Hat blocks/shapers/home made?...

[bolthead]

Am I the only weasel to have traced my head shape from an Art conformer before sending it back? It's not perfect but I got pretty darn close.
Tom D.

Smart thinking man.

 

[The Block Guy]

Hello there,

Just wanted to jump in and let you know if you need a certain size of flange...we can make just about anything. Size is no problem and profiles are limitless. All I would need is a size and if it is a round oval reg oval or long oval and what kind of shape you are trying to achieve.

Hope this helps,


The block guy

 

[chippy]

Am I the only weasel to have traced my head shape from an Art conformer before sending it back? It's not perfect but I got pretty darn close.
Tom D.

that got me to wondering if those lead filled conforming ,plastic bending rulers (i.e. Trueflex)that hold their shape would work for the same type of job; for tracing the shape of your head...not that you would need to use it for an exact measurement, but it would seem to be alright to get the shape

 

[tonyb]

Hello there,

Just wanted to jump in and let you know if you need a certain size of flange...we can make just about anything. Size is no problem and profiles are limitless. All I would need is a size and if it is a round oval reg oval or long oval and what kind of shape you are trying to achieve.

Hope this helps,


The block guy

I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes to know more about this operation of yours, BG.

I'm in no need myself (my flange supply is more than adequate), but it's good to know of another supplier, seeing how there are so few, and how the remaining old (antique, really) flanges are in finite supply.

You also makes blocks, I presume?

 

[kps]

Get a bandsaw and a lathe ( don't forget the gouges and skewers) and a place to put them. Glue some 2 x 4's together and saw out a rectangle. Mount the rectangle on the lathe and go to work.

Are there lathes that will do the right shape? All the oval lathes I've heard of only do two-way symmetrical ones.

I made my block and flanges with a band saw for the coarse shape. A jigsaw would do, too; you'd just have to cut more individual pieces before laminating them. The 'fine' shaping I did with a belt sander. Not professional grade, I'm sure, but adequate for me.

 

[CRH]

Are there lathes that will do the right shape? All the oval lathes I've heard of only do two-way symmetrical ones.

I made my block and flanges with a band saw for the coarse shape. A jigsaw would do, too; you'd just have to cut more individual pieces before laminating them. The 'fine' shaping I did with a belt sander. Not professional grade, I'm sure, but adequate for me.

I was thinking of carving on the lathe like you would carve a bowl but you're right. This would give you a round shape which would not be best as compared to an ovoid shape.

 

[CRH]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes to know more about this operation of yours, BG.
...

You also makes blocks, I presume?

I'm certainly curious.

I have access to a wood shop and could make what I want if I only new the dimensions. If I had access to the blocks I wanted to copy I could make templates - but then I wouldn't need to make the blocks would I. :eusa_doh:

Yes this could all be guesstimated but.......[huh]

 

[chippy]

I was thinking of carving on the lathe like you would carve a bowl but you're right. This would give you a round shape which would not be best as compared to an ovoid shape.

if you wanted to do it on a machine, possibly the oval could be cut with a band saw or depending on the size maybe a jig saw first, then sanding the edges to a smooth oval, then using a spindle moulder machine would probably work to place the curve on the outside edge.

your home router is probably not going to be big enough!...for an easy home option you may be able to make the oval, sand it smooth (perfectly) on the inside* and outside edges and take it to a wood milling workshop, with any luck they will have a curve/shape to place in their spindle moulding machine that would suit you

*actually, just thinking about it, it would be safer for the operator if you didnt cut the inside hole out until after the shape has been placed on the outside..just in case the timber has a hidden defect, leaving it in one solid piece to start will minimise the risk to the operator and his machine

[edit] i wrote not knowing craig posted his offer

 

[tonyb]

I'm certainly curious.

I have access to a wood shop and could make what I want if I only new the dimensions. If I had access to the blocks I wanted to copy I could make templates - but then I wouldn't need to make the blocks would I. :eusa_doh:

Yes this could all be guesstimated but.......[huh]

There was a photo tutorial over at the COW (Club Obi Wan) site showing how one member there made his own "Indy" style block by laminating boards together and then sawing and sanding it all to shape. It looked like it would work just fine for the intended purpose -- which is to allow the home crafter replicate that stovepipe-straight crown profile. The bottom is just flat, so the block couldn't be attached to a spinner or a crown iron, but again, that's not really necessary for the hobbyist's purposes.

I'd think you could get the oval shape easily enough by either tracing an existing block (or band block), or just trusting your own drawing skills. If you wanted a straight up and down crown, then about all the sculpting you'd have to do would be at the top edge to round it out a bit.

Getting the size right would be critical, of course. Keep in mind that the circumference of a size 7 1/4 (for instance) block is greater than that of a size 7 1/4 head. Gotta have room for a sweatband in there.

 

[fenris]

I made a block out of styrofoam with a reverse taper so I can "block" the hat with sweatband still on. My mistake was following the hat's natural oval and not making it a round oval like my head shape...

 

[Bill Greene]

I've made a couple of blocks, for fun, and you can use the old string/two nails trick to get the proper oval shape and circumference...and then just a little guess work to make the shape you're looking for (regular oval vs. long oval, etc.).

