as i sand the felt as if it were wood....back and forth, back and forth....quickly and with alot of elbow grease.
The best way is to sand in long strokes, with the grain. Like you were finishing a fine piece of wood. That is, sand with the grain.
On the bodies that I use, the finer grits, really just polish the fur, and not something that I want to do. I prefer a dead finish, but a true dead finish involves smoking the hat, which also gets rid of any mottle. But with that said, we are not used to the odor of smoke, and many would find it undesirable. Back in the old days, everything smelled of smoke anyways, so it was not a bother. Times have changed.
When sanding, or pouncing, you don't want to sand to the core. The core of felt hats is not as dense as the outer layer. This is because the felting machines, "felt" from the outside. So, the outer layer is denser than the inner core. If you sand down to the core, you will have a much more unstable hat, in so far as tapering and shrinkage goes. The core is not felted as well as the outside.
Years ago, I wanted to thin a western body down, and used 150 grit to thin it down. I ruined that hat!!
Glad, it was mine and not someone else's. Trial and error is the best teacher. I have had alot of both! These days, I am not intimidated by any of the steps used in making a hat. But that was NOT always the case early on. This hatmaking is loads of fun, and I still love seeing a raw body morh into a hat. But, each run of felt can vary from the last. And, you have to learn how to work each run, as some require different grits to get a good hat. As you get more hats under you belt, you will notice the variation in bodies from the same factory. I always figured it was employee turnover that causes it. Some require little pouncing, but others require much more, with various grits to get the desired outcome. Fedora
