The Conversion Corral

T Jones · Mar 14, 2018

Cornshucker77 said:
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.

Cornshucker77 · Mar 14, 2018

T Jones said:
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 · Mar 20, 2018

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.

BobHufford · Mar 20, 2018

quikrick said:
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?

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?

quikrick · Mar 20, 2018

Here are some more pics. I'm a 61 Australian! The sweat band is sooo supple.

quikrick · Mar 20, 2018

BobHufford said:
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?

So, Yeah... You talked me into it! I'm leaving it as is. That was easy!
I wear a 7 5/8

Cornshucker77 · Mar 20, 2018

quikrick said:
So, Yeah... You talked me into it! I'm leaving it as is. That was easy!
I wear a 7 5/8

I think you did a good job as is. Looks great.

Cornshucker77 · Mar 20, 2018

quikrick said:
Here are some more pics. I'm a 61 Australian! The sweat band is sooo supple.

I've never seen that Australian size tag before. Interesting.

Desert dog · Mar 20, 2018

quikrick said:
So, Yeah... You talked me into it! I'm leaving it as is. That was easy!
I wear a 7 5/8

Good choice! That looks good the way you have done it. Such a unique hat!

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

quikrick · Mar 20, 2018

Thank you fellas, I appreciate the likes and the sage advice. Bob, you saved a cool hat! I'm still a rookie here, navigating my way through! This is a very cool forum. Loving it more every time a come here.
-Rick

Tukwila · Mar 21, 2018

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?

Hurricane Jack · Mar 21, 2018

quikrick said:
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.

Good job. Being a 61 myself that one hit my sweep also.

scottyrocks · Mar 21, 2018

T Jones said:
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.

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 · Mar 21, 2018

scottyrocks said:
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

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

scottyrocks · Mar 21, 2018

T Jones said:
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

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 · Mar 21, 2018

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

You're welcome, buddy. For $33 it wouldn't hurt to try one out and see what you think.

scottyrocks · Mar 22, 2018

T Jones said:
You're welcome, buddy. For $33 it wouldn't hurt to try one out and see what you think.

Yes, and between you and Art, I now know which one I'm gonna buy. My thanks to both of you.

T Jones · Mar 22, 2018

scottyrocks said:
Yes, and between you and Art, I now know which one I'm gonna buy. My thanks to both of you.

Art's information on how blocks should measure out for the right size hat was very helpful to me as well. Good luck, buddy.

T Jones · Mar 25, 2018

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.

Redfokker · Mar 25, 2018

T Jones said:
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.

Really cool Terry. This one is a keeper!

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