Club Obi Wan

So I bit the bullet and decided to take a shot at reblocking my Keppler Beaver Brand hat. On my own. With my own block. Hey, what fun is life if you don't live dangerously once and a while, right?

Backstory: I got a template of my head with a wire and transferred that to some 2-inch insulation foam left over from my Halloween proton pack. A few cuts and some sanding to shape I now have this domed...thing. I'm calling it the Pink Panther.

Why the Pink Panther? Well, because I always thought the Pink Panther was cool. So if (with a little luck) some of that coolness rubs off on this project and I don't kill my hat, then I'll be happy. Besides, "homemade hat block derived from 2-inch foam insulation" sounds lame.

Now while I wait between coats of the Polycrylic Sealer to dry, I'm looking for some technical support.

Alright COW-folks here's the question: When test-fitting my dry hat to the block the crown begins to pucker before the hat even gets to the top of the block. This puckering runs front to back. Is this normal?

I imagine what I'm seeing is the taper of the hat's original block/shape fighting the Pink Panther and causing this puckering.

I'm also guessing that once wet, the felt would "yield" to the Pink Panther and eventually conform.

So anyone who has been through this, I appreciate any/all replies.

If you could weigh in and let me know if what I'm seeing is normal, then I'm forging ahead once this thing dries.

i've been making hats for the last year and started by doing reblocks too.

the puckering is probably just what you think it is. the block is most likely more stovepipe and or longer front to back than the shape the hat has now, causing a bit of stretching and puckering of the dry felt. when you go to block it, by wetting and steaming the felt, it will be more pliable. you'll be able to pull and press the felt to the block. if you have any more quesitons feel free to pm me if you'd like.

Walking Eye,

Thanks very much. I appreciate the response.

I was concerned because my hat was originally a long oval block and most of my hesitation with buying and using a regular block was that I had no idea how the two would react with one another. Probably would not have been a big deal, I know, but I just wasn't willing to buy something that might not be used again.

Then I thought, if one could stretch a hat that originally had a domed crown over a flat-bottomed bucket and have it come out looking good (as results in these threads has proved) then my block with its curved-topped should be OK to use.

(BTW: The Jonny Quest robot eye is classic; one of my favorite parts about the beginning of that show. That particular episode was pretty cool.)

Well the dirty work is done and I'm pretty happy with the results.

I didn't disassemble the hat, nor did I do any work on the brim. I liked the brim as-was, lots of wear got it like that.

This first-time block was just about reshaping the the crown.

The full album (including shots of it on my head) can be found here: http://img69.imageshack.us/g/p1020733.jpg/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here's a preview of what the Pink Panther produced. Comments welcome.

Nice work!

not bad at all.
might i suggest that if you make another block you add a bit more taper on the back.i think the dent needs to be a bit deeper though. a deeper dent should round out the arch on the top of the hat when viewed from the side. as the hat is now, the back of the center dent is fairly high on the hat and there is already some reverse taper. it looks to me that if you were to drop the dent down it would produce alot of reverse taper. though, this could be compounded by the concave shape that can happen just above the sweatband by reblocking with the sweatband on it.

really good results for the way you reblocked it, but i think you could make a stellar looking lid if you tore it down and blocked it without the sweatband in it.

Not bad at all! Be careful, though, you might get the bug to keep tweaking.

Thanks Nico, Walking Eye and Bink.

This hat has always seemed to have the bottom of its cent dent resting on and being pushed out but the top of my head. I could never really go too deep with that dent before either. I believe the unbashed crown height is only about 5 inches, so I don't have much to play with up there.

The main goal I had (besides not ruining the hat) was to give it more of that Raider's "boxy" look. Prior to this re-block, the more I wore it the look was just too rounded.

The concave shape you described by leaving the sweatband in during the blocking did occur. I thought by pulling out the sweatband I might prevent that from happening, but oh well, live and learn.

I'm happy that it turned out pretty well and I hope I passed the test...

Looks good! I like what you named your block too.

Thanks Dangerman. I try to keep a sense of humor about this stuff.

I added these as a set on flicker as well.

They are the same as the Imageshack photos, but sometimes flicker is less a headache to navigate than Imageshack.

Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28642132@N ... 231101444/