videos, great content. I agree totally on burning your signature into the wood, it adds a unique touch to your work.

[@KerryCorney]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, mate. Totally agree with you. Personal touch! Cheers, mate. Kezza

[@STMwoodturning]

Good advice Kezza! I started signing my stuff a year ago or so using a fine tip permanent marker. Too scared to try a fire stick and don’t have the $$ for even a cheap one yet. I do like you suggested in following the grain lines. However, I put my initials on top, the species in the middle and the date on bottom. Cheers brother!

[@KerryCorney]

@@STMwoodturning thanks so much for leaving some feedback, mate. Just as long as there is something there on the bottom👌 I've been hearing that those fine tip engineering pens are the go. Cheers, brother🤝🔅 Kezza

[@jwrowland77]

100% agree with ya brother, I think burning your name and species of wood in the bottom looks much better than pen or permanent marker. I mean, it really doesn’t take much longer to burn the info in vs writing it. I use a wood stamp that my sister-in-law got me for doing her father’s urn when he passed, because she knew I wouldn’t take anything for it. lol 😂

[@KerryCorney]

Thanks for sharing your story, mate, about your branding iron. It's special pieces like that that we always have a connection to. Like my brother's pencil-the last one he used. Cheers brother🤝

[@balahmay]

I also started using a laser. It works great but there is a bunch of stuff to learn. My laser is an entry level Longer Ray5-10W used with Lightburn software. I added cable drag chains and air assist. I 3d printed a set of standoffs which are used to get the laser to about the right height over the piece. These can be incrementally adjusted and they involve feet that are screwed down to an mdf sheet. A centering grid was burned into the mdf sheet. Of course laser engraving opens up new possibilities such as incorporating a logo. Or for example I burned a Celtic knot design into the top of a box recently. Then I turned that lid over and burned my signature inside. Getting going involves typical computer use frustrations until you learn all the little details. There may be a better choice of laser for this purpose, but this one certainly is powerful enough. The very personal nature of hand signing is lost, but the laser engraved signature really looks good. The laser process actually goes better if you orientate the grain vertically.

[@KerryCorney]

Wow, thanks for this. It sounds like anything new-a steep learning curve at first, but then you get the hang of it. I’ve been looking into the Laserpecker style. Have you had any experience with it, or have you heard of others using it? Cheers, Kezza

[@balahmay]

@@KerryCorney Well I actually was thinking of the Laserpecker style as perhaps better for a production turner, where you might be able to run it while the piece is still on the lathe. I could see having some kind of adapter plate or fixture to quickly get it centered. I like the small footprint, or really no footprint. Mine takes up a big chunk of work surface and most of the time I have a laptop right there beside it. Wood smoke fumes could be a concern. With mine it can go into an enclosure and then have fume extraction of some sort. For now it lives in the garage next to the 3d printers which also make some nasty emissions. I haven't come across anyone yet using the Laserpecker this way. But I haven't been looking either since now my focus is more on how to use Lightburn. If you wanted to include a date and type of wood in the engraving, then that is a little chore that will slow things down a bit. You could have logo/signature files for all the different types of wood ready to go and then just change the date. Or, maybe not have the date. I know of a turner who doesn't want to date his pieces because he thinks that people won't buy if they see an old date. If you need help setting up a home network to remotely run lasers, 3d printers, etc. (like I did) you can just ask Chat GPT and you'll get an excellent set of instructions. (stop the IP addresses from randomly changing) Anyway good luck with it. Bruce from Wisconsin

[@KerryCorney]

@@balahmay thank you so much for all of this, Bruce. I think the laserpecker would be the go, I think🤝 Expensive though. Thanks again, mate. Kezza

[@ronbeckhaus7326]

Kezza, I am 68 years old and still don't have my pen licence. Pyography is the only way to go in my opinion, too. Cheers mate

[@KerryCorney]

Thanks so much, Ron. In my opinion it feels more professional done as well. Cheers, Ron. Kez

[@jadieramacdougal5621]

Something to think about...your pieces might just live to be over 100 years old, so including the century might be beneficial to the owner or archaeologist who might see it in the next few centuries. Cheers and your penmanship is superb!

