Rounding Jack

JUNKERJONES · Mar 25, 2009

Hi, Im new to the site and have been enjoying searching all the posts. My name is Clint and I live in central Arkansas. I found the site while researching a Stetson Playboy that was passed down to me. Since then I have just been lurking but finally have decided to join up.

I recently bought a rounding jack at an auction. Im selling it but I plan on copying the design and making a few out of walnut or cocobolo with brass trimmings. I was wondering for those who have made them before what did you use as a cutter??? I was thinking making them to fit razor blades but I could also temper a piece of steel and make a cutter. I plan on sticking to the design of the one I have.

Here are a couple of pictures.

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!BPGQGu!BWk~$(KGrHgoOKjEEjlLmZ(ZQBJ)9VBI0N!~~_1.JPG

tonyb · Mar 25, 2009

Great! Man, we sure could use more sources for tools.

I say make 'em so they'll take standard-width X-Acto blades (No. 19 seems to be the preferred type). They're inexpensive and easy to find and do the job quite well, so, why not?

bolthead · Mar 25, 2009

Cool...

How much are you going to be asking for them? I'm interested in one.

Sorry to put you on the spot here, but you can't accept any PM's yet. [huh]

Stoney · Mar 25, 2009

Mine takes utility knife blades. It works great and the blades are cheap.

carter · Mar 26, 2009

Where do we sign up?

bolthead said:
How much are you going to be asking for them? I'm interested in one.

Sorry to put you on the spot here, but you can't accept any PM's yet. [huh]

:arated: I could use one as well.

Carlisle Blues · Mar 26, 2009

Very interesting . Welcome

JUNKERJONES · Mar 26, 2009

bolthead said:
How much are you going to be asking for them? I'm interested in one.

Sorry to put you on the spot here, but you can't accept any PM's yet. [huh]

I would guess around $50-$75 depending on how much the brass and hardware cost is. I would have to use 1/4" brass stock for the sliding mech that holds the blade and 1/16 or 1/32 brass stock for the part that holds the brim. The wood and blades shouldnt be a problem I have a lot of exotic scraps like cocobolo, ebony, bubinga, etc. I really wouldnt be making them to get rich I just thought it would be fun to try since I like woodworking and have the equipment to make them. I will post some pictures as soon as I can get one done. It should be a couple of weeks because of the wait on the brass.

Right now I am copying the design of the antique on sketchup so I have a refrence before it is sold.

tonyb · Mar 26, 2009

I ain't one to throw away dough, but I like to think that I ain't one to knowingly take unfair advantage of another person, either. So, I'd encourage you to do a bit of online research to see what others charge for rounding jacks these days. I trust you'll see that they fetch a good deal more than you might have thought.

tonyb · Mar 26, 2009

And ...

My recently made rounding jack takes X-Acto blades; Stoney's (which is a nicer unit, judging by what I've seen in photos of it) takes utility knife blades. I haven't looked into it yet, but I'd bet that utility knife blades work every bit as well and are likely a bit less costly and easier to find.

Bob Smalser · Mar 29, 2009

JUNKERJONES said:
...I recently bought a rounding jack at an auction. Im selling it but I plan on copying the design and making a few out of walnut or cocobolo with brass trimmings....

...I would guess around $50-$75 depending on how much the brass and hardware cost is...

Don't underprice yourself. I do some shop work for resale during bad weather, and among other things occasionally make a run of these coping saws that turn corners better than storebought. I imagine they take a similar number of shop hours as the rounding jacks you are proposing...I get $150-175.00 for these, and still have trouble breaking the $20/hr profit barrier.

I've thought about making rounding jacks, but I've also worked on hats. The issue with them isn't that you can't make a good one economically, it's that I don't either want or need one as a hobbyist. All they do is speed things up for a manufacturer....they won't cut dimensional brims, and fur felt sands very nicely. With scissors and sandpaper I can do just as good a job fairing brim curves for not much more time than using a rounding jack would take, and I can also make ellipses where the brim is longer in front and back than it is on the sides.

