My Hat Block

[DR Ulloa]

I've just started making my own hat block. Its about 9 inches tall. I haven't sanded it yet so its essentially a 9'' tall stack of wood. It'm letting the glue dry and will have a go at sanding it tomorrow. My first project will probably be to rake apart and rebuild my Keppler. Hopefully it will come out alright.

Dave

[Canyon]

Yay! Can't wait to see pics!

[Indiana G]

good for you. make sure you don't leave the block as a straight 360 on the sides (front and back) or you may end up eating some of your brim. if you try to contour your taper close to the keppler shape, you can stretch the felt back to a decent untapered form. if your block is straight where the original keppler block had taper........you can either try to stretch it out (which i have had no luck in doing) or you may have to take that extra felt from the brim. good luck!

[BendingOak]

Dave, Call me.

[DR Ulloa]

Thanks for the advice G. John, I'd call but don't want to wake Little Oak.

As for the block. I used some really good glue and the thing has dried and holds but good. The problem...I forgot to cut out the oval before I glued so I essentially have a giante rectangle.

I assume I sand it all down but that will take forever. Any suggestions?

Dave

[Indiana G]

Thanks for the advice G. John, I'd call but don't want to wake Little Oak.

As for the block. I used some really good glue and the thing has dried and holds but good. The problem...I forgot to cut out the oval before I glued so I essentially have a giante rectangle.

I assume I sand it all down but that will take forever. Any suggestions?

Dave

yikes....you like to make things challenging for yourself hey dave?

draw the oval pattern and see how much you can saw off somehow.......then you're gonna need a real long belt sander......or cut down the block to 6" so it's easier to work with....then use a belt sander that will sand it down evenly.

man, if it were me.....i'd start all over and ensure that you cut out the 'hockey pucks' first

[DR Ulloa]

I think it might be easier that way. I'll just head on over to Home Depot again tomorrow and pick up the other half of the ten foot long chunk of wood I took.

Dave

[Indiana G]

hey......my first hatblock was made with $1.03 worth of pine

[DR Ulloa]

I almost feel bad saying I spent...$8...

Dave

[DR Ulloa]

good for you. make sure you don't leave the block as a straight 360 on the sides (front and back) or you may end up eating some of your brim. if you try to contour your taper close to the keppler shape, you can stretch the felt back to a decent untapered form. if your block is straight where the original keppler block had taper........you can either try to stretch it out (which i have had no luck in doing) or you may have to take that extra felt from the brim. good luck!

I don't buy into the 360 theory. I've yet to see one complete 360 stovepipe that looks right. In my opinion, the Raiders hat had considerable taper on the front and a litle bit of taper on the back. Without that back taper, the reverse taper that every Indy hat maker strives for wouldn't look so dramatic. The back radius that David came up with was the only missing peice of the puzzle. I knew the back rqadius was off on these hats when I first got here, but didn't know by how much. cont'd...

Dave

[DR Ulloa]

I have a feeling I'm going to get this down in a few tries. My desings seem about right. I'm not interested in making hats professionally, just as a hobby. And this way, I can reblock my hats once they need it.

Dave

[Restless Dreamer]

I'm not interested in making hats professionally, just as a hobby.

same thing steve and marc used to say

[BendingOak]

I never said that

[DR Ulloa]

I'm not interested in making hats professionally, just as a hobby.

same thing steve and marc used to say

No, I am not going to be selling hats. I think its a little premature as I don't even have my block done yet. Still, I don't want to do make hats professionally. I don't even know if I'll like making hats. I just wanted to see if I could do it.

Dave

[Ohio Jones]

Pine is a good starting point. I made a few out of it...but no matter how much finish I put on them....if they didnt crack..the warped. I then made some out of cherry....nicer...expensive...and it made for a nice display piece...but poplar is the way to go. I got some 8/4 from a supplier in town (toledo) here..and made Indy G's block out of it. It took to the sanding better...since it has less sap than pine and tighter grain than cherry, and it really took the finish (Tung oil) really well. I put 4 coats on G's block and it was very impressive as I am a lacquer guy.