So the sequence would look something like this:

1 Glue up wood to a square shape larger than you'll want for your block.
2 Us the string/two nails trick to draw out the oval shape and size you want; look this up on the internet, there are plenty of sites that will explain it perfectly
3 Use a bandsaw to cut out the oval.
4 Use a few wood rasps/files to create the dome/shape of the block at the top
5 Use sandpaper to sand the sides/top smooth

This will give you a block with which to take your hat back to the open crown look.

For those of you thinking about using a wood lathe, it can certainly be done. But it requires a fairly significant lathe (in terms of size) and something called an offset chuck...and even then quite a bit of skill is needed to get the correct circumference of the correct oval shape. No small task.

Bill

 

[Mario]

Er...just what is that 'string/two nails trick'? I never heard of that particular trick so I don't even know what to look for on the internet... [huh]

 

[Bill Greene]

Oh, sorry about that...it's a method used to draw an ellipse using a couple of nails or thumbtacks, and a length of string. Just Google "Drawing an Oval", and you'll get a lot of sites that'll explain it.

Here's one I just found that's a decent explanation of it.

http://www.benchnotes.com/Laying out an oval/laving_out_an_oval.htm


Bill

 

[CRH]

I made a block out of styrofoam with a reverse taper so I can "block" the hat with sweatband still on. My mistake was following the hat's natural oval and not making it a round oval like my head shape...

This thread is really getting my wheels turning. I think one of the hamsters inside my head just sprain a paw.

Let's face it fellas. This is not rocket science here, well, not unless you have a CAD Mill setup with a laser scanner to take a 3D inside and out image of your favorite new Whippet or whatever. Pardon my salivations.....

I need to revisit that COW tutorial. A block doesn't have to be exact anyway. Who could tell a 52 from '52 approximation' except for one of you guys?

See, the whole deal with me is I've steamed the crease out of a couple of hats and they always ended up with more taper around the top than they started with. My Campdraft, in particular, sure it took the new tapered look with style and finesse but it's just not the same, you know what I mean?

This reverse business is intriguing. Heck for what I described above, a block wouldn't even need to cover the whole crown from top to sweat. Maybe something just for the upper half that sits on a pedestal?

I need to talk with my wood shop friend again. Some time back I actually approached him about the possibility of making blocks. He balked. I think he was afraid of loosing focus on his wheeled toys.

 

[tonyb]

... A block doesn't have to be exact anyway. Who could tell a 52 from '52 approximation' except for one of you guys?

...

This reverse business is intriguing. Heck for what I described above, a block wouldn't even need to cover the whole crown from top to sweat. Maybe something just for the upper half that sits on a pedestal?

For whatever it's worth ... a No. 52 block does indeed have a slight amount of taper, which is more noticeable when viewed from the side than from either the front or back. How much taper a hat made on a No. 52 block will have depends to some degree on how the crown is creased. But your point is well taken -- close enough is close enough. That stovepipe block featured on the COW tutorial is indeed more straight up and down than just about any vintage block you're likely to come across. Indeed, it could be reasonably argued that it might be better if it had just a hint of taper.

I can foresee problems with using a block shorter than the hat's crown. It's not that it couldn't be done, and it might even work out OK, but part of what a block does is smooth out the crown's surface. It's somewhat akin to ironing a shirt or a pair of pants. And I can see how the top of the crown might be stiffer (blocking -- which involves ironing -- tends to reactivate the stiffener in the felt) than the bottom, and that might look kinda odd.

 

[Qirrel]

If you are looking for anything to stretch/iron/shape your hat on, you ought to get one of these:

http://www.thepriceguide.com.au/images10000/15348.jpg

I use one to shape and stretch my hats. Works perfectly. Unfortunately, i do not know of anyone that makes them. Saw a couple on ebay a while ago, and they are all over the place if you look in shops that sell used furniture etc.

 

[CRH]

If you are looking for anything to stretch/iron/shape your hat on, you ought to get one of these:

http://www.thepriceguide.com.au/images10000/15348.jpg

I use one to shape and stretch my hats. Works perfectly. Unfortunately, i do not know of anyone that makes them. Saw a couple on ebay a while ago, and they are all over the place if you look in shops that sell used furniture etc.

Excellent point, Oirrel. Those go for gold on eBay.

If I ever land one I'll quit shaking my fist at God.

Promise.

 

[Lloyd]

Those were getting really expensive on ebay for while, especially the heated versions. There was one mint conditioned powered one that went for about $650, I was really beginning to despair over ever winning one about then, but I finally manged to get an non-powered version without having to hock my car. I saw a beautiful wood one on ebay.uk that went for almost nothing but it would have cost almost L100 to get it shipped to California.
I haven't seen any new postings recently however.

 

[The Block Guy]

We are currently working on a stretcher like is shown above. They are hard to find and can be expensive. Our goal is quality hat tools and blocks that are not out of reach for the weekend warrior or the professional hat maker. We also are fine tuning out 3 D duplicator to make complete sets of blocks off one original. We almost have it completed.

Yes indeed we make blocks also. The chuck required to do an oval is a nice size investment and when you get it there is a lot of learning to do on it. If you have the tool tilted ever ever so slightly you will not get a good ellipse. They are very temperamental....

Good old wood blocks are the best if you are going to hit the hat with a lot of steam and hot irons.

We have a lot of cool stuff in the works....redesigning and bringing back a lot of these things that are hard to come by.

The Block Guy

 

[CRH]

We are currently working on a stretcher like is shown above. ...

I want one!