The Conversion Corral

[Earp]

Take the BITE boys, if you want a fedora, call Art, call Optimo, call anyone who sells fedoras, go on eBay, but stop making fools of yourselves with your home steamers, irons, soaks and amateur techniques. Buy a fedora and wear it.

If you want a cowboy hat, buy one and wear it and proudly.

Howdy Bart! Don't be mad.
Sometimes folks like to take something they never use and make it into something they can use. Plus they get a little taste of what it's like to shape felt and the satisfaction of making something themselves. Maybe it could inspire some folks to learn the art of hatmaking. Some folks can't afford to have Art make them a hat. So they make due with what they have. We're just having fun with these things.
Regards,
Earp

 

[DanielJones]

Fool says you? Scholar say I!

Take the BITE boys, if you want a fedora, call Art, call Optimo, call anyone who sells fedoras, go on eBay, but stop making fools of yourselves with your home steamers, irons, soaks and amateur techniques. Buy a fedora and wear it.

If you want a cowboy hat, buy one and wear it and proudly.

Tch, tch.. Bart, Bart, Bart. The Resistol I wish to convert I have had (proudly I might add) for 18 years. It served me well in the rodeo arena and had at least one horse stomp it flat. But my days of the cattlemans crease are done. So should I just retire the old hat as it is & relegate it to someone else or let it languish in the back of a closet?[huh] Nay says I! It is time for it to be reincarnated to a different shape & life instead of languishing in a hat box grave yard. Rise Lazarus, Rise, and be one with the world again!

Besides, Bart, This is half the fun. Most hats back in the day were sold open crowned and either the shop proprietor or the new hat owner would shape it themselves to suit their own style. It's sort of experimental archaeology. Oh, to be sure, buying a preformed hat is easier and you can reap the talents of the custom hat maker, but to shape one yourself you can honestly say that that particular hat is yours. :eusa_clap

And, like Abraham Lincoln said, "Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt." I drink the water for what it is and enjoy learning a new skill that I may be able to pass on to my stepson. And if you think us fools, us fools are all around. Have a great evening!

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Uncle Vern]

Mark G, tell me about those Mackey hats you own. They look great on his site. How's the fit and finish on them?

 

[Earp]

Earp, how do you get screen captures? .... (etc.)
dean

Dean, it's easy and the program is free. I'll PM you with the details.

 

[Speedster]

Very impressive Davidson. Thanks for the turorial. You have done a fantastic job.:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Earp]

The Johnny Ringo Hat

Some folks have expressed interest in learning more about the Johnny Ringo Hat. I'll start a new thread for it.
--Wyatt--

 

[Davidson]

Denatured alcohol now tested

I couldn't stand not trying the standard advice here on FL that if you want to soften hats, most stiffener is shellac based and alcohol will dissolve it. So I bought 2 gallons of denatured alcohol at HD and got to work. I soaked each (of 5) hats for about 15 minutes, and then, remembering how my dad taught me to clean paint brushes, worked and kneaded the felt in the alcohol for another 15 minutes. The alcohol turned a little browner with every hat I worked on. At the end I put the lid on the tub. The next morning there was about a teaspoon of powdery solids I filtered out, who knows what that was. And I guess a lot of shellac is still in the alcohol. Wondering if that was enough, I bought 2 more gallons and repeated the process. Still got substantial alcohol discoloration and more residue - but less, maybe 50%. At this point I thought "good enough". Misc comments: the alcohol really dries your skin, so wear gloves. The alcohol also dries out the sweatbands, so apply Lexol after they dry. Dye came out of my black hat but it still looks black.

Oh yeah, I can really tell the difference in stiffness. A couple of them I could consider shaping "dry" (no water or steam), which was out of the question before. They're not softer to the touch, or different in any way except stiffness. From now on, if I want a more flexible hat, I'll probably do this again.

 

[Wolfmanjack]

Misc comments: the alcohol really dries your skin, so wear gloves. The alcohol also dries out the sweatbands, so apply Lexol after they dry.

It is precisely this fact that has made me shy away from the softening methods (with alcohol) and cleaning methods (with naphtha) that I see recommended on the FL. Lexol is magical stuff, but can it completely reverse the damaging effects of these chemicals?

