Photos of hatters tools

[Redfokker]

View attachment 76267
This is a Doran brothers crown iron. Did Mike mention where he found this? I have used it at JW Hats in Utah but outside of that I haven't seen them anywhere.

View attachment 76269
Super curious what this thing is. Any ideas?

The crown iron came from a shut down hatter I think. He had a machinist spiff it up and install a power system that is modern and controllable. I only saw it work without a hat in it, but it is really cool. In it's day, it was belt driven from above. I'm sure you could call him and he would be more than happy to talk about it. He is a great guy and loves to talk hats!

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/attachments/76269/
This press works with steam to press and shape hat brims and crowns (I think). All this stuff is magic to me. All I know is that he produces the most wonderful custom hats. His efficiency is going to be greatly enhanced by these additions. When we were talking the issue of "hand made hats" came up, he shared that his hats are still "hand made", just like the hat companies of the golden age with these vintage machines.

 

[Art Fawcett]

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/attachments/76269/

This is a plating machine which is effectively a huge iron, under approx 1500lb pressure to flatten the brims only and are most effective for western hats. I use one also because it gives an extremely flat brim to work with while pouncing. Please understand the difference in "hand made" and "non machine helped". The machines only make it more precise and allow a better product to be produced. Yes, a hat can be made without the use of these but the product will be inferior to one that is produced with the proper equipment. I'm sorry, I know that is going to be debated and objected to by those that don't want to make the investments but is the truth in my opinion. I commend Mike for making the sacrifice in search of quality.

 

[Redfokker]

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/attachments/76269/

This is a plating machine which is effectively a huge iron, under approx 1500lb pressure to flatten the brims only and are most effective for western hats. I use one also because it gives an extremely flat brim to work with while pouncing. Please understand the difference in "hand made" and "non machine helped". The machines only make it more precise and allow a better product to be produced. Yes, a hat can be made without the use of these but the product will be inferior to one that is produced with the proper equipment. I'm sorry, I know that is going to be debated and objected to by those that don't want to make the investments but is the truth in my opinion. I commend Mike for making the sacrifice in search of quality.

+1

 

[ChicagoWayVito]

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/attachments/76269/

This is a plating machine which is effectively a huge iron, under approx 1500lb pressure to flatten the brims only and are most effective for western hats. I use one also because it gives an extremely flat brim to work with while pouncing. Please understand the difference in "hand made" and "non machine helped". The machines only make it more precise and allow a better product to be produced. Yes, a hat can be made without the use of these but the product will be inferior to one that is produced with the proper equipment. I'm sorry, I know that is going to be debated and objected to by those that don't want to make the investments but is the truth in my opinion. I commend Mike for making the sacrifice in search of quality.

Thanks for that Art. That is definitely a different plating machine than I have used. I have used two kinds at JW Hats, one was steam driven and the other was one that I believe he had machined up, kind of a big barrel like thing with a plate for each hat size. If anyone finds another plating machine that isn't $7,000 please let me know.

 

[Art Fawcett]

I helped Mike get his custom built so reach out Kevin & I'll share

 

[buler]

Straw hat smoothing machine

 

[Redfokker]

Straw hat smoothing machine

View attachment 76306

Cool, major old school!

 

[Jauntyone]

I finished the hat, here are a few photos of the result:

Making hats is a lot of work!

 

[Art Fawcett]

Looks pretty nice Jauntyone and yes, it's a lot of work

 

[Mustang Mike's Hats]

Well done sir!!

 

[Redfokker]

Very nice, love the color. What are the dimensions of this beauty? Brim width?

 

[Jauntyone]

Thanks Art! You make it look so effortless, like Fred Astaire dancing. You look and think "How hard can that be?"

 

[Jauntyone]

Very nice, love the color. What are the dimensions of this beauty? Brim width?

Thanks! The crown is 5 5/8" and the brim is 2 1/4".

 

[humanshoes]

Bravo Jauntyone!

 

[Redfokker]

Thanks! The crown is 5 5/8" and the brim is 2 1/4".

Nice!

 

[belfastboy]

Is this the m

The crown iron came from a shut down hatter I think. He had a machinist spiff it up and install a power system that is modern and controllable. I only saw it work without a hat in it, but it is really cool. In it's day, it was belt driven from above. I'm sure you could call him and he would be more than happy to talk about it. He is a great guy and loves to talk hats!

