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Branding Irons [Stainless Steel vs regular metal] ?

K

k_ranch

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 23, 2006
Messages
63
Location
lacreek, sd
Since we've weathered some storms got some good moisture and still have calves to brand :D I'm curious of others experiences/opinions on this topic.

I switched to using all stainless made figures on the irons 5 yrs. ago thinking it was the way to go ie last longer/ heat faster-easier/brand cleaner with less chance of blotching. But the material is 3 or 4 times more expensive .

I make my own irons, I use 1/2 inch rod for handles and 1/4 x 1 inch or 1 1/4 strap for figures. The face of the iron is 1/4 wide. Stainless is a little harder to work with.

I've used both wood and propane fires with each kind of irons. I'm real picky about my brands pretty important around here. Just not happy with the results of the stainless. I've got cows in my herd branded pre-stainless I can read the brands 1/4 mile away but have to look hard to see brands on the younger cows up close. :?

I made some new irons yesterday out of mild steel and year branded my yrl. replacement hfr.s brands went on fast, clean and good.

Probably go back to the non-stainless for better results just have to replace irons more often
 
I wonder why the differnce in mild steel versus stainless,you would think stainless would heat better and stay hotter longer,I use electric now but when I fire branded always thought stainless would be the way to go,never have tried them tho I kinda like the electric with a small generator.................good luck
 
I asked Mr. FH and we can't recall what was wrong for sure, but it seems to me the edges were so sharp that they caused the brand to do strange things...but like I said, we can't remember for sure.

We thought they would be just the ticket, but after trying them we sure weren't pleased with the results.
 
how is your calving coming along Fasterhorses,are the ladies gettin it done? :D ...................good luck
 
They are getting it done, but funny that they should have started last Wednesday. The wind was blowing 9-0 and it was COLD. Very cold wind chills. Nothing calved to speak of until that wind quit. Then there was calves all over the place. Now today, it snowed and we didn't have a calf. How about that? Guess they are trained not to calve unless the weather is right. Mr. FH does give them a good talking too from time to time! :wink:

You asked a nutrition question somewhere and I meant to answer it, but I can't find where it was posted. Do you remember? It had to do with jersy lilly's hay being 12-14% protein.
 
Faster horses said:
They are getting it done, but funny that they should have started last Wednesday. The wind was blowing 9-0 and it was COLD. Very cold wind chills. Nothing calved to speak of until that wind quit. Then there was calves all over the place. Now today, it snowed and we didn't have a calf. How about that? Guess they are trained not to calve unless the weather is right. Mr. FH does give them a good talking too from time to time! :wink:

You asked a nutrition question somewhere and I meant to answer it, but I can't find where it was posted. Do you remember? It had to do with jersy lilly's hay being 12-14% protein.
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Yes I remember it I was askin if some of that good ole vigortone and hay that tested 12 to 14% was good enough to get those ole mama cows thru winter,I said if I had hay that tested that good ,I could save some money on cotton seed cubes..................good luck
 
You are right on Haymaker. Actually we winter our cows on hay that isn't even that good sometimes. As an industry, we have been oversold on protein.

When hay is low in protein, it generally isn't as digestible so you need to feed more of it. Lots of ranchers see the cows not clean up the hay, so they cut them back the next day. It isn't that they had too much, it is that they couldn't digest any more. That gets to be the problem with dormant grass too and why protein supplement is needed when winter grazing. It gets the rumen going in order to help digest the grass better.

12-14% protein hay for a range cow I would call almost ideal. Straight alfalfa is too rich and needs to be cut with a lower protein hay. Straigh alfalfa really is best fed as a supplement, not a total ration.

Feeding too high of protein after calving can raise the blood urea of the calf and predispose him to scours. Cattle need a lot of feed after they calve, but they don't need a lot of protein. Meet their requirements, don't exceed them seems to be a good rule of thumb and hard to do.

In our country what we mostly are short on is energy. We have tested lots of hay and most likely the feed is over on protein and short on energy.

Our cows get grass hay with a little alfalfa thrown in and mineral. If we could raise or buy a 60-40 alfalfa grass blend that would be close to an ideal ration.

(This is what I have learned and it is based on that and what we have found to be true working with producers in this area.)
 
k_ranch, how tall do you make your brand characters? As far as the type of metal, I has as good a luck with good heavy mild steel round stock for the characters, maybe 5/8" dia. For some reason they seem to hold the heat as well as ones made of flat bar, and do a nicer job. I actually kinda prefer that they don't hold the heat too well, as it cuts into the beer drinkin' time. And brandings being as fun as they are, why would you want to hurry through?
 
Silver said:
k_ranch, how tall do you make your brand characters? As far as the type of metal, I has as good a luck with good heavy mild steel round stock for the characters, maybe 5/8" dia. For some reason they seem to hold the heat as well as ones made of flat bar, and do a nicer job. I actually kinda prefer that they don't hold the heat too well, as it cuts into the beer drinkin' time. And brandings being as fun as they are, why would you want to hurry through?
Click to expand...

Silver, I make my calf irons 4 1/2 to 5 inchs tall and yrl./adult around 6 to 6 1/2. The face thickness is 1/4 inch and makes a thicker brand print maybe 3/8 to 1/2.

I've used round stock also only thing I've noticed is if the animal moves the iron may slide easier than something with a flat face, esp. on the shoulder.

Don't want to hurry just get done before dark :-) My brandings never as fun for me as going to others is. I guess it all the prep. and worrying.

I've found stainless heats up in about 2/3 thirds the time but looses heat almost twice as fast just to hot for the first calf and can't get a second calf done with same iron. The mild steel just seems to print a better brand that scabs and heals better :? Hard to explain.
 
