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The Conversion Corral

T Jones

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,789
Location
Central Ohio
Hey Terry. If you mentioned it I didn't see it, did you use your 51 Block on this hat? No taper or very little...........I really like that straight crown.
I have the 51 block sitting in the background in the picture I posted of my hat projects above and I also have a 52 block as well. But this hat and my Silverbelly Stagecoach were actually blocked on a plastic straight sided dome hat shaper. I don't care much for the plastic block itself but I do like the open crown shape it has and I like the results I get from it. My hats come out nice and straight all around. The hat shaper will be fine if you're only using it every now and then but I don't think it will hold up under the constant tugging and pulling when you stretch a felt body over it, and the flange on the bottom can be a problem too. But, other than that, I just like its open crown shape with its straight sides and rounded top.
 
Last edited:

Cornshucker77

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,691
Location
Northeast Nebraska, USA
I have the 51 block sitting in the background in the picture I posted of my hat projects above and I also have a 52 block as well. But this hat and my Silverbelly Stagecoach were actually blocked on a plastic straight sided dome hat shaper. I don't care much for the plastic block itself but I do like the open crown shape it has and I like the results I get from it. My hats come out nice and straight all around. The hat shaper will be fine if you're only using it every now and then but I don't think it will hold up under the constant tugging and pulling when you stretch a felt body over it, and the flange on the bottom can be a problem too. But, other than that, I just like its open crown shape with its straight sides and rounded top.
Thanks Terry. I like the way it turned out.
 

quikrick

One Too Many
Messages
1,095
Location
Bay Area, California
Reading through this thread inspired me to do a conversion. I got this Stetson "Frisco" 3X western on ebay relatively cheap. Turns out it's made in Australia (Cool side note). After I cleaned it up, blocked, and flattened out the brim... I started to CHICKEN OUT! Wow, maybe I'll leave it as is? The current brim is 3". Deep inside I know I'll finish the conversion. My plan is to cut the brim to 2 1/2", bind the brim edge with ribbon and a matching grossgrain ribbon. I'll keep the lounge posted.
vW19RUQ.jpg
ub5O5C9.jpg
q2jjKLw.jpg
EjDg2sf.jpg
pscbL5n.jpg
Lptoq7c.jpg
9ZhmEdn.jpg
 
Reading through this thread inspired me to do a conversion. I got this Stetson "Frisco" 3X western on ebay relatively cheap. Turns out it's made in Australia (Cool side note). After I cleaned it up, blocked, and flattened out the brim... I started to CHICKEN OUT! Wow, maybe I'll leave it as is?
vW19RUQ.jpg

I'd leave it alone if it were mine and look for another donor as that is pretty cool as is (I'm guessing it was built by Akubra). What size are you?
 

Tukwila

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,382
Location
SW of Antifa Central (PDX)
Is there a preferred block for the various creases, from center dent to teardrop to diamond, etc? I like the 52 block with no taper and tall, straight sides, but is there a better block for doing a Stratoliner clone, for example, with a diamond crease and significant rake?
 
Messages
18,180
Reading through this thread inspired me to do a conversion. I got this Stetson "Frisco" 3X western on ebay relatively cheap. Turns out it's made in Australia (Cool side note). After I cleaned it up, blocked, and flattened out the brim... I started to CHICKEN OUT! Wow, maybe I'll leave it as is? The current brim is 3". Deep inside I know I'll finish the conversion. My plan is to cut the brim to 2 1/2", bind the brim edge with ribbon and a matching grossgrain ribbon. I'll keep the lounge posted.
vW19RUQ.jpg
ub5O5C9.jpg
q2jjKLw.jpg
EjDg2sf.jpg
pscbL5n.jpg
Lptoq7c.jpg
9ZhmEdn.jpg
Good job. Being a 61 myself that one hit my sweep also.
 

scottyrocks

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,178
Location
Isle of Langerhan, NY
I had to rework a couple of my hats. Two of my Resistol Stagecoach conversions were too snug for me. I did other hats on the same block and they came out perfect but for some reason two of my Stagecoaches were still too tight. So, I reworked them on a size larger block. Could be that these were 71/8 before I sized them up and the others were actual 7 1/4. I don't know why I got different results on the same block. Anyway, Stagecoaches are pretty thick felted and stiff and can be stubborn to work with. I got it resized and put back together. It sports a generous straight sided 6 inch open crown, creased 4 3/4 at the pinch with a rake sloping to 4 inches in the back. It also has a 2 3/4 snap brim. I took and reused a 3/8 thin ribbon from an old OR I had.

Resistol_Silverbelly_Resize_12.jpg

Was this hat made with the block we were talking about? If so, have you ever center-dented one (I seem to recall mostly C-crowns/teardrops on your hats)? If you have center-dented one, would you post a few pictures of it the way you usually do?

I am interested to see how this block carries a center-dent. Thanks.
 

