Winchester hat corporation

[RBH]

Thanks to Greg for opening his doors so wide for us!!!

Check out the bales of fur behind Greg


here Greg is giving us a hands on feel of the beaver fur before the felting process.
Its just wild to think that this will become a hat. The process is the same as it was 100 years ago [but no mercury ] and the machines are also in most cases that old .

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/4017/monteagle027ye3.jpg[/img


I have plenty of photos for this thread but it may take me a little time to do it justice. I also may get Mike to describe the process as I get the shots posted.

ALSO IF ANY YOU HAVE PHOTOS PLEASE POST THEM !

 

[scotrace]

Oh, THIS is gonna be good!! Keep them coming, please.

 

[DOUGLAS]

Oh yes, please continue.

 

[Thwack]

I've seen plenty of pictures of the hat making process but never any of the felting process. Thanks for sharing!

 

[BobC]

I thought I'd share a few more pics of the process. The next step involves weighing the felt, 4 1/2 oz for a fedora body or 6 1/2 oz for a western body if I remember correctly. Then its blown onto a cone, the cone having a vaccuum under it to make the felt adhere.

Of course lots of water is used in the process to help the felt adhere, so the next step involves wringing excess water out of the newly mined diamonds in the rough. The bodies are wrapped then rolled by this machine to wring out moisture.

The result...this fine looking litter of just born hats.

 

[univibe88]

More more!

 

[Nathan Flowers]

YES

I'm so glad you're posting this. The process looks very interesting.

 

[BobC]

I have more and I'm sure Rusty does too, but I thought I'd give some of the other folks a chance to post some of theirs.

 

[nickn5]

Wow... it's fascinating to see, many thanks!

Might be worth creating a sticky 'The Process of Making Felt Hats with pics'... ?? EDIT: Doh, I just noticed there is one... don't mind me...

N.

 

[jimmy the lid]

My project for this evening is to put together a sequence that follows the process from start to finish. I have a fairly comprehensive set of photos, and I may be able to supplement my pics with photos posted by others. I may start a new thread for this, which can then be merged if that is better -- but I think it will be useful to have a continuous flow that follows the process in sequence. Stay tuned...

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Colby Jack]

Is this party of the MontEagle trip?..
This is so cool...:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[carter]

BRAVE

GREAT STUFF, gentlemen! What a terrific resource you are putting together. I hope this thread becomes a Sticky! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[gtdean48]

Is this party of the MontEagle trip?..

Those that got there early enough Friday did the tour. Others, like me, were there for the Saturday part of the gathering...

 

[RBH]

I have more and I'm sure Rusty does too, but I thought I'd give some of the other folks a chance to post some of theirs.

Great shots Bob.
I was hoping others would post... I bet the Chief has some great ones.
I will try and wait to see what he has to post.

 

[RBH]

Is this party of the MontEagle trip?..
This is so cool...:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

You will just have to hitch a ride with the G-Man next time!!!

 

[warbird]

You will just have to hitch a ride with the G-Man next time!!!

The only thing I hate worse than coppers is cows.

What struck me from that tour:

One they go up that conveyor belt as a pile of what looks like lint, they get blown into that area where the cone is located, vacuumed onto it and the felt body is pulled out and dunked in water. They are then wrung out. At that point you couldn't tear them apart no matter how hard you yank. This is the surprising thing, not more than 2-3 minutes passes from scraps to a body you can't tear apart. Amazing!

The second thing that really got me, is this is very labor intensive, the whole process is. Makes you not only appreciate the work that goes into a hat, but also makes you understand why it isn't cheap.

 

[BobC]

Great shots Bob.
I was hoping others would post... I bet the Chief has some great ones.
I will try and wait to see what he has to post.

I thought I would give everyone else a chance to contribute. There was lots of picture taking going on, so I'm sure between all of us we can tell the story pretty completely.

This was really a fantastic opportunity.

I bet JtL gets it down pat.

 

[BobC]

Is this party of the MontEagle trip?..
This is so cool...:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

I wish you all could have been there.

Sorry you didn't make it CJ and Carter.

 

[majormoore]

I am glad everyone that came on the tour had a good time, plus I am very glad so many took photos of how they are made, so those that were not able to attend can see how it is done.

If there is any questions about some of the steps, I'll make a post. But it seems good notes were taken on the steps needed to make the body.

All I can say is "if you need new custom hat, buy one from those hatters that buy the bodies from Winchester Hat Corp, let's keep Americans working"

Mike Moore, aka Major Moore

 

[AlanC]

Looks like a great trip. Let's keep those pics coming in!