Hat making?? Learning Millinery..

[belfastboy]

Crazy? There must be a better word to describe the cost for one felt hat body blank. What is the price for a hat made of 4X beaver felt? I don't think to many beaver hats are going to be sold with the price of a single beaver felt hat body being as high as it is. Just starting out making hats right now is a real battle.

Well, at least rabbit felt has not risen much and the quality is great so there are still hats to be made. And for the hatters that can buy from Winchester they have a great advantage over those that can't buy direct.

 

[Darrell2688]

Well, at least rabbit felt has not risen much and the quality is great so there are still hats to be made. And for the hatters that can buy from Winchester they have a great advantage over those that can't buy direct.

I am glad that the rabbit felt hasn't risen very much, I use mainly rabbit and I have a nice little collection of rabbit fur felt hat blanks and 3 beaver. I am building up my collection of items needed for hat making, I have three hat blocks, all 6" tall, 58,59,and 60cm, now I can use my vintage brim flanges. So far all of the hats that I have made are 7 3/8 or 59cm.

 

[dmeist]

Pure Beaver Hat Supply has 4X Beaver blends (250g) for $189.

 

[belfastboy]

Pure Beaver Hat Supply has 4X Beaver blends (250g) for $189.

Be aware the 4X designation means it is 4% beaver, 96% rabbit.

 

[jlee562]

Be aware the 4X designation means it is 4% beaver, 96% rabbit.

I'm still pretty tempted by them though....have you had a chance to try them?

Glad I picked up a few of those 100% beaver felts in the early days, that's for sure!

 

[belfastboy]

I'm still pretty tempted by them though....have you had a chance to try them?

Glad I picked up a few of those 100% beaver felts in the early days, that's for sure!

Yes, I am working on one now. I purchased 3 of them just to try them out. Made one for Brent that he really likes. They are very very stiff, cardboard stiff more than western weight dense. I blocked them inside out and gave them a really good pounce with 400 grit to soften the crown. Then blocked inside right and just gave it a light pounce with 1000 grit. The felts are very large so no problem getting Brent's desired dimensions.
I do question at just 4% beaver.... does that small % make a difference?

 

[jlee562]

Yes, I am working on one now. I purchased 3 of them just to try them out. Made one for Brent that he really likes. They are very very stiff, cardboard stiff more than western weight dense. I blocked them inside out and gave them a really good pounce with 400 grit to soften the crown. Then blocked inside right and just gave it a light pounce with 1000 grit. The felts are very large so no problem getting Brent's desired dimensions.
I do question at just 4% beaver.... does that small % make a difference?

Yeah, I wonder what the science behind the felting is with the small increments like this. I was also just thinking about this because of the Ask a Question thread.....even if we knew that, for example, a 6x was y% Beaver....what are we really going to do with that information beyond having a vague sense of 'value' because beaver is considered finer? Stetson Japan has said the Royal Deluxe is 20% beaver and 10% beaver at different times. It would be nice to know, but it doesn't really change my opinion of the hat per se.

 

[belfastboy]

Yeah, I wonder what the science behind the felting is with the small increments like this. I was also just thinking about this because of the Ask a Question thread.....even if we knew that, for example, a 6x was y% Beaver....what are we really going to do with that information beyond having a vague sense of 'value' because beaver is considered finer? Stetson Japan has said the Royal Deluxe is 20% beaver and 10% beaver at different times. It would be nice to know, but it doesn't really change my opinion of the hat per se.

I have only worked with a few of the Ukraine 50/50% beaver blends and I really like them. The rabbit gives it softness and the beaver add the plushness. I think they are just $20 cheaper than the 100% beaver but the make up a great hat if you are on a bit of a budget.

 

[BigHat]

Im trying to replace a 2” ribbon on a soft felt fedora, no taper. Struggling to get the band tight. Any tips ?

 

[Frunobulax]

Im trying to replace a 2” ribbon on a soft felt fedora, no taper. Struggling to get the band tight. Any tips ?

A 2" ribbon will need to be swirled, no matter what, as all crowns have some taper, and creasing the hat will increase the taper.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Im trying to replace a 2” ribbon on a soft felt fedora, no taper. Struggling to get the band tight. Any tips ?

 

[Darrell2688]

I have made some changes to my rounding jack and I think for the better. Here are a few photos of the rounding jack now. The utility blade is clamped between two pieces of wood by two brass thumb screws, with the clamp pushed against the base the blade is at the 1 9/16" mark, of course that doesn't matter because everytime the brim cutter is used I always check the depth of the blade before cutting. While I was working on this brim cutter I was thinking about leaving the ruler off.

The blade can be placed in the clamp so the brim cutter can be pushed or pulled around the block to cut the brim.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Has this video of Hornskov making a hat already been posted?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3020905418133664/permalink/4319695824921277/?mibextid=W9rl1R

 

[Darrell2688]

Has this already been posted?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3020905418133664/permalink/4319695824921277/?mibextid=W9rl1R

Hi Brent,

This is my new version of my rounding jack, it looks close to the first rounding jack and the changes that I have made are small. I made changes to the clamping area of this rounding jack and the brass sheet backing extends further down. Check my previous post and compare the photos. The previous version had 4 brass nuts and the threads of the bolts could be a problem, so I made some changes. Check out the post I made back on page 61, I also change the wood that I was using to get away from the pine knots.

Darrell

 

[deadlyhandsome]

This hat arrived as part of a lot I bought at auction. It’s a bit too rough for me to sell so I’m offering it here for free. It has some moth damage and the sweatband is toast. Send me a
PM if you’re interested.

 

[TWKundrat]

Made a couple of new variable speed hat spinners. They are made to drop into a cut out in an existing bench or tabletop.

 

[K.U.Hack]

Made a couple of new variable speed hat spinners. They are made to drop into a cut out in an existing bench or tabletop. View attachment 518852

Made a couple of new variable speed hat spinners. They are made to drop into a cut out in an existing bench or tabletop. View attachment 518852

That's very cool. What are the specs on the motor (if you don't mind)? What's the overall footprint? I love the custom switch plate. Nicely done.

 

[TWKundrat]

That's very cool. What are the specs on the motor (if you don't mind)? What's the overall footprint? I love the custom switch plate. Nicely done.

Thanks. It's a 110v 1/3 hp variable speed motor with gear reduction that maxes out a little under 300 rpm if I'm remembering right. It's at my shop and I'm at home now but I think the footprint is around 9" x 11". I'm keeping this first one but I'm hoping to get a handful together soon to sell. I want to respect the rules of the forum so I won't be trying to sell them here but I'll plan to add something in the merchants section at that point.

 

[belfastboy]

Thanks. It's a 110v 1/3 hp variable speed motor with gear reduction that maxes out a little under 300 rpm if I'm remembering right. It's at my shop and I'm at home now but I think the footprint is around 9" x 11". I'm keeping this first one but I'm hoping to get a handful together soon to sell. I want to respect the rules of the forum so I won't be trying to sell them here but I'll plan to add something in the merchants section at that point.

What do you use it for?

 

[TWKundrat]

It's for pouncing the crown. It can also be used with a hand iron when it's slowed down. I use a small sealing iron and I've been pretty happy with the results. I'm hoping to make a crown iron setup to go with it that mounts to the bench at some point. You can see these spinners in use in the following videos (not mine but similar) 5 minutes into the first video and 12 minutes into the second one.