T Jones

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,789
Location
Central Ohio
Was this hat made with the block we were talking about? If so, have you ever center-dented one (I seem to recall mostly C-crowns/teardrops on your hats)? If you have center-dented one, would you post a few pictures of it the way you usually do?

I am interested to see how this block carries a center-dent. Thanks.
Buddy, you can get a lot of nice creases out of that block. I have a couple of vintage wooden ones, a #51 and a #52, but this straight sided dome gives me better creases. The reason I mostly do tear drops is because I prefer that crease over the others....

Center Dent
Stagecoach_Indy_1_B.jpg
My_Indy_Resistol_02.jpg


Gus
gus_pinch_2.jpg
gus_pinch_3.jpg


Montana Pinch
Open_Range_Crease_2.jpg
Mule_Kick_2.jpg


Cattleman
Unknown_Western_OR_Conversion_20.jpg
Unknown_Western_OR_Conversion_19.jpg


All of the above were done on the same block. It's just a good all around open crown shape that can give you a variety of creases, and as I said before, it's a good compromise between the #51 and #52 blocks. You get the straight sides of the #52 and the more rounded top of the #51. But the plastic shaper does have its disadvantages. If you're doing your own hats and just using it every now and then, you should be okay. But, it's plastic and won't hold up under constant use with all the tugging and stretching of a felt body over it. They're much cheaper to buy, though, than a vintage wooden one or having a wooden one made. You could also buy a couple or three of the plastic ones and still come out cheaper than buying a wooden one for your own personal use at less than $35 a piece. Another disadvantage of the plastic shaper is the flange on the bottom. It gets in the way when you're stretching and pulling on a felt body, but then again, you'll eventually learn to work around that. But I have to say, if I were going to rework hats on a constant basis, I would use the wooden blocks.

Here's a link to the website with a picture of the plastic straight sided dome, $33
http://www.hatshapers.com/Product Pages/Straight_Sided_Dome.htm
 
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scottyrocks

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,178
Location
Isle of Langerhan, NY
Buddy, you can get a lot of nice creases out of that block. I have a couple of vintage wooden ones, a #51 and a #52, but this straight sided dome gives me better creases. The reason I mostly do tear drops is because I prefer that crease over the others....

Center Dent
Stagecoach_Indy_1_B.jpg
My_Indy_Resistol_02.jpg


Gus


Montana Pinch


Cattleman


All of the above were done on the same block. It's just a good all around open crown shape that can give you a variety of creases, and as I said before, it's a good compromise between the #51 and #52 blocks. You get the straight sides of the #52 and the more rounded top of the #51. But the plastic shaper does have its disadvantages. If you're doing your own hats and just using it every now and then, you should be okay. But, it's plastic and won't hold up under constant use with all the tugging and stretching of a felt body over it. They're much cheaper to buy, though, than a vintage wooden one or having a wooden one made. You could also buy a couple or three of the plastic ones and still come out cheaper than buying a wooden one for your own personal use at less than $35 a piece. Another disadvantage of the plastic shaper is the flange on the bottom. It gets in the way when you're stretching and pulling on a felt body, but then again, you'll eventually learn to work around that. But I have to say, if I were going to rework hats on a constant basis, I would use the wooden blocks.

Here's a link to the website with a picture of the plastic straight sided dome, $33
http://www.hatshapers.com/Product Pages/Straight_Sided_Dome.htm

I do like the overall shape that block creates with a center dent. Thanks for the photos!
 

T Jones

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,789
Location
Central Ohio
Reworked, reblocked, and resized this Resistol 3X. I watched and recorded Open Range the other night and I liked Costner's hat so well in that movie that I used it as the inspiration to change the style of this hat. My Costner inspired Open Range hat. I got the crease set and the brim shaped. I'm letting it dry for a while. It must've come out pretty good because when I put it on and showed my wife she was speechless and kept staring at it with wide eyes. She never displayed a reaction like that to my other hats. She must've been really impressed. I'm going to wear it out next time we go to the store together....I'll have more pictures later when I'm finished with it.

Open_Range_1.jpg


Open_Range_5.jpg


Open_Range_3.jpg
 
Messages
12,384
Location
Albany Oregon
Reworked, reblocked, and resized this Resistol 3X. I watched and recorded Open Range the other night and I liked Costner's hat so well in that movie that I used it as the inspiration to change the style of this hat. My Costner inspired Open Range hat. I got the crease set and the brim shaped. I'm letting it dry for a while. It must've come out pretty good because when I put it on and showed my wife she was speechless and kept staring at it with wide eyes. She never displayed a reaction like that to my other hats. She must've been really impressed. I'm going to wear it out next time we go to the store together....I'll have more pictures later when I'm finished with it.

Open_Range_1.jpg


Open_Range_5.jpg


Open_Range_3.jpg
Really cool Terry. This one is a keeper!
 

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