Hat making?? Learning Millinery..

[belfastboy]

I have a weakness for tools, especially hat making tools. Here are some pictures of my brim curling shackles/irons. The two piece ones are from Guy Morse Brown a block/flange maker out of the UK. I just received the 3/4" size yesterday and have yet to use it but I have high hopes it will work as well as my well used 1/2". The beautiful cast bronze is from HatBlocksPoland. It was stupid expensive, it works OK but most importantly it looks great on my bench!!!

 

[K.U.Hack]

I have a weakness for tools, especially hat making tools. Here are some pictures of my brim curling shackles/irons. The two piece ones are from Guy Morse Brown a block/flange maker out of the UK. I just received the 3/4" size yesterday and have yet to use it but I have high hopes it will work as well as my well used 1/2". The beautiful cast bronze is from HatBlocksPoland. It was stupid expensive, it works OK but most importantly it looks great on my bench!!! View attachment 541295 View attachment 541296 View attachment 541297

I think I understand that these are used for a pencil curl, but are these also used to get an even welt? I cannot do it well to save my own life.

 

[belfastboy]

I think I understand that these are used for a pencil curl, but are these also used to get an even welt? I cannot do it well to save my own life.

I don't care for welted brims so have never investigated them and don't offer them to clients. My understanding that welting is done with a totally separate tool/machine. These only do curled brims....pencil, kettle and a modified D'Orsay.

 

[K.U.Hack]

I don't care for welted brims so have never investigated them and don't offer them to clients. My understanding that welting is done with a totally separate tool/machine. These only do curled brims....pencil, kettle and a modified D'Orsay.

I was afraid of that. Thank you for the information.

 

[belfastboy]

I was afraid of that. Thank you for the information.

I suspect it is a machine rather than a mere tool. When you think of it.....you are tasked with taking a wider circumference of felt, folding it back (over or under) and not just pressing it down but shrinking the extra down to fit the lesser circumference.

 

[K.U.Hack]

I suspect it is a machine rather than a mere tool. When you think of it.....you are tasked with taking a wider circumference of felt, folding it back (over or under) and not just pressing it down but shrinking the extra down to fit the lesser circumference.

I see that in the little folds I get. I tried small cuts, which was a disaster. I'll keep digging. Thank you again. You are a wealth of knowledge.

 

[belfastboy]

I see that in the little folds I get. I tried small cuts, which was a disaster. I'll keep digging. Thank you again. You are a wealth of knowledge.

Mostly (all) through dogged trial and error!!!

 

[Darrell2688]

Well it has been a while since I posted anything on the forum and I am making a hat for someone out on the west coast. A gamble hat, black color, flat brim, telescope crown and the crown is 4 1/8" with a 4 1/2" wide brim, I tried to make the telescope using the method posted on YouTube, but it just didn't work out the way that I wanted, so I used steam, a ruler and formed the telescope shape by hand. I still have to trim the brim down a little more, but I thought that I would post a few pictures of my progress.

 

[K.U.Hack]

Well it has been a while since I posted anything on the forum

Looks really good. How's that new rounding jack working out?

 

[Darrell2688]

I reworked the rounding jack, the base is 7" long, however I cut down the ends so there is just a slight gradual curve, now it should work great on a long oval, the vertical section was to wide and that made it hard to hold onto and control, the vertical section with the adjustable center is now 3" wide. I redesigned the blade clamp section so there are 2 brass thumb screws to hold the blade tight, I made a small pin that can be moved to either side so the utility blade can be flipped so the rounding jack can be pulled or pushed around the block to cut the brim. The new version works pretty good. When I get some spare time, I will make another rounding jack, cutting the width of the vertical sides and find someone to test it, really put it through the paces and supply some feed back on this rounding jack. Iook close at the base of the center clamp section, there is a steel pin on both sides of the cutting blade to make sure the blade is vertical.

 

[K.U.Hack]

 

[K.U.Hack]

The above images are from a book stamped 1920. Has anyone seen a #57 hat block? Were they used before sculpted hat blocks became common?

 

[belfastboy]

The above images are from a book stamped 1920. Has anyone seen a #57 hat block? Were they used before sculpted hat blocks became common?

I have a set of what looks like 57's. I use them for Boss of the Plains type hats or Gamblers without the telescope. I make uncreased Panama hats for ladies and use #52 blocks without creasing them. The 52's make a nice slightly domed crown that looks great as it is...sort of an optimo without the longitudinal bump across the crown.

