branding irons

[Jack Evers]

hey folks i got a question that needs verafication. my uncle told me that a branding iron cannot be a closed circle,letter, etc. because it would sear all the capularies in the skin and the "circle" would rot out..any truth to this? thanks jimmy

Not true. What happens is the heat can build up in a closed area, the entire area is burned, but doesn't initially appear to be. A few days later the inside slips, but it's due to the initial burn. You just need to be careful and not leave it in contact too long. A damp hide is particularly bad because of steam buildup. Look at post 12 - the closed iron on the left was used on quite a number of horses W/O problem, but very short contact time. As I used to say "when he jumps, he's branded" Cows need a longer burn time., but heck, one of the big local ranches was the AA brand W/O problems.

[fciron]

Jack, that is interesting to know. I've also been told not to make a completely closed shape for a branding iron for livestock.

Thanks again for the pats on the back. I've never had issues with branding irons before, especially if they're just for play or display. Folks are usually only concerned with what's on the end and a pretty or interesting handle is a bonus.

I suppose I should have taken him up on his offer to draw it for me; I know I was feeling a little rushed because I had the gas forge running the whole time we were talking and because he wanted it before his cousin arrived the next day. I am not sure that would have kept him from worrying about the thickness of the edge going on to insult my integrity and competence. I've noticed that once people get into criticism mode it can become impossible to please them.

I didn't have a problem with making them the way he wanted. I can understand the attachment to a childhood memory and I'm happy to work towards that. I hadn't gotten enough information on the phone the first time around and that was my fault. I was in a good mood and about to start his new handles when I got the phone message that sent things downhill. The problem was his continuing insistence that what I made the first time was wrong or inauthentic and implying that I was trying somehow to cheat him in the process.

Yes, that might have been avoided if I had a drawing before I ever started. That starts to turn 'lunch money' jobs into real jobs, which starts to raise the price, which starts to drive off the lunch money jobs. I think I will start insisting on drawings.

[Jack Evers]

I used to raise Quarter Horses, while my neighbors did cattle. When they had a horse or two to brand, many of them would have me do it because they tended to botch a horse brand. Horses and cattle are that different. Cattle were, hold them down, burn through the hair to hide and let them up. Their hide is tougher and the branding irons (and any enclosed spaces)are bigger. My cattle iron is about twice as big as that horse iron.

I'd brand a horse standing up. Clip the hair short at the brand site, Scotch hobble (tie a hind leg up) on the branding side so I don't get kicked, apply a blindfold and a twitch to distract him, then press the end of a 2x4 into the site until he quits reacting to the pressure. Grab a hot iron and apply it. As said before, when he jumps, he's branded. One or two seconds of contact time.

[tomhw]

I've branded and castrated calves but not horses. An old guy told me that you had to be careful when branding horses because they tended to lean into the iron and get badly burned. I am just reporting....

About branding irons J. Frank Dobie, a friend of the family, discussed branding iron traditions and examples in several of his books. One, "On the Open Range" (1951, Southwest Press) discusses some humorous examples of brand tampering and the owner's counter e.g. original brand IC, tampered into ICU, and ended with ICU2, and another: B4, B4U, B4U2.

[FireCat]

I have made a couple branding iron's for my own cattle and a few freinds. All our brands are registered..and everybody i know that brands there cattle has theres registered. Cow boss i worked for said that if anybody put the ranch's brand on any of are personel belongings that he would consider them to be a donation from us to the ranch. Dont use somebody elses brand without permission..if you do make sure its only for decoration purposes....I know i wouldnt be to happy to see somebody i dont know putting my brand on there stuff. In old west times if you got caught putting your brand on somebody elses cattle, it was grounds to be shot on sight { that was considered a form of cattle rustling }. Now days ya probaley wouldnt get shot..but might have to get a few teeth fixed.

[Steve Sells]

My Father in law asked me to make him a iron for marking his steaks, due in part to prevent him from loosing it, as well as to prevent anyone trying to brand a person with it, I built it into a replacement grill grate for his gas BBQ. First name is Tom middle initial is "B" and last name "W" so TBW was rearranged into this.

[fciron]

That's pretty clever, Steve. Is he gonna be able to get a whole batch of steaks branded or will he have to slap each one on that part of the grill? (Ha, marketing opportunity: custom grill patterns by someone with a plasma table.)

Does your father-in-law have a lot of BBQs where there is a danger of people getting branded? Can I get invited? ;)

[ianinsa]

You might have missed the boat here! there may be nothing wrong with his childhood memory! It may well be that Both he AND his family are clowns! And that they had bum (no pun intended) branding irons.

This has been a very informative and interesting thread.

Ian

[Steve Sells]

That's pretty clever, Steve. Is he gonna be able to get a whole batch of steaks branded or will he have to slap each one on that part of the grill? (Ha, marketing opportunity: custom grill patterns by someone with a plasma table.)

Does your father-in-law have a lot of BBQs where there is a danger of people getting branded? Can I get invited?

One steak at a time with this. As its flipped move it, one can move it over and do another one. I welded up some 1/4 inch diameter steel rods for the 8.5 x 19 inch grill, and for the 'logo' its 1/4 x 1/2 for a little more mass is easier to handle to assemble the shapes, no cutting table here.

