Hat making?? Learning Millinery..

[belfastboy]

The marble sink cutout is a genius idea for this…and other things. Thinking turntable isolation base.
Thanks.
B

It works well. I used it to imprint the sublimation transfers onto my liners. That entails holding a hot, dry iron for one minute. That produced a hairline crack in the counter top. I plan to get a new one but am lazy and have not bothered to trek down the street to the installer. With a regular steam iron the quartz handles it well with no cracking. It is the prolonged holding the iron in one place that produced the crack.

 

[belfastboy]

Depending on the size required I have a Formica countertop drop (not heavy, doubles as a cutting board), a wood pizza peel from a garage sale, but my favorite for ironing brims is a glass carousel from a junk microwave. I like that the glass rim holds the iron butt up off the felt so I’m only ironing with the point. And the Pyrex glass takes the heat.

View attachment 627771

You gotta love Pyrex!

 

[Darrell2688]

I ordered a pastry board made of black marble from Amazon, 1" X 16" X 20" to use when I block my felts, it worked out so well that I purchased a second pastry board made of marble to iron on, with the second marble board I can block two hat felt bodies and while they are drying I can work on the sweatbands and the satin liners. The marble gets pretty hot when I use my steam iron to iron out the brim, so I let it cool down before I move it and the marble is thick enough to stand up to the heat.
I was using a piece of wood as a ironing surface, but I discovered that the wood warped and cracked with the steam iron and heat, that created a another broblem for me, wrinkles in the felt, and you can not iron wrinkles out using a piece of wood as a ironing surface. I talk to Robert about the problem and he told me to stop using wood, so I checked out different materials to use as an ironing surface, even metal, but that will warp also if it is not thick enough. I ask Art where he got his green marble to use as an ironing surface and he told me that he picked it up at a local shop that made marble counter tops, the owner gave it to him. That put me on the search for a piece of marble and I found it on Amazon. I have been using the marble to iron on for months now and I do not have any wrinkles to deal with.
I made a ironing surface of wood, I covered it with parchment paper, I use my ironing surface to iron my LOGO onto the hat liners that I put in the hats. I purchased a small flat surface regular iron from Amazon that was made in Japan, the iron works great for what I needed it for. Robert told me that I need a flat faced iron for my LOGO iron on work. The wood covered with parchment paper works great.
I have learned a lot about hat making from Robert and Art, I really appreciate their help and guidence.
A Big Thank You to Art Fawcett and Robert Gault.
I hope that what I have posted today will help anyone that is having simular issues with making hats.

 

[Martvjp]

I ordered a pastry board made of black marble from Amazon, 1" X 16" X 20" to use when I block my felts, it worked out so well that I purchased a second pastry board made of marble to iron on, with the second marble board I can block two hat felt bodies and while they are drying I can work on the sweatbands and the satin liners. The marble gets pretty hot when I use my steam iron to iron out the brim, so I let it cool down before I move it and the marble is thick enough to stand up to the heat.
I was using a piece of wood as a ironing surface, but I discovered that the wood warped and cracked with the steam iron and heat, that created a another broblem for me, wrinkles in the felt, and you can not iron wrinkles out using a piece of wood as a ironing surface. I talk to Robert about the problem and he told me to stop using wood, so I checked out different materials to use as an ironing surface, even metal, but that will warp also if it is not thick enough. I ask Art where he got his green marble to use as an ironing surface and he told me that he picked it up at a local shop that made marble counter tops, the owner gave it to him. That put me on the search for a piece of marble and I found it on Amazon. I have been using the marble to iron on for months now and I do not have any wrinkles to deal with.
I made a ironing surface of wood, I covered it with parchment paper, I use my ironing surface to iron my LOGO onto the hat liners that I put in the hats. I purchased a small flat surface regular iron from Amazon that was made in Japan, the iron works great for what I needed it for. Robert told me that I need a flat faced iron for my LOGO iron on work. The wood covered with parchment paper works great.
I have learned a lot about hat making from Robert and Art, I really appreciate their help and guidence.
A Big Thank You to Art Fawcett and Robert Gault.
I hope that what I have posted today will help anyone that is having simular issues with making hats.

