Mount up the plate on your vise nice and tight - you definitely want it to stay still.

Also, the more light you can get on it the better, I had two lamps pointed at it



Suit up with your safety gear - I used headphones, its a lot nicer to listen to music than just here a dull whir

Please do use some form of ear and eye protection, its loud and there will be little bits of metal flying everywhere



Some thoughts on using the carbide cutting bits:

- Tungsten Carbide bits are awesome! They cut very well and have a pretty long life if used properly, but they are a little $$ - about $7-8 per bit

- Use a high speed, if you go too slow the bit will catch and buck, and you might cut something you don't want to.

- Don't press to hard - but keep a firm grip - I tended to use 2 hands most of the time, to have maximum control



Now that you're ready to go:

- Start by roughly outlining the shape of everything, except maybe very fine details, just to get a feel for how the bit cuts into the metal.

- Scratch or mark out the main outer dimensions of the brand - I obviously had a much larger piece of metal than I needed, so I planned on cutting the excess off - So no need to grind there

- Once you'e got a rough outline, I nibbled my way in from the outline to the edge of each shape - Take your time!

- I left the small numbers that would be the toughest for last, and cut up to all the edges of the big guys

- I switched to the fine point bit and very slowly etched away at the numbers in the date, just taking a little at a time



Some other tips:

- For long, straight line: you can use a thing cutting disk, it will be much faster and easier to make a long cut

- Don't try to dig in deep straight away - go layer by layer, it will preserve your bit and actually be quicker



Once I thought it was ready for a test run (took about 2 hours of cutting/grinding) I cut away the excess.

Now time for the handle!