Hat Block Tutorial

Darrell · Post by **Darrell** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 12:16 am

To make a good hat block out of wood the first thing you need to do is get a good piece of wood. I had a 2" x 8" laying around which actually is 1.5" x 7.5" and to get a hat block that will be tall enough you will need 5 layers glued together in a stack.
http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077

The next thing you will need to do is to make a pattern to trace onto the board. I suggest getting a piece of flexiable wire such as a wire coat hanger, take the wire and shape it into the shape of your head, then trace out 5 patterns on your board.
http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077

Next cut out your patterns. I used my table saw to cut out the shapes and then I used the table saw to trim the patterns as close as I could.
http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077

The next step is the sanding, a big job so I use my Ryobi disc/belt sander. http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077

Sand each piece as close to the pattern line as you can, but do not sand the traced line.http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077

Next step is to glue the five oval shaped patterns together, I use Liquid Nails for this step. http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077

After gluing all of the pieces together I placed the stack on my drill press and then apply pressure to the top using the drill head. http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077

I wait for the glue to totally dry, about 24 hours and then I sand the stack on the sides and the top. It is normal to get high and low spots and I use wood putty to even things up as much as I can. http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077

ProBond Wood Putty http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077

After the wood putty dries I sand the entire surface, then I apply 4 coats of Polyurathane and the finished block looks like this. http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077

During the sanding and applying the Polyurathane it is a good ideal to take measurements of the top middle and bottom of your hat block.
http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077
http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077

Another tool you will need if you want to make hats is a tool called a Hat Jack, I made my own using a utility blade knife blade that I modified, 4 pieces of wood normally found in cigar boxes, a wooden ruller and two threaded rods and 4 nuts. http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077

http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077

You will also need some materials to make your hat with. http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077

Work in progress using my new hat block, this hat has a crown height on the sides of 6" and 5" at the front pinch area. The hat size will be 7 1/4 measuring 22 3/4" inside diameter. Anyone interested?
http://home.insightbb.com/html-jsp/phot ... onID=15077

I hope this little tutorial will be of some help to someone out there, if so please drop me an email.

Darrell

prairiejones · Post by **prairiejones** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 9:37 am

Wow!! What a great tutorial. Very informative. One of the best, and most useful, that I have seen. Thanks for the great work!!

PS I keep telling my wife that I need a drill press.

Indiana G · Post by **Indiana G** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 12:19 pm

great work darrel! i've always wondered what it would be like to sport your own creation. i'm quite envious.

cheers

Darrell · Post by **Darrell** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 2:27 pm

That drill press has come in handy that is for sure, I use it a lot for the work that I need to do on my rc submarine that I built from scratch. As you can see I also use the drill press as a vise. I have used that drill press to work on house hold repairs also, and to make things around the house such as a plate rack. Lately I have been getting a lot of use out of my disc/belt sander. If I did not have it I would still be sanding on the first hat block that I made.

If you should decide to make your own hat block and you have a disc/belt sander like the one that I use and it is in a small space, I suggest that you set the sander up outside. The first hat block that I made left a big mess inside my work shop and it looks like it will take about a month to get things cleaned up again. The hat block that I just finished I sanded outside and on a windy day which was a big help, no mess to clean up.

Indiana Max · Post by **Indiana Max** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 11:21 am

Nice tutorial, great help, thanks alot Darrell

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 11:41 am

Excellent done Darle!!!

High regards,

Marc

Mac · Post by **Mac** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 3:41 pm

Great tutorial Darrell! I especially love the rounding jack. I’ve been thinking of making one myself, since a new one costs several hundred dollars.

I thought about making my block from wood, but plaster seemed to be easier and quicker. I would much rather have a wooden one, though. Sooner or later I’ll post a tutorial on how I made my plaster block.

- Mac

Darrell · Post by **Darrell** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 6:52 pm

Mac,

Instead of using plaster I would suggest that you use pink house insulation foam. You can use the same method as in my tutorial, just replace the wood with the pink foam. Then to give the pink foam a longer life, apply polyuethane and thin cloth, silk or cotton. The polyurethain and cloth will give you a finish like fiberglass, light weight but stronge. Using fiberglass resin would melt the pink foam. You can get the foam in a 2" thickness also, another plus and if you do not have any sandpaper on hand you can use a piece of the foam to do the sanding.

Darrell

Mac · Post by **Mac** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 8:42 pm

Darrell,

Thanks for the tip on making a foam block. Since I first saw 3thoubucks’ foam block I’ve thought about using foam, which is obviously easier to shape than wood or plaster, to construct a plug from which to make a mold. I’d thought about using fiberglass to make the mold, but I never considered that the resin would melt the foam. Thanks for heads up!

-Mac

Post by **Dalexs** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 9:38 pm

Back in the good old days... a bunch of us made blocks out of Bondo.
None of that fancy schmancy house insulation stuff...

Fedora · Post by **Fedora** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 4:30 pm

a bunch of us made blocks out of Bondo.

And I still have my original block of wood and bondo. I just built up a vintage block from ebay with bondo. That stuff works great, and is good for block repair as well. Don't drop it on the foot though!!! I guess it is still the most durable block that I have. Fedora

Indiana82 · Post by **Indiana82** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:49 pm

Is this glue realy called "liquid nails"? Thats sounds ridiculous to me. But the instructions are cool! Thanks for posting.

Pitfall Harry · Post by **Pitfall Harry** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:02 pm

Yes, it is. I used to work at a Home Improvement store and the stuff works great!

Dr.Seuss · Post by **Dr.Seuss** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:52 pm

Darrell:

Have you finished that hat?

Sincerely,

theinterchange · Post by **theinterchange** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 11:05 pm

agreed. a most helpful guide to real diy block making.