I made it a secure because if you get a bunch of Scots and add in whiskey and a branding iron? hmmm you think about this one for a bit....

[Frosty]

One steak at a time with this. As its flipped move it, one can move it over and do another one. I welded up some 1/4 inch diameter steel Rod for the 8.5 x 19 inch grill, and for the 'logo' its 1/4 x 1/2 for a little more mass is easier to handle to assemble the shapes, no cutting table here.

I made it a secure because if you get a bunch of Scots and add in whiskey and a branding iron? hmmm you think about this one for a bit....

The imagery alone makes me think I should make some steak branding irons for the next Scottish Highland Games just for the excitement. I'll post a Youtube link if it works out how I think.

Frosty the Lucky

[fciron]

One steak at a time with this. As its flipped move it, one can move it over and do another one. I welded up some 1/4 inch diameter steel rods for the 8.5 x 19 inch grill, and for the 'logo' its 1/4 x 1/2 for a little more mass is easier to handle to assemble the shapes, no cutting table here.

I made it a secure because if you get a bunch of Scots and add in whiskey and a branding iron? hmmm you think about this one for a bit....

They must like steak well done. At our house, we'd brand both sides with an iron and call them ready to eat.

Combine Scots, scotch and a branding iron and they'll all want one to mark their friend's with. You missed a marketing opportunity there. ;)

[Frank Turley]

On my previous posts, I was "P.D." pre digital. I'm now able to send some photos. One shows some of my tooling for making branding irons: the bridge; the flat horn stake; bending fork and wrench. I've shown my bickern which can be used for tight U bends, etc. The branding irons are the best from my collection. The longest is the double slash @ 48 1/2" and the shortest with the socket, is 13 1/2" long. The two middle ones are from Australia. The "number 3" iron has an extreme stamp stock taper in cross section from 1/2" to 1/8". You can make out some of the tenoned joints on the irons. There are also some interesting forge welds where the flattened "foot" of a connecting rod is welded to the top edge of the stamp stock character. This is easier to do with wrought iron than it is with A36.

The iron on the left, a "reverse FT" has a interesting weld on the central cross bar of the "F." It was hot split vertically and both thin wings were opened to 90º. After applying with a few hammer blows, each wing was hammer welded into the vertical standard of the "F."

These smiths were not concerned with "heat breaks" but the workmanship is fantastic.

For further research, a couple of old books and a leaflet are:
"Irons in the Fire: Cattle Brand Lore" by Oren Arnold. 1965. Library of Congress # 65-12124.
"Hot Irons: Heraldry of the Range" by Oren Arnold and John P. Hale. 1944. McMillan, New York.
"Romance of the Brands" by Arthur Woodward. 1949, 4 pages. Los Angeles County Museum, Leaflet Series History No. 7.

[Ozark Nick]

Ok, here I am dredging up an old thread. fellow asked me today to make him a branding iron for his cattle. he insists the brand has to be made out of 1/2 inch round stock.

didn't sound right, but I thought what do I know. now I've read this thread. will this guys idea even work at all?

ps- by brand I'm referring to the logo.

[easilyconfused]

1/2 " round stock is way too wide for detail and won't hold the heat properly.  I've never seen round used in any of my travels as a rancher and veterinarian. What I've found works best and is to cut angle iron in half so you have a nice taper with mass behind it to hold the heat out of the fire. Can't dredge up actual dimensions off the top of my head.  

 

The handle is also very important to prevent burning. It needs to be long enough to keep out of the fire.  Between 3-4 feet works best for myself.

 

You'll also want to talk to your local brand inspector for brand dimensions based on animal size.  And don't forget the the 1/8-1/4" gap on one piece of metal, where two join and make a tight detail.  Otherwise it will become a blob of a brand.

[John McPherson]

If you look at Frank Turley's pictures, the stem seems to be universally round stock, but the logo itself never is. You need a relatively sharp edge to make the mark, and a thicker reservoir of metal to hold the heat.

[Ozark Nick]

Did some more reading. The article on branding irons here at IFI says to use 3/8 or 1/2 inch.

He also said he wants the symbol about three inches tall. But the article here says 4 inches or larger. Guess I need to do a lot more research.

[Jack Evers]

I'd certainly say 3" is too small for a cattle brand - OK for a horse. My personal irons are about 3 wide by 3-1/2 tall (horse) and 4-1/2 wide by 5-1/2 tall (cow).

[easilyconfused]

I've used 3-4" for branding calves.  The best is to call up the local auction brand inspector for sizes.

[SoCal Dave]

Is this guy new at cattle rustling.  Give him what he wants.  Maybe he isn't going to use it on cattle?  

[HWHII]

I have made a real branding iron for a rancher here in AZ. In AZ they are regulated by the state. They specify the size and shape of the iron. Here the letter material is a wedged shape like you would see on a piece of structural leg on C channel and 1 1/2" tall. best to check with the state cattle association. If you were to use 1/2" round stock it might not hold up over time as it will deteriorate over a short time from heating and reheating in the fire.