ANOTHER person makes his own hat

[Mark Brody]

Posted this over at Club Obi Wan earlier this morning. I thought people here might be interested, too.

Most people go for a Fed or Fed Deluxe if they grow impatient waiting for their AB to arrive. I opted to make a hat to hold me over instead.

I made the block myself with a tutorial I found here at COW. The flange I got off of eBay for about $50. I got about 95% of the actual hat supplies from, well... hatsupply.com (plus 2 small items from Michael's).

I made an absolute mess of the apartment working on this, and had a blast. Things that I thought would be a problem were not at all an issue, and some things I hadn't even thought about left me stumped, but it all worked out in the end. The ribbon that Leko gave me from hatsupply.com isn't a very good match for an Indy hat, so I'm waiting on one of Todd's replacement ribbons.

The links are pics of the hat in progress, while the tagged photos are, obviously, the finished hat. One of the "in progress" photos makes it look like there are two hats, but that was just a photoshop trick.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/drjones/hatmaking1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/drjones/hatmaking2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/drjones/hatmaking3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/drjones/hatmaking4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/drjones/hatmaking5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/drjones/hatmaking6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/drjones/hatmaking7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/drjones/hatmaking8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/drjones/hatmaking9.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/drjones/hatmaking10.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/drjones/hatmaking11.jpg

 

[AlanC]

Great job--congratulations! Are you taking orders yet?

 

[tonyb]

Quite impressive, Mark. With you and Stoney and Ande setting the example, I'm beginning to believe even I could not only totally rebuild (or make from scratch) a hat, but also the equipment for the job.
Bravo, Brody. Bravo.

 

[Damon Falzone]

Wow! :eusa_clap

 

[SonOfaPreacher]

nice job!

:eusa_clap Very well put together hat. Also nice color choices. I have done a few myself and did and OK job, but your hat looks flawless! Keeping dying industry alive makes me happy.
Cheers
SoaP

 

[surely]

oh, it's ok; i could probably do better; yeah, maybe in a parrallel universe.

 

[indycop]

I am going to have to try this if you guys keep popping these cool things up like this!! That is one great looking hat!!!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Ande1964]

Fantastic and inspiring! I gotta go look up that block-making tutorial!

Anj

 

[tonyb]

Yes, Ande. I'd like to see how that's done, too.

 

[Mustang]

Great job on the hat, and very cool avatar. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Stoney]

Fantastic

Brody.. You have been busy as a beaver.. haven't you?

Wow, Your hat looks great. Much better than a Federation. Did you use the Rabbit or the Beaver felt? I love that block that you made as well. Perfectly tall and straight with a minimal curve on the top. I think I'll try to duplicate one as my next project. lol

I'm also thinking of making a couple of tollikers , so I don't have to use my cologne bottle to work the wrinkles out of the brim.

You also did a much better job of documenting the process with photos than I did last week.

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Also I've been digging through the forum looking for info on sweatbands and found a post from Sharptoys that mentioned Fern Thatcher Co. as a supplier of Roan Reeded sweatbands. I called (816-238-8720) and purchased eight of them in the antique color. They were a little under $3.00 each. I'll post back when they come in and let you know what I think of them.

 

[Roadrunner]

I'm impressed. Great work!

 

[Mark Brody]

This was the hat block tutorial that I found. It looks like he used pine. I know I did, but I'd also call that one of my mistakes. Go for poplar or some hardwood. Pine gave me a few headaches... literally.

http://www.indygear.com/cow/viewtopic.php?t=20997&highlight=tutorial

As far as making the hat itself is concerned, There was a thread here that used to be a sticky. I don't know what happened to it. The one combined with Marc's AB Deluxe thread at Club Obi Wan told me most of what I needed to know, and I reaffirmed that with Stoney's thread last week. The rest was all about jumping in the water to learn how to swim.

 

[ScionPI2005]

That's pretty cool; looks real nice! A lot better than I could ever do!

 

[RBH]

FANTASTIC!
:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Spellflower]

I would consider myself lucky to own a hat like that, let alone have the skills to make it. Nice job! :eusa_clap

 

[Ande1964]

I read through the block-making thing, and while I admire the results, I think it would be easier for me to use my lathe and then glue a piece in the middle. I don't like sanding!

Anyway... my previous statement stands... great job on your hat!!!

Anj

 

[AlanC]

As far as making the hat itself is concerned, There was a thread here that used to be a sticky. I don't know what happened to it.

It is now linked in the 'Important Threads' sticky along with a number of other such threads.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Mark, Your results are really superb. It's a joy to see. I know you had a great time making it. Thanks for documenting the steps so well, and for providing a new source for sweatbands. I look forward to seeing many more! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[NonEntity]

My highest compliments, Mark!

You are strongly arousing my sense of if-you-want-something-done-right-do-it-yourself, so please dissuade me from doing this myself by addressing the following:

The total amount of money you spent on materials and equipment, including items most folks would not already have lying around the house or garage.

The total amount of time you put into the project.

I'm counting on both of these metrics to be outrageously steep!