Gluing a block up before cutting the oval is not a bad way to go...if you have a bandsaw to cut it with. I am currently ordering a new saw that will cut to 12 inches with little deflection in the blade. It has ball bearing guides on it so the blade is almost locked in with not twisting. With the square block you could but the radius front to back and be almost spot on and clean it up with a sander. Same with the front on view. The one problem I had with the disk and gluing them together...that even with a bearing sander...they never seemed to quite match up. And if you have one at the bottom that is a touch smaller on the sides of the block....then you sand it to the ones above it....you have compromised the straight sides...if you want them that way. I work with wood like most guys will work with metal. We machine veneers for our longbows down to .011". We also glue up multiple layers of core wood to get a specific draw weight...and if you are off the target thickness by .020" I freak out. Now think about how thick that is.....not much at all....but I have always wanted it perfect...It wont effect the bow that much....but that was the way I was trained. In my carpentry and cabinet making business.....to a lot of guys a 1/16th is close enough...not with me..so little things like sanding the disks flush result in a slight belly or bulge...bothers me. I do have a Burr King Knife grinder that has a 6 foot belt on it...and that will true up anything I get askew by hand in seconds.

Best of luck to you and a belt sander works...but a rotex type sander works better.

Cheers

[Indiana G]

I'm not interested in making hats professionally, just as a hobby.

same thing steve and marc used to say

that's what i've been saying............so far

man ohio.......that's some serious shop talk buddy.......i knew i had the right man to make hatblocks

[Ohio Jones]

I'm not interested in making hats professionally, just as a hobby.

same thing steve and marc used to say

that's what i've been saying............so far

man ohio.......that's some serious shop talk buddy.......i knew i had the right man to make hatblocks

I tell you what....I really enjoy making the blocks...and other hat tools.....cant wait to show you all whats down the pipe. I have another week or two dealing with the accident...then full steam ahead...well slowly at first.....

[theinterchange]

No, I am not going to be selling hats. I think its a little premature as I don't even have my block done yet. Still, I don't want to do make hats professionally. I don't even know if I'll like making hats. I just wanted to see if I could do it.

Dave

Sounds like where I am at present.

Randy

[DR Ulloa]

Ok, since sending my Penman Raiders off for a reblock on John's gorgeous new Raiders block and ordering a pseudo Watchmen hat from him, I've tied up most of my free funds. So, ordering felt will have to wait a little while. In the mean time, I stripped down my old wool DP and got it onto my block. I didn't let it dry completely becuase I just wanted to see what it would look like. Now, I know a proper fur felt hat will look better, but I must say, I am impressed.

I bought the block on ebay. It looked like a fairly straight sided block in my size so I went for it. When I received it, I knew it would give me something close. I didn't know how close. When I dropped the top crease in the back down to the point where I got reverse taper, the hat still looked straight. The picture I have here shows it. My camera ran out of battery right after that shot, so I can't show anymore. I didn't even sew the ribbon or sweat back on, but this will give you a general idea. I gave it a quick 30 second Raiders bash and took the picture. I can't wait to get some proper felt on this baby.



Dave

[DR Ulloa]

Ok, just took apart my Christy's and put have it on the block right now. I'll let it sit there for two days before I pull it off. I'll probably reuse the ribbon and redo that hideous bow. Hopefully I won't lose too much crown or brim, otherwise I'll have to turn this into a non-Indy hat. I'll post pictures then.

Dave

[DR Ulloa]

Alright, pulled my Christy's off the block and have the sweat in. I just layed the ribbon across the hat to give an idea of what this will look like. I lost some crown height and brim width, but that was expected with the Chrity's felt. I steamed it before sticking her in the boiling water and the thing shrunk up right before my very eyes. Anyway, here are pics of the side and front.





It was a quick generic Raiders crease and I didnt' really tweak it like I should have, but there it is. I want to know what good felt will look like on this block. I will probably order some next week. Let me know what you guys think.

Dave

[DR Ulloa]

I tore down an old Bailey's western hat and remade it. I had to reblock and resize it. It was a pain in the backside becuase it was a 6 7/8 and I am a 7 1/2. This is vintage rabbit felt. Good quality stuff. Anyway. I gave it a generic Raiders/LC style crease. Nothing specific. These are really bad pics, but they'll have to do for now.





Dave

[BendingOak]

What's the brim Dim. on the black hat David? It looks a tad to wide from that pic. Would like to see your ribbon work as well. I like the shape so far.

[DR Ulloa]

That means a helluva lot coming from you, John. There is no dimensional cut. I cut it 2 3/8'' the whole way round. I also did it by hand. I marked the hat up with chalk and then cut. It isn't perfect, but its not terrible. And I'm not sure that you do want to see the ribbon work.

Dave

[BendingOak]

it's the only way to learn my friend is to go over the weak areas and find out how to do them right. Be as hard on your self as you can.

[DR Ulloa]

Sorry for the poor quality photo, John, but it has been raining all day and can't get outside. This will have to do until I can get some better pics.



Dave

[BendingOak]

Take a step back or don't zoom in so close. Its to blurry for me to help.