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/attachments/76269/
This press works with steam to press and shape hat brims and crowns (I think). All this stuff is magic to me. All I know is that he produces the most wonderful custom hats. His efficiency is going to be greatly enhanced by these additions. When we were talking the issue of "hand made hats" came up, he shared that his hats are still "hand made", just like the hat companies of the golden age with these vintage machines.

If this is the one Mike from Northwest Hats ...he had it made by a machinist that worked at Beaver Hats. Mike then had the iron attachment made for it and added digital controls. He showed it to me on my last visit. He can straighten brims with the hydraulics

 

[Redfokker]

Is this the m

If this is the one Mike from Northwest Hats ...he had it made by a machinist that worked at Beaver Hats. Mike then had the iron attachment made for it and added digital controls. He showed it to me on my last visit. He can straighten brims with the hydraulics

Yeah, now I remember the story. I just know it is really cool how it has been set up with modern controls.

 

[Miamibruno]

I've already put this in the millinery sewing machine thread, but I thought someone here might know of someone who can work on this old Singer 46-100 and maker her purr or provide information.

Thanks!

 

[Fedoras4Life]

I made my own Sandbag Baker and I'm pretty excited about it! I will post pictures and semi coherent instructions

Before I begin let me say, I am in no way a professional wood worker. I am just a guy teaching myself how to make hats, with a lot of help from this forum by the way, and I need tools that don't break the bank.

First things first, I bought a few things that I will not post individual pictures of. This is because you will see the items as they are used in other pictures.

The items not individually pictured are as follows:
1. Four 8 foot sections of 2 x 4 lumber
2. One I bolt
3. One small pulley
4. One metal hook
5. Washers and bolts for the I bolt and hook
6. One funnel
7. 50lb bag of pool finishing sand
8. 20 ft of rope

Below will be pictures of the project and descriptions of what they are:

This is Canton Flannel with one side bushed out. I bought it off of Etsy for about $12 plus shipping.

I bought a 17 gallon metal wash basin from Home Depot for $20 (I wish I could have found a slightly smaller one)

I put the wash basin on the unbrushed side of the canton and traced out the circumference. I then made a second circle on the outside of the first in order to sew in a length of rope which I will show later.

Next I took a double layer of plastic sheeting, cut it to the size of the inner circle, pinned it into place and double stitched it into place using upholstery thread. The plastic lining is to act as a barrier between the sand and canton flannel.

Next I put a length of rope around the plastic, folded the canton over the rope, pinned it into place and then double sewed it in. I cut a small hole in the side of the canton to allow the ends of the rope to come out so I could tie it around the mouth of the basin later.

Note: I had left myself two inches to complete this task, if I could go back I would have given myself about 2 1/2 instead. Also, the cloth will bunch up on you when folding it over and pinning. You can cut seam allowances to try and prevent that from happening but I myself did not.


With the cover now complete I moved on to building the frame. I cut two 5 foot sections to be the sides with the top 36" wide. The long feet on the bottom are 3 feet long with 10" side supports kicking out from the middle. I notched the underside of the 3 foot feet and 10" side supports, screwed the feet to the frame first and then the supports to the feet. I also cut small braces for the top and bottom of the frame.

I took the wash basin and turned it upside down. Then I used 3/4 step drill bit to make a hole in the middle of the basin and another on off to the side. The middle hole is where my I bolt will be placed and the second one is to put the sand inside.

Note: If you don't have a step drill bit, it is quite expensive. If you know an electrician or plumber they probably have one you can try to borrow.

I took two sections of 2 x 4 and cut them slightly smaller than the circumference of the inside of the wash basin. I then notched them so they would fit together in an (X), drilled a hole through the center and placed my I bolt in.

Then I placed a hook through the center of the top board and hung my pulley from that. I also put a small cleat about half way up the side of the frame to tie off the sandbag when lifted so I can place the flange stand underneath.

Finally the last part I tied the cover around the wash basin as tight as I could get it, then using a funnel I poured the 50lbs of sand in the basin. Tie everything off, cross your fingers, and lift the sandbag baker into the air to make sure the bottom doesn't fall off from the weight. If you are lucky then you have yourself a new toy

Hope this helps someone out there, I know I had fun making it.

Cheers!!

 

[Mustang Mike's Hats]

This is freakin' AWESOME! Great job!! You didn't copywrite this thing did ya? ,

(Heck, I was going to post my pencil roll tool. So much for THAT idea.)