 

[K.U.Hack]

I have a set of what looks like 57's. I use them for Boss of the Plains type hats or Gamblers without the telescope. I make uncreased Panama hats for ladies and use #52 blocks without creasing them. The 52's make a nice slightly domed crown that looks great as it is...sort of an optimo without the longitudinal bump across the crown.

Interesting. That gives me an idea of what the hat would look like open. Thank you.
I might give an Optimo a try using a blocking cord and a #52.

 

[belfastboy]

Interesting. That gives me an idea of what the hat would look like open. Thank you.
I might give an Optimo a try using a blocking cord and a #52.

I have thought of trying that but have so busy have not had the luxury of time to play.

 

[Darrell2688]

I have been working on a hat for a customer that plays live history reenactments and he wanted a black gambler hat with a telescope crown 4" tall and a 2 1/2" wide brim, then on Wednesday he ask me to change the height of the crown to 3 3/4" with a 2 1/2" wide brim, then he ask for a 1/2" pencil curl, I told him that I didn't have a curling iron but I would see what I could do without a curling iron. I still need to do a little pouncing on the brim edge, but here is what the hat looks like now, 3-3/4" telescope crown and a 1/2" pencil curl by hand.

 

[Rmccamey]

I think you are doing a great job with your telescope creases.

Well it has been a while since I posted anything on the forum and I am making a hat for someone out on the west coast. A gamble hat, black color, flat brim, telescope crown and the crown is 4 1/8" with a 4 1/2" wide brim, I tried to make the telescope using the method posted on YouTube, but it just didn't work out the way that I wanted, so I used steam, a ruler and formed the telescope shape by hand. I still have to trim the brim down a little more, but I thought that I would post a few pictures of my progress. View attachment 541572
View attachment 541573
View attachment 541574
View attachment 541575

I have been working on a hat for a customer that plays live history reenactments and he wanted a black gambler hat with a telescope crown 4" tall and a 2 1/2" wide brim, then on Wednesday he ask me to change the height of the crown to 3 3/4" with a 2 1/2" wide brim, then he ask for a 1/2" pencil curl, I told him that I didn't have a curling iron but I would see what I could do without a curling iron. I still need to do a little pouncing on the brim edge, but here is what the hat looks like now, 3-3/4" telescope crown and a 1/2" pencil curl by hand.
View attachment 542540
View attachment 542541
View attachment 542542
View attachment 542543

 

[Darrell2688]

I think you are doing a great job with your telescope creases.

Thank you Randy, the fun part is doing everything by hand, I was using a wooden ruler measuring the height as I made the folds and creasing around the crown and then after I finished creasing the crown I used a small glass bowl to push up the center area of the crown, working all around the inside of the crown. The telescope crown was the easy part, making the 1/2" pencil curl by hand was the bear, the whole time that I was working on the pencil curl I kept thinking about what Art said in a post here on the forum, Patience, Patience when he was talking about making a pencil curl by hand without a curling iron. I still have a little work to do on the pencil curl, the good news is the customer is happy with the hat and I plan to get it in the mail on Monday.

 

[Rmccamey]

Have fun. I have always heard a good, crisp brim curl is one of the most difficult steps in making hats.

Thank you Randy, the fun part is doing everything by hand, I was using a wooden ruler measuring the height as I made the folds and creasing around the crown and then after I finished creasing the crown I used a small glass bowl to push up the center area of the crown, working all around the inside of the crown. The telescope crown was the easy part, making the 1/2" pencil curl by hand was the bear, the whole time that I was working on the pencil curl I kept thinking about what Art said in a post here on the forum, Patience, Patience when he was talking about making a pencil curl by hand without a curling iron. I still have a little work to do on the pencil curl, the good news is the customer is happy with the hat and I plan to get it in the mail on Monday.

 

[Darrell2688]

Have fun. I have always heard a good, crisp brim curl is one of the most difficult steps in making hats.

This is the first time anyone ask for a brim curl. As it started off the customer wanted a flat brim, then over the weekend he looked at a worn out short telescope crown hat with a narrow brim and a 1/2" curl, he is into live history reenactment, he takes part in the civil war reenactment battles, part of his costume is an original 1862 cap and ball black powder rifle.
Any way I don't plane to do it again anytime soon.