Do you think the dress wt bodies will give you the crown ht and brim width you want?
I could live with it if I could squeeze 5 1/2" out of a crown. Await your critique!
What color do you want? I like that midnite blue.
John Lofgren Monkey Boots Shinki Horsebuttt - $1,136 The classic monkey boot silhouette in an incredibly rich Shinki russet horse leather. 
Grant Stone Diesel Boot Dark Olive Chromexcel - $395 Goodyear welted, Horween Chromexcel, classic good looks. 
Schott 568 Vandals Jacket - $1,250 The classic Perfecto motorcycle jacket, in a very special limited-edition Schott double rider style.
I personally think that 6x3 is attainable. To do so without a professional steam generator and just a jiffy steamer I would wet block it. Soak the felt in hot tap water for 30 minutes, wring it out, then steam the hell out of it, wrap the block in plastic wrap, the stretch over the block, and lock down with the blocking cord. At that point I let the felt dry for 2 weeks. I check the brim width all the way around. If I am short the I attach everything to a piece of large wood. Wet and steam just the brim and the I stretch it out and pin it in place. I use a pin pusher to put one in about every 3/4 of an inch until I have gone around the entire brim circumference, let dry another week or two. Awesome side effect is that it pulls out the waves that want to form in the brim. I also feel that with wet blocking I get a tighter conform to the block itself.
Yes, I agree. The downside is that with the arthritis in my thumbs this played havoc and took a few days to recover.
Sorry to hear that you have arthritis. I was going to "Like" your post but it felt like I would be saying that I liked the havoc that arthritis has caused you. Art too has arthritis and the pinning part of the process I got from him when I spent 2 days in his shop. He though was pinning directly into his flange and I just can't bring myself to pin into something I paid $200 for I went with a $20 craft board from the home improvement store.
The beaver felt I pinned was in the hat making class and it was not my flange so full speed ahead. The downside is that when I trimmed the brim I cut through a pin hole and I have a very slight deformation (half round hole) in the outer edge of the brim.
The great upside of working with the Tonak rabbit is that it does not require pulling and manipulating of anyi degree so I do not suffer. I do have some Beaver felts on their way so we shall see. My fall back position is to work exclusively with the rabbit felt.
