I pounce and pounce and pounce.........

[Ohio Jones]

I have a hat body that I have been pouncing right down through the grits.....and It never seems to loose the "fuzz" look in the crown. The brim comes out quite nice...but the crown looks like...well...chewbacca. .....well not that bad...but not that good. Is there a vital step that I am missing? I start at 300 and go down to 1500 grit.

I am a wood worker and know how going down through the grits works with wood. You can get it almost to a mirror. This felt sanding to get a smooth finish....eludes me for some reason.

Thanks

[Indiana G]

hey buddy......per what fedora mentioned earlier....be careful on sanding right to the core of the felt as you may get unwanted discolourations in the finished product. i eased up a bit on the last hat and it came out wonderfully.

as for me, i pounce with only 500 grit, with longer strokes WITH the nap of the felt (Counter Clock Wise on top and CW on the bottom brim).....long strokes. if you get into a "patch" that is being difficult, go with short brushing strokes until it smooths out for you.

i over-pounced many of my hats in the past.......gives a nice distressed look, but i wanted a good finish.

i hope that helps......(btw - ironing the felt when it's slightly damp also helps to matte the fibres.....it helps you get a head start in pouncing)

PM me if you need help

btw - using a hat brush as you go also helps ;-)

[Ohio Jones]

I will give that a try G and get back with you.


Thanks

[Mark Brody]

Has anyone ever tried burning the fuzzies off the hat? I've done it on a wool beret before, and it worked great. The denser parts of the felt did not burn away - just the fuzzies. I'm just not sure if it might still damage the fibers that are tightly felted, even it it doesn't go up in flames. Setting fire to a $10 beret is not much of a risk, but a $50 hat body that's already been blocked would be a shame to ruin.

[Indiana G]

i've been very tempted to try that method....AB's got a velvet texture to them...something i've yet to recreate ......but you are right.......a $50 rabbit or $90 beaver hat body is kind of scarey

[Ohio Jones]

Yeah....I thought about it.......use to do it with dress socks to get the little fuzz balls off of it.

I heard you spray it with acetone...or denatured alcohol and then light it and it just takes away the loose ones....

Scared to try.

[Mark Brody]

The trouble is, everything we're talking about - even taking 1500 grit sandpaper to it - is damaging the fur. Sandpaper will scratch the remaining fur beyond repair, fire might burn the remaining fur beyond repair, and chemicals could do God knows what.

All the same, I think I might try a miniature flame thrower next time I try making a hat.

[mufflowne]

Brody, fuzz shows up on felt during pouncing usually if there is little-to-no stiffener in the felt. Also, make sure you keep brushing the little fluff away with a hatbrush in the correct directions as someone mentioned before.

[Marc]

Are you working on a rabbit or beaver felt? - On a rabbit you can pounce 'til you're through without getting a really smooth texture.

Regards,

Marc

[Fedora]

On a fuzzy hat that pouncing will not smooth out, use an atomizer, and atomize with at least 90 per cent Isopropyl alchohol. Then light her up with a lighter. Don't let it singe for as long as the burn will last, blow it out as soon as the fuzz is gone, or about 2 seconds. Then brush it, and pounce lightly with a fine grit. Do not use denatured alcohol! Very poisonous! Fedora

[Fedora]

Brody, fuzz shows up on felt during pouncing usually if there is little-to-no stiffener in the felt.

Your are right my friend. The shellac will keep the fuzzes from raising their ugly head. I guess it glues them down better. But with that said, beaver tends to fuzz up alot less than rabbit. The beaver fur felts tighter than rabbit, which is why a beaver hat takes longer to leak, if untreated with water repellant. A tight felt is more water proof than a loose felt, like rabbit. But this is a generalization too. The vintage Borsalinos, the pure rabbit ones, are as tight as Dick's hatband. Mercury made rabbit felt tighter, and hence, a higher quality felt, as tightness equals quality in any felt. Also, beaver fur is so much smaller in diameter than any other fur, which makes for a finer hat, and you get less fuzz with a finer fur. I can singe and pounce the rabbit bodies that I have access to, to the point that the felt looks like leather. Too much of a good thing.........Fedora

[Fedora]

Forgot something. On rabbit hats that you want a no fuzz finish, most hatters will iron the hat again, after pouncing, using a cloth between the iron and the felt, to stick the fuzzes down flat. But, as soon as the hat gets wet, the fuzzes come back. So, just don't get it wet! Fedora

[Michaelson]

WOW! You pulled both Marc AND Steve out of the woodwork on THAT one!



Regards! Michaelson

[Ohio Jones]

Fedora,

Yep...its rabbit. I have been practicing with the rabbit before I go to the beaver. Kinda like making a brim jack out of poplar before I made one out of cocobolo.

A beaver hat body is in my future. I am currently re-blocking an old hat sold as an outback hat but with no outback in it. It looks like an old time Clint Eastwood cowboy hat. It blocked out nicely and took a preliminary shape really well. I should have it completed sometime this weekend.

I will post some pics of the fuzzy hat when complete.

Thanks all for the info..and I will let you know if I flame it up.

Ohio

[BendingOak]

I hate to be the safety nut jumping in here but I don't really want to read about someone getting hurt. Make sure your place is clean of all objects and dust bunnies before using the process.


I would do a section at a time as to not over do it, and over doing it is a easy thing to do.

[binkmeisterRick]

Once a firefighter, always a firefighter.

[BendingOak]

[Mark Brody]

I would add to that to have a bucket of water or, better yet, a fire extinguisher standing by just in case. I'd hate to hear that someone was in such a hurry to give it a try that when their house caught on fire, they weren't ready for that possibility.

[BendingOak]

I would add to that to have a bucket of water or, better yet, a fire extinguisher standing by just in case. I'd hate to hear that someone was in such a hurry to give it a try that when their house caught on fire, they weren't ready for that possibility.

Good idea but keep the area clear of any fuels ( paper, dust bunnies, etc). This way the only thing is burning is the
alcohol or maybe the felt.

[Michaelson]

Once a firefighter, always a firefighter.

I thought exactly the same thing when I read that, bink!

Regards! Michaelson

[BendingOak]

Sorry, I can't help it.

[binkmeisterRick]

No need to apologize! Safety first, even in hat making!

[Indiana G]

No need to apologize! Safety first, even in hat making!

then where can i buy some armour plated sewing gloves?

[Michaelson]

No need to apologize! Safety first, even in hat making!

then where can i buy some armour plated sewing gloves?

http://www.alliedglove.com/detail.asp_Q ... tID_E_2609



Regard! Michaelson

[Indiana Croft]

Ok, since were talking pounceing and I was going to start my own thread w/my pouincing questions.

I have a AB beaver of a few years old, it's been re-blocked once. When it came back it had this mark in front just under the ribbon, the only way to describe it is were Fedora had the hat flange, left a mark/rubbed the wrong way look. I've posted pic's in the past but no one seems to be able to see them in the pics. But they are there, wew, out of breath there. On to my question: if I use 400grit wet/dry sand paper, can I pounce just in the small area and remove this discolored mark (it's a darker brown than the rest of the felt). Any help would be awsome, thanks.

Found my old post and heres a pic (which I posted before)
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z145 ... arrows.jpg

Croft

[Ohio Jones]

I was only considering trying it on a very nice day....and outside. To many people dont take precautions and end up burning the house down...because they forgot to thaw the turkey before dropping it in the deep fryer...oh...and the displacement it creates.

Yep...outside sounds like the best place to me

Indy G....dont forget to cover your eyebrows!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BendingOak]

depends on where outside you will be doing this.