Which material to use for making a brand?

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A friend came to me with a project to make a wood brand for him.  The brand would be used for wood to make a logo on some stuff he builds. I have an idea about how I want to go about creating it, but I'm not sure which metal to use.  When it's finished, I just want to be able to heat it with a blowtorch and give a quick impression.  I plan on using a carbide burr on a die grinder or dremel to do it by hand, but I want something that will hold up to repeated heating and hold it's shape while hot enough to give a good marking.  Any suggestions?  Curious about steel, brass or possibly stainless.  Regular old steel seems like it would be the easiest.Last edited by kazlx; 10-26-2011 at 05:33 PM.
Reply:Regular 'ol steel is easiest and will get red hot if needed and will brand anything you touch with it....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Thanks.  That was my first thought to use, just didn't want to learn the hard way if there was something better I hadn't thought of.
Reply:Have your friend look through the styles of branding irons herehttp://www.rockler.com/search_result...ilter=brandingfor possible inspiration.John
Reply:Those look good.  Some of the custom ones that aren't letters or stock type logos I have seen are $200+.  He has a custom logo already drawn up that shouldn't be too complicated, but should look cool when done.
Reply:I have built a whole lot of cattle brands through the years and I always used reguar steel. How ever they were probably larger than what you are going to build. They all held up well but if what your building is very small you might consider cold rolled steel instead of regular mild steel.Here is a couple to see how big the ones I've built are. Attached Images
Reply:Wow these are big. Nice though. I wouldn't want to be the animal that gets branded by a brand that big.Out here we make them smaller. I used a 1 1/2 flat bar on edge and when it was done, I would put a 1/4 " ready rod so when it brand it doesn't slide on the skin of the animal.
Reply:Dang Bob,Thought the idea of a "branding iron" was to "mark" the stock, not COOK it.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:Here's the logo that I'm going to do for him.  It's going to be about 3x4".  I plan on getting a die cut sticker printed and affixing it to the steel to use as a template.  Then carve it out by hand with a carbide burr in a dremel.
Reply:If Bob's wranglers have them lined up... he can probably brand several animals before reheating with that bulk... very efficient...Weldandpower Lincoln 225 AC,DC with Briggs 16hp gas engine.WW2 era Miller TIG.
Reply:hi, we used to brand company name on wood ladders years ago. All we did was knock coating off 6010 rod, bend end to 90, heat , and make letters with it.
Reply:I hope you intend to make the the different parts from different pieces and assemble, and not carve into a flat plate.unless you rebate the open areas VERY deeply, they will cook the wood also.
Reply:Wouldn't that have to do with how much you heat the brand?  I was thinking of making the relief 1/8-1/4".  I could make it deeper if need be.  I think the hardest part will be getting the brand shape correct.  I don't think it will be all that hard to remove extra material if I need to make it deeper.