This is way fftopic: so I'll start another thread on this question.

 

[RBH]

It is precisely this fact that has made me shy away from the softening methods (with alcohol) and cleaning methods (with naphtha) that I see recommended on the FL. Lexol is magical stuff, but can it completely reverse the damaging effects of these chemicals?
.

I have had no problem with my sweats after cleaning with naphta. BUT I soak no longer than 12 hours.

 

[John in Covina]

Oh yeah, I can really tell the difference in stiffness. A couple of them I could consider shaping "dry" (no water or steam), which was out of the question before. They're not softer to the touch, or different in any way except stiffness. From now on, if I want a more flexible hat, I'll probably do this again.

***********

Although somewhat tied together it is a difference between soft and flexible for descriptions, maybe?

 

[Davidson]

***********

Although somewhat tied together it is a difference between soft and flexible for descriptions, maybe?

John: I'm not sure what you're asking. We're talking about what Wolfmanjack and RBH call "softening", which is removing the stiffener from the felt. I'm not sure "softening" is a good description of the results I got. The felt is less stiff but not softer. I wondered if people understood what I meant with the distinction between soft and flexible. The surface texture of the "3X" felt I'm torturing here is somewhat rough, a little like suede. The surface texture of my Stetson Pinnacle feels like the finest flannel. That's what I mean by softness. The alcohol treatment didn't change the softness, these still feel more like suede.

But the flexibility is greater - the felt is less stiff, more bendable, less boardlike. To varying degrees, though. A couple are pretty floppy, a couple still pretty stiff - but none are as stiff as they were.

But I think we are all describing the same things - using alcohol to remove shellac-based stiffener (which includes Scout stiffener, BTW) and using naptha to clean (but not remove stiffner, since it will not dissolve it). I noticed alcohol seemed to do a pretty good cleaning job also, so if I alcohol soak and knead a hat, I likely won't follow with naptha.

I think I need to learn about "pouncing" to take care of the rough (but flexible ) surface.

 

[fatwoul]

OK guys this is the society specifically dedicated to your western conversions and discussing other people's efforts.

We are your co-hosts Duck and Fatwoul. Enjoy your stay.

 

[RBH]

I shall be first,
here is my Stetson 'Wildcatter'

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/7565/qafa4.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

Here it is as it was...

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/6485/25556370tpix9.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

 

[Duck]

Here we go!!

Motivated by RBH's exellent work!!!!!

1st a Stetson I had for over 20 yrs.
Before:

After:

2nd. OFAS Resistol:
Before:

After:

Let's see all the other conversions

 

[fatwoul]

RBH the ribbon on that one it crazy and wonderful. Do you have any closeups of the centre of the bow? Whats the pointy, different-coloured bit?

Duck I didn't know you'd done other ones. That Stetson is great too.

Better put mine in here too:

Before:

After:

 

[thunderw21]

Here's mine after conversion. 6 1/2" open crown with 2 3/4" brim.

Before conversion it looked like Mr. Duck's cowboy hat.

 

[fatwoul]

Excellent thunder. That's a great shape. It gives the impression of being quite soft after the work you've done to it. Is it?

I really like the colour combination too. Brown and grey. If someone just said it, I wouldn't imagine it working, but seeing it I can see it works very well.

 

[RBH]

RBH the ribbon on that one it crazy and wonderful. Do you have any closeups of the centre of the bow? Whats the pointy, different-coloured bit?

It is a oil derrick pin, to go along with the 'Wildcatter' name.

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/628/qxc4.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

here is the wildcatter thread...
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=14232&highlight=wildcatter

 

[thunderw21]

Excellent thunder. That's a great shape. It gives the impression of being quite soft after the work you've done to it. Is it?

I really like the colour combination too. Brown and grey. If someone just said it, I wouldn't imagine it working, but seeing it I can see it works very well.

Thanks.

The crown is softer but the brim is still a bit stiff, great for a heavy rainstorm.

I was going to go with a dark blue ribbon but tried brown and thought it looked great. It definitely was not what I expected.
Billy

 

[Duck]

Thunderw21, that combination works very well!! Good looking lid :eusa_clap :eusa_clap