Excellent, Eric. Thanks for the update. BTW, I saved my used cleaner, I will try re-using it, even though I bought the three bottle package. I poured the whole bottle in. My nozzle is new, so no issue there.
Now to find a nice piece of mahogany or oak to make a platform for my aluminum head block. I want something with a long tongue on it, with a slot cut in it as a hand hold, and to hang it up when not in use. I probably have something in the basement, else a stair tread from Lowes or Home Depot...
On soaking a crown, I would work my way up to that. First steam, then try a very fine misting of water (distilled, always), then a more heavy misting, and so forth.
I'm no expert, that's just my intuition for a conservative approach.
Eric, if you haven't already, check out Kevin's youtube videos. He's a lifelong hat salesman, now at JJ Hat Center in NYC. They are long, but entertaining. He has at least one on stiffening hats. The secret ingredient: hairspray. You can buy hat stiffener for a lot more money, but why bother?
Thanks, Eric. The crown block is "out for delivery," should have it by 2:30 p.m. or so, Eastern time. We'll see!
My steamer sputters at start-up, but not after. I'm getting a full head of steam in 80 seconds from cold! (Just timed it. Yes, I'm an OCD engineer.)
So, in case anyone's interested, I poured out and saved most of the cleaning fluid, It removed some black flakes; I don't know what they were. I rinsed a couple of times with distilled water, and then filled the jug and turned it on. It steams great! The distilled water was cheap, 98¢ per...
And another thing...
I just poured an 8 oz. bottle of Jiffy cleaner into my J-2 steamer. I will leave it for 3 hours. Should I recover this fluid and re-use it, or just dump it?
But here's the big question. The cleaner, in quantity 3 of 8 oz. each, is $18 plus about $18 UPS shipping - so...
I received my Jiffy Steamer parts and supplies today. Their service is excellent. I had made two orders, and they agreed to combine them and refunded me excess shipping. I bought their cleaner, as it's acid-based but not vinegar, and apparently vinegary can harm the unit (maybe the brass...
That's great! I swear, I was racking my brain, looking around the house trying to find something to use, and the stainless mixing bowls never occured to me!
Thanks very much for your reply! I did take the lining out and will try to carefully wash the areas with the stains. I'm not attempting a re-block, I just want to smooth the old creases as well as I can, clean them and then crease it to my taste. Not taking the sweat or the ribbon yet. My...
Greetings, fellow Millineryophiles!
So, I am new to all of this, and just completed a rash of eBay purchases culminating in a collection of vintage Fedoras, a Homburg, a Jiffy steamer, and a heated aluminum hat block in my size (22", 7 1/8, 57cm - it's marked 22", which is a 7, but while I buy...
I think mine was run with tap water. I just ordered the cleaning solution from Jiffy, with is acidic, but not vinegar! The recommend against the use of vinegar.
I did so because while mine steams well at times, sometimes it "stalls" and I have to give it a shake to get it going again. I...
FWIW, cleaning up my new (used) J-2 steamer I decided to take off the bottom panel to take a look. Here are some pics for those who might be interested. Note the "bonus" wrench stuck to the bottom with magnets!
So, I have a garment steamer, but am not entirely happy with the results. I'm trying to manage my hobby budget, so I didn't want to spend the $172 a new J-1 would cost with shipping. Looking on craigslist for "jiffy steamer" I found a J-2 garment steamer, locally, for $70. Examining the pics...
Did it! Came out great. Not perfect, but really good. I didn't take any pics or videos as I sewed it, but it's the straw hat's compliance that allows this to be done on my "standard" machine. I used the zipper foot and right needle position to keep it tight to the band. I'll take some pics...
This is a great article! I learned something today. As soon as I was done I ran to my meager hat collection and discovered I have two with Cavanagh edges: a Dobbs with a "Guild Edge," and a Knox with a "Custom Edge." Very cool.
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