So I wonder if there is really a large enough demand to make your efforts worthwhile. You'll have to make a trial run to be sure.

Bruce Wayne · Mar 29, 2009

i say make it accept a utility knife blade, as these are even easier to find than x-acto blades.

tonyb · Mar 30, 2009

Bob Smalser said:
I've thought about making rounding jacks, but I've also worked on hats. The issue with them isn't that you can't make a good one economically, it's that I don't either want or need one as a hobbyist. All they do is speed things up for a manufacturer....they won't cut dimensional brims, and fur felt sands very nicely. With scissors and sandpaper I can do just as good a job fairing brim curves for not much more time than using a rounding jack would take, and I can also make ellipses where the brim is longer in front and back than it is on the sides.

So I wonder if there is really a large enough demand to make your efforts worthwhile. You'll have to make a trial run to be sure.

Well, for a guy such as yourself, one who apparently knows his way around a workshop, cutting brims with scissors and sandpaper presents no big challenge. I've done a few that way myself, and produced satisfactory results, but I still find it easier (and much quicker) to get a clean, uniform cut with a rounding jack. I now consider it an almost indispensable tool, and it certainly isn't that I'm mass-producing hats. (One tip: Don't use a dull blade.)

Your speculation that there likely isn't a big demand is probably right. But there is some demand, though. I, for one, would certainly consider buying another rounding jack, provided it appeared to be a well-made unit and was priced right.

Bob Smalser · Mar 30, 2009

I don't disagree. Testing demand is what trial runs are for.

But I suspect there is a much larger demand for these full-crown stretchers:

http://www.hatsupply.com/hat_stretchers.htm

With an outboard face plate for the lathe if your doesn't have sufficient swing, and a turned handle epoxied into allthread, these could also be less time consuming to make, and JJ could likely easily beat the existing 300-dollar price of these.

I've never used a rounding jack, but it seems to me you'd benefit from a block to index a rounding jack against anyway, and a simple piece of plywood fitting atop this full-crown stretcher would serve that purpose nicely. Perhaps there's a market for both.

majormoore · Mar 30, 2009

You will need a band block inside the hat, one that fits the hat your are getting ready to cut, I have 10 band blocks, that I use on the hats I work with, the reason you will need the tight fitting band block, is you will be pushing the rounding jack toward the crown at the brim line, so you need the band block inside so there is no give as you push in and around the hat while cutting.

If you don't use a band block, you may not get a nice even cut all around. Food for thought.

Major Moore

tonyb · Mar 30, 2009

Yup, you gotta have something solid to push against, hence the band blocks. (Now, those would be relatively easy to make.) The crown block itself will work as well, provided you're making a hat with a crown that uses the block's entire height, so that the hat body covers it completely. In either case, you have to first create a sharp bandline (the line where the crown and brim go their separate ways), but that's a topic for another day. For now, it's sufficient to know that you'll need more than just a rounding jack for it to be of much use to you. And even with all the tools on hand, it can take a bit of practice to use them properly, as all of us can testify. (Right, Mike?) Wasted time and materials kinda go with the territory.

I can see those full-crown stretchers finding an audience. A suggestion to any of you woodworkers considering tackling such a project: make it tall enough to accommodate most any "regular" hat (fedoras, Homburgs). I'd say six inches, minimally, and preferably a bit taller.

humanshoes · Feb 1, 2014

Hello all, thought I'd jump in here. Wanted to make hats, but needed tools. Lots of oak scrap down in the shop, moderate woodworking skills,

and a little time on my hands. Pictures of antique and newer rendition hatter's tools provided inspiration. Resulting tools seemed adequate to the task and my first hat is off the block and on my head.

g.durand · Feb 1, 2014

Nicely done, both tools and hat.

Geldoc · Feb 1, 2014

Very nice!

ManofKent · Feb 1, 2014

g.durand said:
Nicely done, both tools and hat.

+1

tonyb · Feb 3, 2014

humanshoes said:
.. View attachment 9163 ...

You know, 'shoes, you could find a ready market for these tools, especially the rounding jack.

Nice work, sir.

Rounding Jack

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