[@KerryCorney]

I can only hope my pieces last that long-it would be amazing to see them around in 100 years. Still no pen licenses, though 😎 Thank you so much for the support 🤝 Kez

[@bespokewoodartistry1517]

Nice bowl mate, been wanting to do a square one for the sushi feed up. I reckon the signature writing is Bonza, I started do that few years back but it brought back nightmares of the classroom days 😮. Keep on keeping on! (Isn’t that from a paint manufacturer??) cheers lol

[@KerryCorney]

Yeh, hand signed stuff works a treat. I'm not sure about the paint quote. Thanks for watching the video, mate. Cheers, Kez

[@graeb4751]

My wife often tells me she got her pen license and I thought it was a Victorian school thing. I grew up in Ipswich and don't remember anything about a pen license:( Enjoying the vids Kezza and enjoying the QLD Cypress fruit bowl I got from you last year:)

[@KerryCorney]

Oh wow! I remember the bowl 🤝🙏 It’s fantastic to hear you’re still enjoying it. Thank you. Yeah, my handwriting looks like chicken scratch, or like someone used a crayon, hahaha. “The old pen license” Cheers, mate. Kezza

[@gregdownunderinOz]

G’day Kez, I agree pens are not cool. I always did this freehand with a razor pyrograpy pen. Only used species and makers symbol. Now though I use a laser pecker and it burns whatever I have created on my phone. Still,only use species and symbol. This produces a really professional result. Looks great.

[@KerryCorney]

I've been looking into the laser pecker for a while now. What series do you have? Cheers, Kezza

[@gregdownunderinOz]

@@KerryCorney I’ve a laserpecker2 The software that comes with it is not bad but a little hard to learn how to use it. I don’t have a heap of product to work on ATM so each time we use it it’s a bit of learning curve. However it does work and does a fantastic job. We can change sizes of logo etc easily depending on size of what’s being lazered. All in all extremely happy with it.

[@KerryCorney]

@@gregdownunderinOz awesome. I will have to check out that model🤝 cheers mate

[@peterreefman5468]

My wife trained as a primary school teacher and also spoke about Pen licences, but when I was in primary school I managed good marks for everything EXCEPT writing, which consistently was a "C"! I've been using a pyrography pen left behind by one of my sons, but your tips will make my signing a lot better, so THANX!! Now... I "inherited" a bunch of bowl blanks that were cut on a big bandsaw several years ago, and they all look like amorphous pieces of timber. Some, once I start turning them, I can identify. Many I have noooo idea! Any tips on how to ID the type of wood so I can include that info, rather than either leaving it out (current practice) or writing something terrible like "as yet unidentified wood", (which I'd struggle to fit on a line anyway!)?

[@KerryCorney]

I will email you a picture of the book I use. Cheers, Kezza

[@That_is_for_me_to_know]

I purchased an Ozito Wood Burning Kit from the “Big Green Shed” for $20. Basically a glorified soldering iron with different tips. Tradeflame also do a similar tool around $40

[@KerryCorney]

How did it end up working for you?

[@That_is_for_me_to_know]

@@KerryCorney So so. I simplified my signature by using straight strokes for the “J” (2 lines) and the “S” (3 lines) as I also failed my penmanship test. There is tool on Temu that will burn a set text that costs circa $150, more if you want the heating tool with it. This would work for me as I do not include species or date. Maybe I should?

[@KerryCorney]

@@That_is_for_me_to_know I have never used Temu for anything, so I couldn't tell ya a straight answer on that one, sorry. But I have signed a lot of work with that trade flame, and it hasn't let me down. That's only my opinion, though, mate.

[@chrissimmoms1550]

I don't have a pen burner, I use a fine tip engineers drafting pen. If there's something I don't like it is brands and those discs that folks get made up to hide their mortice.Those I feel are a real cop out to creating a nice finish to the bottom. All my pieces such as they are are numbered individually or as part of a sequence and logged.

[@KerryCorney]

I really like the idea of numbering pieces and logging them in a book or something. It’s a really cool idea-thank you for sharing that. I’ve seen other turners using a fine tip like you mentioned, and it looks really sharp. Thanks again, mate. Kezza

[@stubryanfull]

for the last piece of sculpture I made I engraved a small brass plate for the back. my handwriting is terrible but i think it lends itself to the art work that there is a genuine person that created it. A laser engraved plate would remove all of the personality from a work piece. but that's just my opnion....

[@KerryCorney]

@@stubryanfull I hear you, for sure. Maybe one day I’ll try using a laser for the species and the date, then sign my name by hand to make some comparisons. But yes, using a laser could take away some of the ‘creator/craftsman’ feel. Thank you for leaving your feedback, mate. Much appreciated. Kezza

[@northernhumidor5615]

👌👌

[@KerryCorney]

Thanks mate.

[@supportinvoiceonline77]

Ive started doing mine with a laser....

[@KerryCorney]

That's the dream setup there! Nicely done. What model or brand are you using?

[@supportinvoiceonline77]

@@KerryCorney I actually just bought the TTS20 Pro, was only 800 dollars and just made a jig to sit it high enough to do the bowls. I wanted to do more than just bowl bottoms, but the TTS55 at 350 dollars is ample for bowls. By the way I love the realism you are bringing to the wood turning community

[@KerryCorney]

Thank you for this comment. I try and just be myself, which has been hard at the start. But I'm becoming more comfortable with the camera and videos. Cheers mate