Wanna' see TonyB's new set-up!?

[Feraud]

Geeze.. and I thought Tony was putzin' around with a couple of hat blocks..
:eusa_doh:

OK, OK, here 'tis ...

 

[tonyb]

Geeze.. and I thought Tony was putzin' around with a couple of hat blocks..
:eusa_doh:

Now I'm just putzin' around with a bunch of hat blocks.

I know of a hatter that does nice work with not a whole lot of equipment, certainly less equipment than I have. But a hatter's repertoire is limited by his (or her) equipment and materials. I've turned down work because I knew other shops were better equipped for the kind of work the customer wanted, and more experienced. So I made referrals instead. As I've acquired more gear, I feel less compelled to do that. Right now, I have hats ranging from Westerns to stingy-brim porkpies in the works. But I still make referrals, and I suspect I always will.

 

[Feraud]

Now I'm just putzin' around with a bunch of hat blocks.

lol Funny!
Btw, your website looks amazing. The felt and ribbon combinations are very cool.

 

[LuvMyMan]

Wonderful shop for a wonderful gentleman and hat maker!

 

[RBH]

Hey Tony... reckon we can see the 'new' Denver setup sometime?

 

[tonyb]

That's between a few changes ago. Haven't heard from Harp Player Gene in, like, forever. Miss that guy.

Sheesh, I don't even wanna think about the most recent move. Pain in the rump that it was, one good thing to come of it was that the shop is now much more efficiently arranged. I'm pretty slow to catch on sometimes, but I finally figured out that it makes sense to put the most commonly used sizes where they are most readily accessible. So sizes 7 1/8 through 7 3/8 are at waist to chest levels.

 

[RBH]

I have spoken with Gene of late. He has had a bit of a hard time but I hope things are better now.
I need to give him another call...

We still need photos!!!

 

[Michaelshane]

Tell Gene hello for me ,I miss him a lot.Since he's gone I don't come around here much.
Lefty too.Its just not the same anymore.

 

[barrowjh]

I miss Harp Player Gene also, a wise size 7. Has a stunning hat collection; evertime I see an outstanding size 7 going un-loved on ebay I think of Gene. He was collecting before many of us got started, and size 7 is so full of beautiful hats in awesome condition. I drove past The Villages on I-75 on Sunday morning and wondered if he is still drawing caricatures there.

I will second Rusty's request, show us your new shop tonyb!

 

[humanshoes]

Bravo on the new shop tonyb! I was raised not to envy or covet the possessions of others (read crown and flange blocks), but sometimes it ain't easy.

 

[tonyb]

Unless you got a big ol' pile of dough (and by big I mean a fairly large five-figure number), acquiring equipment involves spending a lot of time hunting this stuff down a piece at a time or scraping together enough dough to buy a large stash of it all at once. (Well, there's also those once-in-a-lifetime deals, but I fear I won't live long enough for any of those to come my way.)

There's still lots of equipment I would really like to have, some of which can be made from readily (more or less) available parts. Problem is, my engineering chops are all but nonexistent. I see the stuff you've put together, humanshoes, and I'm a tad on the envious side myself.

 

[humanshoes]

I'm particularly interested in the clone 107-1 tonyb. I enjoy every aspect of hat making, EXCEPT, sewing in sweatbands by hand. I'd almost rather take a beating. Would you mind sharing where you purchased your machine, how well it works, and how much you had to pay?

 

[tonyb]

I'm particularly interested in the clone 107-1 tonyb. I enjoy every aspect of hat making, EXCEPT, sewing in sweatbands by hand. I'd almost rather take a beating. Would you mind sharing where you purchased your machine, how well it works, and how much you had to pay?

I'll shoot you a pm.

 

[theoldnorthwest]

Here is one on eBay. For that price I think I will keep sewing them in by hand.

 

[besdor]

Look who the seller is. BEWARE !!!!!!!!

 

[humanshoes]

I'd have to make and sell a whole lot of hats to justify the kind of dough that ebay seller is wanting. Even if I had that kind of money to throw out, I doubt I'd feel comfortable buying anything on the bay that states the one I'm buying is not the one in the picture. I mean come on. That's like saying the used car you're gonna get is not the one I'm showing you, but it's nicer....trust me.

 

[navarre]

I'll shoot you a pm.

Tony, I would be interested in this as well if you don't mind sharing.

 

[navarre]

Look who the seller is. BEWARE !!!!!!!!

+1