Yes, the round stock is a little more slippery, you want to keep a reasonably sober guy on those irons. But they do make a nice brand and dont seem to burn through like can happen with flat bar. 'Course, I just made a new brand yesterday and used 1/2" flat bar, but ground a rounded edge onto it. This brand I only made 4" tall, I've never had a hip brand before and didn't want to get carried away. Also, wasn't sure how to make an X with roundstock. Our calf rib brand is about 6" tall, which makes for a nice billboard that even OT can read. :wink:
I've heard what you said about stainless from others, and so have shied away from it. I did use some stainless on my dehorning irons handles, and I can tell you that that is a mistake.
 
Silver said:
Yes, the round stock is a little more slippery, you want to keep a reasonably sober guy on those irons. But they do make a nice brand and dont seem to burn through like can happen with flat bar. 'Course, I just made a new brand yesterday and used 1/2" flat bar, but ground a rounded edge onto it. This brand I only made 4" tall, I've never had a hip brand before and didn't want to get carried away. Also, wasn't sure how to make an X with roundstock. Our calf rib brand is about 6" tall, which makes for a nice billboard that even OT can read. :wink:
I've heard what you said about stainless from others, and so have shied away from it. I did use some stainless on my dehorning irons handles, and I can tell you that that is a mistake.
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I use stainless and like them. I think part of the reason is that the hair doesn't stick to them so easily.

But the best I've ever used for a bar iron was made from cutting the edge off from some channel stock, so that they were tapered and would hold the heat. After a few years, they seem to get to where they won't hold the heat very well, so it's time to make some new ones.

I had an old timer show me to take a hammer knock all the slag build up off from the part that touches the hide, before you ever heat them up. It makes a big difference in how fast they heat and how long they hold the heat also.

I think wrough iron would be good, but it seems to be hard to find. That might be what the rake droppers or cleaners that FH mentioned are made of. We had one once but weren't very happy with it. Don't remember why. I think it didn't hold the heat very well, but that might have been after it got older too.

One year I has branding a bunch of yearlings, as they came to the place in bits and spurts. I'd run a new bunch through the day after they got here and I was putting the brand Heart Lazy T on the ribs, for the fellers who owned them. The Heart was made of stainless and the T was made of plain old iron. This was in the winter and spring, so I would take a wire brush and brush off the spot that I was going to put the brand on and then slap the brand on. The heart was always hot and ready to use, but I'd have to wait on the T every other critter or so. I decided I really liked the stainless steel iron better! :wink:

I think as long as a feller don't get to using a cinch ring, and being pretty good with it, he'd be alright and wouldn't worry the neigbors too bad. :wink:
 
the best irons i have ever had were made from bearing races. they are rounded on the face and tapered.
takes a lot of patience to build them though, hard to bend the tapered steel and come out with a flat surface.
 
One of the benifitts of being small is all I have ever used is an electric Iron.

I do have one iron that I don't like very well as I brand a backwards G and a W and a K in 3" letters and the iron is made so that the W is about 1/8 inch up when you put the iron on a flat surface so it must be placed just right or it will not inplant right. I calle dthe company that made it and they did not seen to care so I never bought anything else from them.
 
George said:
One of the benifitts of being small is all I have ever used is an electric Iron.

I do have one iron that I don't like very well as I brand a backwards G and a W and a K in 3" letters and the iron is made so that the W is about 1/8 inch up when you put the iron on a flat surface so it must be placed just right or it will not inplant right. I calle dthe company that made it and they did not seen to care so I never bought anything else from them.
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Something I always wondered, where do you plug the iron in, out in the pasture, a current bush? :wink:
 
Jinglebob said:
George said:
One of the benifitts of being small is all I have ever used is an electric Iron.

I do have one iron that I don't like very well as I brand a backwards G and a W and a K in 3" letters and the iron is made so that the W is about 1/8 inch up when you put the iron on a flat surface so it must be placed just right or it will not inplant right. I calle dthe company that made it and they did not seen to care so I never bought anything else from them.
Click to expand...

Something I always wondered, where do you plug the iron in, out in the pasture, a current bush? :wink:
Click to expand...

JB, there is a fairly new invention called a portable "Generator". You put fuel in them, turn the key and they will make electricity. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Mike said:
Jinglebob said:
George said:
One of the benifitts of being small is all I have ever used is an electric Iron.

I do have one iron that I don't like very well as I brand a backwards G and a W and a K in 3" letters and the iron is made so that the W is about 1/8 inch up when you put the iron on a flat surface so it must be placed just right or it will not inplant right. I calle dthe company that made it and they did not seen to care so I never bought anything else from them.
Click to expand...

Something I always wondered, where do you plug the iron in, out in the pasture, a current bush? :wink:
Click to expand...

JB, there is a fairly new invention called a portable "Generator". You put fuel in them, turn the key and they will make electricity. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Click to expand...

I'll be darned. How do you keep from dragging calves across the cord?

And you have to spend money on gas, when there is all them old fence posts and good ash wood, up the creek? Man! That is just outrageous! :wink:
 
I believe that is known as rake divider. Kind of oval shaped and the best iron material ever. I have a set of stainless, and thay're not bad, but the rake divider iron set my brother built for me are by far the best irons I've got.
We built 4 new irons for the "tincup" yesterday; 400 burnt butts say the rake divider is the fastest (hottest), iron around.
 
Personally use mild steel irons and am happy with.Stainless is like the shiny bumper on the rich kids truck in town.Also overly partial to my brand?-Had to make irons myself,and used the handles from my fathers which he no longer used.Seems to mean something while washing that smoke down with a Budweiser. 3 Diamond Bar
 

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