Photos of hatters tools

[Xylophile]

Point taken; however, as I am making these out of "scrap" boards, that's how these will be. I have enough for two more polar's for practice, then a piece of hickory for when I get serious.


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Cool, then my further advice would be to see if you can get as much "late wood" on the working surface as you can.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood#In_ring-porous_woods
That way I expect it will glide over that felt without a snag or a mark.
And I hope you'll pardon my continued advice here, as I imagine it won't make 5% difference in your work, however I just enjoy having an outlet for my formerly used knowledge of wood. What's great about this place (or not) is you get everyone's $0.02 for free!

 

[Frunobulax]

Cool, then my further advice would be to see if you can get as much "late wood" on the working surface as you can.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood#In_ring-porous_woods
That way I expect it will glide over that felt without a snag or a mark.
And I hope you'll pardon my continued advice here, as I imagine it won't make 5% difference in your work, however I just enjoy having an outlet for my formerly used knowledge of wood. What's great about this place (or not) is you get everyone's $0.02 for free!

And worth every penny! LOL. Seriously, thanks for the advice. I would have never considered that without your input. I'll likely not make many of these, however. It's not going to be a business, I'm making them for my own personal use, so these will likely be the only ones I ever make.

 

[JumpnGalloper1]

This is incredible!

Were I a young guy wanting for something cool to learn, a Trade and Craft that could make someone smile and help buy a hot meal, I would have jumped up and down working for free even for a chance to apprentice!

 

[humanshoes]

And worth every penny! LOL. Seriously, thanks for the advice. I would have never considered that without your input. I'll likely not make many of these, however. It's not going to be a business, I'm making them for my own personal use, so these will likely be the only ones I ever make.

Hah! That's exactly what I thought when I made my first rounding jack. Just a one-off for my personal use. Now I've built dozens and sent them all over the planet.

 

[Frunobulax]

Well, maybe a little hatting will keep me out of seedy establishments when I finally retire.

Course, nothing else has...


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[buler]

Found these narrow flanges this weekend. They are marked as 1 1/4 7 5/8 561R, 1 1/4 7 1/4 181, 1 1/2 7 1/4 728. All are about 2 1/4 inches deep.

B

 

[Redfokker]

Found these narrow flanges this weekend. They are marked as 1 1/4 7 5/8 561R, 1 1/4 7 1/4 181, 1 1/2 7 1/4 728. All are about 2 1/4 inches deep.

B

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+1 sweet find!

 

[humanshoes]

Found these narrow flanges this weekend. They are marked as 1 1/4 7 5/8 561R, 1 1/4 7 1/4 181, 1 1/2 7 1/4 728. All are about 2 1/4 inches deep.

Stingy brim lover's dream!

 

[T Jones]

Found these narrow flanges this weekend. They are marked as 1 1/4 7 5/8 561R, 1 1/4 7 1/4 181, 1 1/2 7 1/4 728. All are about 2 1/4 inches deep.

B

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I'd love to get my hands on those.

 

[Frunobulax]

So I finally picked up a flange stand on eBay for a decent price (thank you miscategorized items!). It also came with this:

So my question is...

What the hell is that thing?


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[ChicagoWayVito]

So I finally picked up a flange stand on eBay for a decent price (thank you miscategorized items!). It also came with this:

So my question is...



What the hell is that thing?


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

I suspect that one you have a flange on the stand, you use that piece and insert it into the hat and then put the hat inside the flange crown down. Then cover with a cotton cloth, steam, and then sand bag it for 15 minutes and remove. Now you have flanged your brim. I have used Hat Jacks to do the same job. Are there any markings on it? Maybe it indicates a size? Or they were confused about it too and it has nothing to do with hatting.

 

[alexanderwestwood]

Took this a few weeks ago. Nothing too exciting but these are all the tools I use to make a hat.

 

[steur]

Now that makes me want to have a go at it myself (and do a terrible job). Lovely shot. It's like these DIY guys on TV making it look so easy if you only have the right tools.

 

[navarre]

I suspect that one you have a flange on the stand, you use that piece and insert it into the hat and then put the hat inside the flange crown down. Then cover with a cotton cloth, steam, and then sand bag it for 15 minutes and remove. Now you have flanged your brim. I have used Hat Jacks to do the same job. Are there any markings on it? Maybe it indicates a size? Or they were confused about it too and it has nothing to do with hatting.

Good guess Chicago, but it is more likely the matching counterpart to a crown mold, like a tipper. It might not be for a mens hat at all. These are often seen with millinery blocks. Picture a Telescope type crown, the felt is steamed, blocked and roped down. This piece then fits into the top to help retain the sharp crease while the felt sets up. The board is in essence the handle, some times these are used with a press as well. The press being used to hold the tipper in place while the hatter wanders off to do other tasks.

 

[Frunobulax]

Good guess Chicago, but it is more likely the matching counterpart to a crown mold, like a tipper. It might not be for a mens hat at all. These are often seen with millinery blocks. Picture a Telescope type crown, the felt is steamed, blocked and roped down. This piece then fits into the top to help retain the sharp crease while the felt sets up. The board is in essence the handle, some times these are used with a press as well. The press being used to hold the tipper in place while the hatter wanders off to do other tasks.

That makes sense. There is a mark on it to signify the "front."


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[Kuki]

I am staying with my 92 year old grandmother at the moment. When she was young, she trained to be a dressmaker, and after that took evening classes in millinery for 4 years until she qualified (second best of her class). She then got married and became a housewife, making clothes and hats for the whole family, but never working professionally as a milliner. She still made clothes for me when I was a kid, but had unfortunately given up making hats. This is her old hat block, dating from around 1950/early 50s. It's the only one she owned as they were very expensive, and any other blocks she needed could be rented quite cheaply at the time. She said she wants me to have it when she passes away, but of course that's not something I want to happen in the near future...

View attachment 63750

What a great story!! Thank your for sharing!! No hurry to get that block!


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[Kuki]

How I would love to have one of these sewing machines... I suspect you might only be able to see it if you have a FB account...

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=677863765685242

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[Xylophile]

How I would love to have one of these sewing machines... I suspect you might only be able to see it if you have a FB account...

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=677863765685242

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Awesome! Those folks are two hours away from me and the only hat shop I've seen anywhere close to me. What a coincidence!

 

[humanshoes]

Okay, here's the Frankenstein hat spinner built from scrounged objects. My buddy had a damaged variable speed portable band saw that still had a good motor and pulley. Mounted that to an aluminum plate and mounted that to an old end table. Speed control knob gives me a range of about 100 to 350 rpm.

 

[humanshoes]

A short video of the Frankenstein hat spinner in action.