Thanks a lot, it will help and it’s very good to know!

 

[LorenWho]

Thanks a lot, it will help and it’s very good to know!

Along the sames lines, find a granite countertop fabricator/installer in your area. They may have sink cutouts that they may give you or sell you for cheap. These things stack up and cost them to dispose of.

Win-win for everyone

 

[belfastboy]

Along the sames lines, find a granite countertop fabricator/installer in your area. They may have sink cutouts that they may give you or sell you for cheap. These things stack up and cost them to dispose of.

Win-win for everyone

When I went to the shop down the street from me and asked at the office if I could go through their cuttings pile he gave me strange look and asked..."Why?". I explained and he replied..."Sure, take two or three"

 

[belfastboy]

The topic of 3D printed blocks came up on a FB post yesterday and set me to making inquiries. The thread started out as a warning by a hatter that 3D printed blocks shrink over time and need to be replaced...unlike wooden ones. I checked with my supplier Allan at WalshDesign3D (Etsy.com). Allan is a PEng/Mechanical and as engineers are want to do he did research into filaments, their properties and their application to hatting use.
Most 3D printed block makers in the market today are using PLA as their filament. Firstly is is inexpensive and it can be used in entry level/consumer grade 3D printers. They do work for hatting work but the PLA has quite low heat resistance properties and it can indeed shrink over time.
Allan uses ABS, a higher grade filament plastic. It has double the heat resistance to PLA and works well under the heat/steam of the blocking process. As well, the ABS is printed in an annealed state which settles the plastic and makes it much less prone to shrinkage. Shrinkage with the ABS blocks should not be a problem.

Most 3D print sellers don't have the sophisticated enough printers to handle the requirements of the ABS filament. It must be printed in a high heat environment and that requires a higher grade, more sophisticated, more expensive 3D printer.

So just a heads up to hatters starting out. Ask questions of your block supplier. Determine what grade filament they are using and be cautious before you jump in and spend your money.

 

[Martvjp]

The topic of 3D printed blocks came up on a FB post yesterday and set me to making inquiries. The thread started out as a warning by a hatter that 3D printed blocks shrink over time and need to be replaced...unlike wooden ones. I checked with my supplier Allan at WalshDesign3D (Etsy.com). Allan is a PEng/Mechanical and as engineers are want to do he did research into filaments, their properties and their application to hatting use.
Most 3D printed block makers in the market today are using PLA as their filament. Firstly is is inexpensive and it can be used in entry level/consumer grade 3D printers. They do work for hatting work but the PLA has quite low heat resistance properties and it can indeed shrink over time.
Allan uses ABS, a higher grade filament plastic. It has double the heat resistance to PLA and works well under the heat/steam of the blocking process. As well, the ABS is printed in an annealed state which settles the plastic and makes it much less prone to shrinkage. Shrinkage with the ABS blocks should not be a problem.

Most 3D print sellers don't have the sophisticated enough printers to handle the requirements of the ABS filament. It must be printed in a high heat environment and that requires a higher grade, more sophisticated, more expensive 3D printer.

So just a heads up to hatters starting out. Ask questions of your block supplier. Determine what grade filament they are using and be cautious before you jump in and spend your money.

Very good to know thanks ! I bought one hat block with another seller on Etsy so I will ask him.

 

[rogueclimber]

I checked with my supplier Allan at WalshDesign3D (Etsy.com). Allan is a PEng/Mechanical and as engineers are want to do he did research into filaments, their properties and their application to hatting use.

I bought a block from Allan just a couple weeks ago!

 

[belfastboy]

I bought a block from Allan just a couple weeks ago!

 

[belfastboy]

I picked up one from him on Tuesday. I needed a #51 in a 62.5cm size to meet an order. The 3D printed items are great for fill in sizes for me. The price is great and the availability is super fast....especially as he lives in the same city as I do.

