The Conversion Corral

[scottyrocks]

Looks good. Do you have any before photos?

Also, it seems that we like to abuse Baileys.

Yeah, but it seems that the Baileys have been so badly abused that they need refurbishing. I wouldnt have done what I did, to a hat in better condition.

 

[AndrewGWU]

Yeah, but it seems that the Baileys have been so badly abused that they need refurbishing. I wouldnt have done what I did, to a hat in better condition.

Ironically I have another Bailey western that I have came across that I have thought about tinkering with. The way I look at it if it goes from a hat that nobody is wearing to a hat I wear nearly every day then I have given it new life and saved myself the money of buying another hat in the process. If it gets messed up, no one was wearing it to start with so oh well....

 

[donnc]

My father had an old moth eaten Bailey western hat which was in pretty poor shape.

Looks like it might be a lot like my Bailey. It came to me with a sort of random western center dent crease, and a broad side curl ... so, while this isn't really a conversion, it's toned down a little.

I took it on a recent trip to Austin, Texas. Where I saw hardly anyone wearing a western hat, sadly.

 

[scottyrocks]

Ironically I have another Bailey western that I have came across that I have thought about tinkering with. The way I look at it if it goes from a hat that nobody is wearing to a hat I wear nearly every day then I have given it new life and saved myself the money of buying another hat in the process. If it gets messed up, no one was wearing it to start with so oh well....

At the risk of sounding pompous (which Im not - Im pretty average), I found its very difficult to 'mess up' a hat while doing a conversion. I took knowledge gained primarily through this site, and combined it with other stuff I know. The toughest part was finding the right block in my size. After that, it was working with zip ties, oak tag, chalk, pencils, scissors, needle and thread, and sandpaper, all stuff Ive done before. It was sort of like a craft project.

 

[aspenworks]

The Hat Ruler

I have designed a tool to measure sweatband circumferences accurately and consistanly. It can be done with only one hand. Made from recycled materials. stormos@laplaza.org

 

[Aureliano]

I have designed a tool to measure sweatband circumferences accurately and consistanly. It can be done with only one hand. Made from recycled materials. stormos@laplaza.org

Details? Pictures? I'm sure that more than one here would appreciate it if you elaborate a bit.

 

[AndrewGWU]

Another conversion

I was given this hat which happened to be my size. I decided to get rid of the ugly band and convert it to something I would actually wear.

Here is the before. This pic gave the hat a more green tint which it does not have. Must have been the lighting and green walls. The after pics are the real color of the hat.

I cut about 1.5" off of the 4" brim and rebashed it to more of a teardrop style. I ordered the vintage ribbon online and it is a cotton rayon blend supposedly from the 40s. This was my first ribbon replacement. Overall I think it turned out good.


And after:

I know the blue is a little much, but I kind of like how it stands out.

 

[Tom-n-Perris]

Well I have a friend that sent me a Resistol Western hat and wanted to know if I could do something with it. I told him let me try something out and I will see if you like the final outcome. So here it is my first attempt at a conversion.

Before

After

 

[johnnycanuck]

Oh my. very nice Tom. Very nice indeed.

Johnny

 

[bolthead]

Wow.....Gorgeous.

Well I have a friend that sent me a Resistol Western hat and wanted to know if I could do something with it. I told him let me try something out and I will see if you like the final outcome. So here it is my first attempt at a conversion.

Before

After

.....now that, my friend, is a conversion. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Yeps]

I let it rest a while, but I am back at it, abusing my old bailey lite-felt.

Here is how it was after years of use and abuse. Shrunken, tapered, and generally shapeless.

Here is how it was after my disastrous attempt to reblock it. Well. I was very proud at the time.

The black ribbon is gone again, and for the picture, the leather band is draped back on it. I was thinking of trying a thin ribbon, or maybe a pug. This is to be my adventuring hat.

Here it is, as it is currently, open crown, still drying.

 

[Yeps]

Here it is with a quick bash and some more fiddling to keep it in shape as it dries. Oh, and a bandana at the moment, holding it in place.

 

[John in Covina]

That's coming together rather well.

 

[Alan-Eby]

Conversions

These are all great!!! I'm glad there are people who have done this before. This is one time I'm glad I didn't have an original idea, so I can use what everyone else has done and do my own!!!! Thanks so much!!!

 

[DanielJones]

Mine was originally a Stetson 'Low Places' hat. Thought it was time to pull it out and have it converted into something that I'd currently be wearing. So a couple of years back I had Art do his magic on it. It is currently being worn on cooler days, but at least it is getting out now to be worn. Still a little bit on the stiff side but it has worked in to it's new shape & life quite nicely. My best friend didn't even recognize it, he thought I'd gone & got a new lid.

Here is the before.

And fresh out of the box when Art was done with it.

And here it is today.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[scottyrocks]

Thanks for the compliments from all. It was fun doing them.

Yes the black Resistol is very thick. It is a 5X. The light gray Resistol is not nearly as thick, it is a 4X. The Shudde Bros., which I think is mostly beaver if not all beaver, is very thin. I like the Resistols because they feel like they will be extremely durable hats that I won't have to baby. That's what I was hpoing for. The Shudde Bros has a very good "hand" , almost as good as my VS. I just did a quick eyeball comparison between the black Resistol and my VS. The Resistol is almost twice as thick and quite stiff, but I don't really mind that.

Yes, I did a Bailey thats a very thick hat. One commonality I noticed between mine and your black Resistol is the general look of the curves and shape of the crown, caused, by my reckoning, by the thickness of the felt. Compare the general look to your black hat:

I use this hat as a work hat because it seems to be virtually indestructible.

 

[jonbuilder]

Resistrol 100 before and after

Work of the Gals at Paul's Hat Works of San Francisco include down sizing one size. If had do it again I would send that to Art or the Major

 

[DanielJones]

This here was originally a Stetson 'Low Places' hat That I bought back around 1991. It was one of my rodeo hats. After several years in a box in the back of the closet I thought it was time to pull it out again and have it converted into something that I'd currently be wearing, a fedora. So a couple of years back I had Art do his magic on it. It is currently being worn on cooler days, because of it being a fairly stout felt, but at least it is getting out now to be worn. Still a little bit on the stiff side but it has worked in to it's new shape & life quite nicely, but not too stiff. My best friend, who used to see me wear it everywhere, didn't even recognize it, he thought I'd gone & got a new lid.

Here is the before.

And fresh out of the box when Art was done with it.

And here it is today. I really like how it came out.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[hatophile]

Mine was originally a Stetson 'Low Places' hat. Thought it was time to pull it out and have it converted into something that I'd currently be wearing. So a couple of years back I had Art do his magic on it. It is currently being worn on cooler days, but at least it is getting out now to be worn. Still a little bit on the stiff side but it has worked in to it's new shape & life quite nicely. My best friend didn't even recognize it, he thought I'd gone & got a new lid.

Here is the before.

And fresh out of the box when Art was done with it.

And here it is today.

Cheers!

Dan

That is nice, Daniel, totally different hat.

 

[Rodkins]

Stetson Restore/Eventual Conversion

I picked up a not-so-old stetson cowboy hat (for very little money) to "practice" things like cleaning, brushing, crown bashing, brim reshaping, and so on so that I feel more confident when I do these activities with my nicer hats. The hat sweatband looks like it has never been worn but the hat is so badly faded and mishapen it looks like it was crammed in someone's back seat car window in Florida for years.

At first I am going to try my hand at restoring it, and eventually I will try my hand at a conversion to a fedora.

Here are a few "BEFORE" pictures: