throwing in the towel on making hats
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- Indiana G
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throwing in the towel on making hats
..........on my current hat block ;-)
i realized last night when i was beating the crown of my hat with a ruler (to promote more curvature), that i really should just get an accurate hat-block. there's only so much i can pull off with a straight-sided 360 hat.
plus, i think mr. oak's influence was subliminally gnawing away at me i've taken my hat making as far as i can with a 360 home-made block. i made a hat that i can be proud of as far as the materials and construction..........i just can't get it to look the way i want it to look with a flat top block.
i commissioned lamode to construct me one of steve delk's raiders beauties in my size. also, our recent addition 'Local Land Surveyor' has given me a lot of insight into his own block findings. i am getting one of steve's blocks with some very minor adjustments based on what LLS has relayed to me (thank you sir ) and from my own findings in regards to what an AB rabbit hat looks like after some wear and what my hats look like.
i have the hat bodies, i've ordered a bunch of ferrels and the rest i got.........just waiting on the block i hope to have something less clunky made up by year's end. then i will do a comparison of crown shapes between a 360 stovepipe and a tweaked raiders block.
through all of this i was thinking........man, its cheaper to just buy a 'henry'............
i realized last night when i was beating the crown of my hat with a ruler (to promote more curvature), that i really should just get an accurate hat-block. there's only so much i can pull off with a straight-sided 360 hat.
plus, i think mr. oak's influence was subliminally gnawing away at me i've taken my hat making as far as i can with a 360 home-made block. i made a hat that i can be proud of as far as the materials and construction..........i just can't get it to look the way i want it to look with a flat top block.
i commissioned lamode to construct me one of steve delk's raiders beauties in my size. also, our recent addition 'Local Land Surveyor' has given me a lot of insight into his own block findings. i am getting one of steve's blocks with some very minor adjustments based on what LLS has relayed to me (thank you sir ) and from my own findings in regards to what an AB rabbit hat looks like after some wear and what my hats look like.
i have the hat bodies, i've ordered a bunch of ferrels and the rest i got.........just waiting on the block i hope to have something less clunky made up by year's end. then i will do a comparison of crown shapes between a 360 stovepipe and a tweaked raiders block.
through all of this i was thinking........man, its cheaper to just buy a 'henry'............
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G, If I may put in my 2 cents. To do it right. You have to not care if you mess up a felt body or a dozen or so. That goes the same with any materials. You should see the stack of felts just sitting in my garage from the mistakes I made. I mess up, I grab another felt body. Thats why I worked with cheap hats that I redid before buying cheap felt bodies then moving up with the good stuff.
This is part of the reason I won't see a dime from the hats I'm selling for some time.
This is part of the reason I won't see a dime from the hats I'm selling for some time.
- Indiana G
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ha ha.....you and i both lucky thing i had over a dozen hats to perform experiments on before i started this whole hatmaking thing.....went through all my old HJ's for construction trials......and a couple of old cowboy hats i experiment on for block shaping trialsBendingOak wrote:G, If I may put in my 2 cents. To do it right. You have to not care if you mess up a felt body or a dozen or so. That goes the same with any materials. You should see the stack of felts just sitting in my garage from the mistakes I made. I mess up, I grab another felt body. Thats why I worked with cheap hats that I redid before buying cheap felt bodies then moving up with the good stuff.
This is part of the reason I won't see a dime from the hats I'm selling for some time.
i fancy myself a good basher, long before i started making hats. i always liked bashing an open crown and i felt that i could do alot with a hat despite the block shape. i got pretty close with the 360 block, but as LLS feels....close sometimes ain't good enough. i feel i can get closer with a proper block and i left myself room for 'adjustments' with this new block if i wanted to change the shape
- twilekjedi
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- Indiana G
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something awful did happen to me..... discontentmenttwilekjedi wrote:Omigosh, when I read the subject heading on this thread and saw the author, I thought something awful had happened to you! I really like reading about your hatmaking. It's neat watching you develop your craft. Always improving!
perhaps when the block comes in, i'll do a step by step thread of how i put together a hat....complete with smoke breaks
- The Aviator
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The title got me going for a few seconds.....
G, I can hardly wait to see what you will come up with when your new block arrives, nor what you will come up with after you modified it the umphteenth time ;-) Take your time, but do not let us wait too long for pictures of your results ;-)
Regards, Geert
G, I can hardly wait to see what you will come up with when your new block arrives, nor what you will come up with after you modified it the umphteenth time ;-) Take your time, but do not let us wait too long for pictures of your results ;-)
Regards, Geert
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- Indiana G
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the 360 will produce a great hat, don't get me wrong.....and the new block that i am getting constructed will be adjusted for less front and back taper than standard......closer to a 360. i really wanted more of a domey sloping top for my center crease and i didn't feel like spending the weekend sanding
you can compensate alot for the straight sides of a 360 in how you crease the center bash and you can play with the angle of the brim as well. you can also play with the height of the front pinch, where the 'camel humps' mate to the side dents, etc, etc........i didn't want to go the 'smoke and mirrors' route anymore. i want to see what a rounded block will give me. what sold me on it is the mini camel humps that you get on the rear of the crown where the center crease meets the edge. you can get really nice front humps by playing with the bash on a 360 crown, but the back is something you gotta live with. $3K, i know you porkpie your hat to give you more dome.........i wan't my crown to cave in naturally and have these pronounced. i love LLS's raven bar hat as these are very prominent in the back.
you can compensate alot for the straight sides of a 360 in how you crease the center bash and you can play with the angle of the brim as well. you can also play with the height of the front pinch, where the 'camel humps' mate to the side dents, etc, etc........i didn't want to go the 'smoke and mirrors' route anymore. i want to see what a rounded block will give me. what sold me on it is the mini camel humps that you get on the rear of the crown where the center crease meets the edge. you can get really nice front humps by playing with the bash on a 360 crown, but the back is something you gotta live with. $3K, i know you porkpie your hat to give you more dome.........i wan't my crown to cave in naturally and have these pronounced. i love LLS's raven bar hat as these are very prominent in the back.
- Indiana G
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no need to........just a watch a little film called 'raiders of the lost ark' and you'll see the same hat.
you know geert.........if any one ever answered a question of mine like the way i answered yours, i would reach inside the screen and slap them ...........i know, i'm a smart-"behind"..........and of course my friend, i will share all of my results. it would be selfish of me not to considering all of you folks helped me in making hats
you know geert.........if any one ever answered a question of mine like the way i answered yours, i would reach inside the screen and slap them ...........i know, i'm a smart-"behind"..........and of course my friend, i will share all of my results. it would be selfish of me not to considering all of you folks helped me in making hats
Indiana G wrote:you know geert.........if any one ever answered a question of mine like the way i answered yours, i would reach inside the screen and slap them ...........i know, i'm a smart-"behind"..........and of course my friend, i will share all of my results.
Nah, I was laughing too hard to even considder reaching in and slapping you ;-)
I am realy looking forwart to your results G
Regards, Geert
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- Indiana G
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not at all $3K.......its pretty much steve's raiders block which i asked richard to decrease the front and back taper on (more 360 stovepipe) and increase the front to back slope on. there still is taper in her as i have already blocked a hat, and i can see it. i haven't bashed it yet so i don't know how this taper will react. i should know by week's end.