Harbor Freight Stretcher!!

[Duck]

Picked up one of these today to give it a try, and dang....it works GREAT!! :eusa_clap I am going back to the store and getting some more, just to keep some hats from shrinking.

Also, they are $6.99 in the store, so print the internet add and take it in with you. They will honor the internet price at the store.

Link
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=42210

 

[Cigarband]

The ad says 7 1/2 to 10 5/8, I need one a little smaller. Do they have any?

 

[gtdean48]

The ad says 7 1/2 to 10 5/8, I need one a little smaller. Do they have any?

Those are inches & not hat sizes, just to clarify. HTH

 

[babs]

Yeah I've got one in the mail coming. Plus I just won a vintage, so I'll be able to shoot some side-by-side pics for comparison. hehe.. The shipping on the HF stretcher was more than the item itself. So given that I'm right in between a 7 1/4 and 7 3/8... Now I can consider a 7 1/4 if I see some sweet vintage lid maybe that I can't pass up and decide to chance it.

My thinking though on this harbor freight version.. Is that just an unbadged Hat Jack? If so, that's quite a price difference.

 

[FurFeltFedora]

Some leather conditioner on the band, a little steam on the hat and leave it on the stretcher overnight and you should be happy with the results, especially if you are only tweaking it a little bit.

 

[gtdean48]

... Is that just an unbadged Hat Jack? If so, that's quite a price difference.

Pretty much, that's all it is.

 

[FurFeltFedora]

Also, if you have a bandsaw they are dead easy to make. I make a few for my local hat store on trade for hat discounts. Having a full workshop (ex-cabinet maker) has it's moments

 

[Goose.]

I have two wood ones...one an inch high...the other three.

Primarily I use them to retain size. Not to stretch out (though I do have a Panama doing some Pilates in one now).

After a day in the rain, I will put the stretcher in the wet hat to just where it is snug. So far, no band shrinkage on any Fed that has been on my head..

Harbor Freight shipping is a good deal if you buy qty. Ship based on price Vs. weight. Once ordered a mess of hammers that were on sale. Shipping was about $10 if I recall. That was one heavy butt box too. So, order a few of those and send 'em out to your forum buddies Christmas in July!

 

[bolthead]

Also, if you have a bandsaw they are dead easy to make. I make a few for my local hat store on trade for hat discounts. Having a full workshop (ex-cabinet maker) has it's moments

What do you use for the threaded crank inside? [huh]

 

[Topdog]

Now just $4.99 each!!!

I just ordered three of them from the website. Out the door price was $22 and change. That includes shipping and tax for three of them. I basically got thrre hat jacks for the price of one!!!

 

[Dewhurst]

The price of hat stretchers has always mystified me. All of the ones I own (which, admittedly, come from a local western store) are anything but impressive, and only just barely worth the $15.00 I paid for them.

[huh]

 

[FurFeltFedora]

Bolthead I use what's know around here as a cable tensioner. Two threaded eye hooks with a threaded bar in the middle. It's normally used to tension cables. Most hardware stores have them. I just drill out a mortise in each piece of the stretcher the exact size of the eye of the hook, add some epoxy and away we go. Look for the ones with two closed eyes, not the ones with an eye and and open hook.

 

[babs]

So the vintage stretcher I won arrived yesterday.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390073214136&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Also the HF stretcher as well arrived.

I got to compare the two for the intended job.

NO contest, whatsoever.
- The HF stretcher just puts pressure from front to rear with little side support.
- It's unfinished and I imagine one could even get a splinter from it.
- I question it's longevity from the way the thread-bolts in the wood are constructed.

Though I'll keep the HF stretcher, it would be more suited to maybe just maintaining hats. But any real stretching work will be done by the old vintage. The shape etc... That thing is living proof that they just don't make 'em like they used to. It's in my Miller right now actually.

 

[Cigarband]

- The HF stretcher just puts pressure from front to rear with little side support.

I have a long oval head, don't need any side support so it works perfectly for me .

 

[babs]

Either way I guess but it just seemed to distort the hat so much with just front to rear pressure. I guess it's ok, but it just didn't blow my skirt up (figure of speech).

 

[bolthead]

Bolthead I use what's know around here as a cable tensioner. Two threaded eye hooks with a threaded bar in the middle. It's normally used to tension cables. Most hardware stores have them. I just drill out a mortise in each piece of the stretcher the exact size of the eye of the hook, add some epoxy and away we go. Look for the ones with two closed eyes, not the ones with an eye and and open hook.

Thanks for the tip FFF.

 

[mayserwegener]

I have a long oval head, don't need any side support so it works perfectly for me .

I am in the same boat. I usually only have to make a slight stretch front to back so this type of low end stretcher works fine.

 

[David Conwill]

Went looking for one this weekend at the store where I'd purchased previously and couldn't find one. I asked a clerk and she sent me to automotive floor jacks. I also don't find them on the website.

I guess they're discontinued? Anyone have another bargain spot to pick one up? Henry the Hatter shrank my Federation (the one in my avatar) and I want to have it stretched back out and use a hat stretcher to keep it in shape.

 

[smokepiper]

I just bought one from shrinkmyhead.com. If memory serves, It was $11.99 plus shipping It seems to be the same as those in the earlier harbor freight posts. Hope this helps.

D

 

[m0nk]

I was just looking at that. Does the single Small size really encompass that wide of a range? Others have small sizes from 6 1/2 - 7 1/8 or there abouts...