 

[Darrell2688]

Hello Fedora Fans,

I have a customer that wears a 58CM size hat, he has always had an issue finding a hat that fits comfortably, he has tried a few methods in an effort to get his hats to fit, hat stretchers was his go to method, but that didn't really work. I thought about Robert Gault of Wolfbrae Custom Hatter's idea of using a flex curve, so I ask him to buy a 36" flex curve and some Frog Tape, I told him that he needed to form the flex curve around his head in the area where the sweatband would fit, tape the ends in place and trace around the inside of the flex curve then send the pattern to me and I would use the pattern to make a band block that I could use when I make his next hat. He sent me a text message with a photo of the pattern. The pattern revealed the reason that he couldn't find a hat that fit comfortably. He is going to send the pattern to me so I can make a band block to use for his next hat. My customer is a hat collector and this idea was completely new to him, this will be the second time that I have used a band block to form a hat for a customer.

I am thinking about finding someone to make the band block in 3D plastic.

The first time that I made a hat using a band block the customer supplied his own band block and the hat fit like a glove.

Thank you Robert for the idea, this should make my customer very happy.

I hope everyone has a Great Weekend,
Darrell

 

[belfastboy]

Hello Fedora Fans,

I have a customer that wears a 58CM size hat, he has always had an issue finding a hat that fits comfortably, he has tried a few methods in an effort to get his hats to fit, hat stretchers was his go to method, but that didn't really work. I thought about Robert Gault of Wolfbrae Custom Hatter's idea of using a flex curve, so I ask him to buy a 36" flex curve and some Frog Tape, I told him that he needed to form the flex curve around his head in the area where the sweatband would fit, tape the ends in place and trace around the inside of the flex curve then send the pattern to me and I would use the pattern to make a band block that I could use when I make his next hat. He sent me a text message with a photo of the pattern. The pattern revealed the reason that he couldn't find a hat that fit comfortably. He is going to send the pattern to me so I can make a band block to use for his next hat. My customer is a hat collector and this idea was completely new to him, this will be the second time that I have used a band block to form a hat for a customer.

I am thinking about finding someone to make the band block in 3D plastic.

The first time that I made a hat using a band block the customer supplied his own band block and the hat fit like a glove.

Thank you Robert for the idea, this should make my customer very happy.

I hope everyone has a Great Weekend,
Darrell

Contact Allan Walsh at WalshDesign3D on Etsy.com. He makes up band blocks. Not sure what he charges as I cut my own from wood.

 

[Darrell2688]

Contact Allan Walsh at WalshDesign3D on Etsy.com. He makes up band blocks. Not sure what he charges as I cut my own from wood.

Thank you for the suggestion, I may have to do that, when I work with wood I have to use a belt sander, open the windows, turn on the fan in the window and run a shop vac, my venting system must not be all that great, I still walk out of the shop coughing, but then I have dust allergies.

 

[belfastboy]

Thank you for the suggestion, I may have to do that, when I work with wood I have to use a belt sander, open the windows, turn on the fan in the window and run a shop vac, my venting system must not be all that great, I still walk out of the shop coughing, but then I have dust allergies.

I cut the band block out of a 2" x 8" plank with my jig saw and finish with my table sander. Hooking up my shop vac to the sander cuts down on the wood dust. If I am making a few I wheel the sander outside the shop.

 

[Darrell2688]

I cut the band block out of a 2" x 8" plank with my jig saw and finish with my table sander. Hooking up my shop vac to the sander cuts down on the wood dust. If I am making a few I wheel the sander outside the shop.

Maybe I should look at a different type of sander, my belt sander did not come with a vacuum hose port to connect to, I made a wooden box with a hole in it for the vacuum hose.

 

[wsmontana]

 

[belfastboy]

View attachment 629430

Montana is a great state. One could do worse. If I was 50 years younger I am thinking I would jump at this.

 

[Martvjp]

Montana is a great state. One could do worse. If I was 50 years younger I am thinking I would jump at this.

If I was in USA I would have jump too!!

 

[belfastboy]

If I was in USA I would have jump too!!

About a year ago they advertised as well. Perhaps the pay is crap or the apprentice learned enough to set out on his own. Montana is a wonderful place, have spent a great deal of time travelling the state but only Spring, Summer and Autumn....because Montana winters are not all that much fun for me. I am a west coast kind of guy.