Allie Maillar hat gas press

[Lluis]

Dear all,

could anyone enlighten me with regards to the
the importance, or lack thereof, of a piece of hat-making
equipment that belonged in the workshop of my great-grandmother,
in Girona, Catalonia ?

I have her Allie Maillard conformateur, and two formillions, but I also have
an Allie Maillard press, that I have not been able to find on the web anywhere.
Perhaps you'd be willing to take a look and enlighten me?

I attach a few images.

thank you !

Lluís

 

[Frunobulax]

Dear all,

could anyone enlighten me with regards to the
the importance, or lack thereof, of a piece of hat-making
equipment that belonged in the workshop of my great-grandmother,
in Girona, Catalonia ?

I have her Allie Maillard conformateur, and two formillions, but I also have
an Allie Maillard press, that I have not been able to find on the web anywhere.
Perhaps you'd be willing to take a look and enlighten me?

I attach a few images.

thank you !

Lluís

I'm going to take a wild stab and say it's to create a sharp brim break after blocking the crown.

 

[Frunobulax]

And with the right attachment, you could make waffles.

 

[Lluis]

right......thank you !!

But how common is this tool ?

 

[Frunobulax]

Well, I've never seen one. The current popular method seems to include metal plates and either a hot sandbag or some sort of press. Yours sort of looks like a tabletop version of the large, floor model presses I've seen used.

Here is a link to some hat tooling machines sold by JW Hats. The photo of the brim break press isn't the greatest, but it should give you an idea. The brim plates are pictured below the press.

 

[Lluis]

Thank you again! I have no use for it, and looking to sell, but I have no idea of its value...........

 

[Frunobulax]

Neither do I. It's a pretty cool device, and frankly, would fit nicely in my makeshift and sporadically used shop where I putter around on old hats. But I don't know what It's worth is on the open market.

The practice around here is to list it in the classifieds and set a price. Negotiations can be made from there. Or you could list it on eBay and test the free market.

...and now I want waffles.

 

[Lluis]

you'd ruin the beautiful cloth with your greasy buttery waffles ?

 

[Frunobulax]

you'd ruin the beautiful cloth with your greasy buttery waffles ?

HAHA, well, you got me there.

 

[belfastboy]

Thank you again! I have no use for it, and looking to sell, but I have no idea of its value...........

It is a nice piece of hat making history but this looks to be missing the plates. In order to work properly you need a plate to fit each size of hat. I would be interested but thinking the shipping to Canada would be prohibitive.

 

[Lluis]

Unless I am missing something, the plates are there. They nicely slide in and out in a very
smart design to reduce or increase the area of the crown (?). It's really remarkable how
it is built. The whole thing weighs around 6 kg. YOu have seen this tool before, then? Do
you have any info on it?
Thank you !!
Lluís

 

[belfastboy]

Unless I am missing something, the plates are there. They nicely slide in and out in a very
smart design to reduce or increase the area of the crown (?). It's really remarkable how
it is built. The whole thing weighs around 6 kg. YOu have seen this tool before, then? Do
you have any info on it?
Thank you !!
Lluís

No, all hatters use some manner of 'press' to flatten brims. It ranges from pieces of wood with holes cut for the crown all the way up to $15K heated hydraulic presses. I have never seen one like this. If you have a figure in mind shoot me a PM. Also give me an idea of the postage to Canada V3C 6B8.