The Conversion Corral

[KC Capellor]

thanks guys, I was able to smooth out the teardrop crease a lot more by leaving a damp cloth on it overnight and gently forming with fingers. Now, if I could get the strong smell of moth repellent out... at least the upside is zero moth bites!

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[Harry Jones]

My second attempt. This one started out as a Resistol western, sort of an Open Road style with crown of about 5 1/4" and brim of 3" front and back, 3 1/4" sides.

Yielded hat with 4 3/4" crown at it highest, 4 1/4 at the front, and a brim of 2 3/4" all around. In this pic the brim still needs a bit of sanding and the hat will get brushed.

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Learning curve: my brim trimmer worked OK, except I had the blade set to deep. It tended to grab the cutting board and flex a bit, leaving a few rough spots. I see why the professional ones have the brass plate on the bottom. I made a mistake and bought polyester ribbon instead of cotton/rayon. It was a challenge to get it to go on without gaps. Luckily I came across some info on FL that helped. The color is a bit lighter tan than it seems in the pics, and I liked the casual spring/summer look. Thinking about adding some ventilation holes or eyelets, but not sure yet.

 

[Sam Craig]

Resistols and the Dobbs Westward both make up into great fedoras, though after working with both and with several generations of Stetson ORs, I have come to appreciate the Akubra Campdrafts and Bushman even more.

The early ... 40s and 50s ... ORs are great ... when you can find them, which is just about never in my big size.

I still have one from the 50s that I wear for a knock around.

I should have paid more attention 20 years ago and taken better care of the ones I found.

Around here, at least, they just don't show up any more.

I still wear my Dobbs Westward ... Wichita Hat Works put a new sweat in it this past year ... but I don't look for more of them to turn up either... without getting into an Ebay bidding war, at least.

I'll just stick with my CDs ... life's too short.

Sam

 

[Harry Jones]

Reasonably certain this was not a vintage Resistol! I would be very nervous about converting a vintage hat, not enough knowledge or experience for that. I really like the Akubra Cattleman I converted and look forward to having other Akubras.

 

[randooch]

Nice work, Harry.

When you sand the brim, you might work toward the illusion of thinner felt by sanding the top and bottom of the edge more than the center.

Ventilation holes would be nice!

 

[Harry Jones]

Good suggestion. Actually, I did just that! Disguises the thickness of the felt a bit. Living in Florida and intending to use this hat in Spring and Summer (maybe), I suspect I'll try some sort of ventilation. Have been checking out some threads on FL about this and have been getting ideas for designs. I left the liner out for the same reason.

 

[DOGMAN]

After reading this thread and seeing all the conversions I've been bite by the conversion bug.I picked up a resistol on Ebay and tried my hand at it.Made a brim trimmer,cut down the brim from 3 7/8 to 2 6/8.The crown was about 6 1/2" open.Now 5 1/8" front and 4 3/8" back.Used a 2" navy blue ribbon.

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[hatophile]

Super job, Dog!

 

[DOGMAN]

Thank you,it was so fun I'm started on my next one.A resistol silverbelly

Super job, Dog!

 

[Harry Jones]

Very cool! You are a brave soul, with that tall crown. When I was playing with my latest, I ended up with a C crown; trying to do a center dent produced a crown that just would not look right: height and taper. Tell us about your brim trimmer. I am particularly interested in the cutter.

 

[DOGMAN]

Thanks, Harry.The brim cutter was some wood and a exacto knife I had.I drilled a hole that the knife would just fit through and put in a set screw to hold it in.

 

[gtdean48]

Super job, Dog!

+1!

 

[Harry Jones]

Elegant solution, I like it!

 

[randooch]

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That's a prizewinner! So very nicely done!

 

[B.J. Hedberg]

That's a prizewinner! So very nicely done!

:arated:

 

[DOGMAN]

Thank you randooch, B.J.Hedberg and gtdean48.Really appreciate your kind words.

 

[Chepstow]

Super job, Dog!

+1

Looks very good!

 

[DOGMAN]

Thanks,Chepstow.I've started my second conversion and just got my third hat to convert a 10x beaver.

 

[bowlerman]

++++!
Amazing work, Dogman.

 

[scottyrocks]

Super job, Dogman. Love the blue ribbon, too.

Harry, I had the same issue with a western conversion. The crown was so high that a center dent didn't look right so I went with a C.

The problem with a lot of westerns is that they're so thick that they're not so easy to work with.