The Conversion Corral

[The Wiser Hatter]

Another Hat saved by the block and flange you are putting them to good use.

 

[hatophile]

My first Akubra was a tawny fawn Campdraft that I bought a few years ago. It got soaked quite a few times (it rains a lot here) and tapered up pretty bad. I relegated it to yard work; etc. But now that I have a real block and flange, I decided to re-do it. The original ribbon was unsalvageable, so I put a wider ribbon on it. I like the results:

Nice job, J-1.

 

[monbla256]

My first Akubra was a tawny fawn Campdraft that I bought a few years ago. It got soaked quite a few times (it rains a lot here) and tapered up pretty bad. I relegated it to yard work; etc. But now that I have a real block and flange, I decided to re-do it. The original ribbon was unsalvageable, so I put a wider ribbon on it. I like the results:

Really NICE job on that one. I like the wider contrasting ribbon alot

 

[MikePotts]

Very nice Jaunty, I'm really enjoying this conversion stuff - much fun. I did another one today for a friend of mine, just a cheap black cowboy hat to C Crown fedora but with a nice ribbon it'll be wearable. Or maybe I just enjoy the methanol fumes.............hmmm[huh]


MP

 

[BR Gordon]

This was my first attempt at a conversion. This hat started out as a Stetson *** Club, Dune. I was never happy with the hat consequently I never wore it.

This is the original hat. I didn’t take any photos, so this is a stock photo.

First I trimmed and reshaped the brim, and reshaped the crown to a center dent. I hated to trim off the edge binding, but I like the slightly smaller brim.


The sweatband on the *** Club is not leather and very uncomfortable, so I changed it to real, un-dyed leather and changed the ribbon to a 16 ligne brown.

 

[scooter]

Bravo, BR, a magnificent job. Definitely more appealing than the original to my eye.

 

[MikePotts]

...........to my eye too BR, excellent job, and very brave to attempt the dreaded sweat replacement! - I'm not 'there' yet.

 

[scottyrocks]

Beautiful job, BR.

 

[Sam Craig]

Great Job, Mr. Gordon.

The hat turned out super!

At the price of replacement sweats, I can't compete with Wichita Hat Works. They've done several for me and use terrific material.
I just know a couple of hours into trying to replace one myself I would consider the $8 or $10 that I am saving and feel like one of those old Warner Brothers cartoons where a character's head disolves into a jackass.
But I admire anyone who can take on the chore. I'm just lucky to be within easy driving of someone who can do the job.

Sam

 

[redhawks2]

Resistol conversion

This is a 3X that I picked up off the bay. It is actually an ivory color although it looks white. The 2" wide band is charcoal but I'm thinking of changing it to a 2" wide dark brown band with a little more style than the current one. It's a very stiff felt and the open crown us 6.5" tall !

 

[randooch]

redhawks, it's hard to tell that was ever a western. very nice job! despite its stiffness, were you able to make it fit comfortably? I have a couple of westerns that are quite stiff, but with several steamings, and letting them dry upon my head, they fit well.

 

[redhawks2]

Yes it fits comfortably although it is a bit on the heavy side. I sprayed it down with some denatured alcohol and it became a little less stiff. I'm working on a brown hat band for it and will probably get it on this weekend. the brim is only 2-1/4" but looks larger due to the light color. It was originally a 3-1/2" brim and I cut it down to 2-1/2" but it still looked too large. All my hats have at least a 2-1/2" brim except this one.
Thanks for the comments.

 

[Joshbru3]

Resistol Stagecoach Transformation

I bought this Resistol Stagecoach because it came factory with a 6 1/4 inch crown and a very straight/flat topped block. The crown's felt is very mailable for a western and of course the brim is stiff as cardboard. I must say though, the quality of felt was very nice and there was no "wrinkling" in the felt from the stiffener. I feel as if this felt is a little thinner than a standard western weight.

I did all this work last night in several hours. I did NOT have a flange or rounding jack. The only hatters tools I had was a 5 inch block and needle/thread. I used the block that I received from Resistol at FF3 just to smooth out the top of the crown and get rid of the old creases. I used a stiff brush and soft brush for the felt. I flanged the brim by hand and just kept working the felt until I got the proper curve and flange height that I wanted. I used sandpaper to sand the raw edge once it was cut just to make sure that every part of the brim was perfectly round. I then sanded the edge on a 45 degree angle to give the edge a more finished fedora look and also to give the appearance that the felt isn't as thick as it really is. I then used a ribbon from a badly mothed 50's Resistol. I took some time and carefully frayed the edge of the ribbon for that 30's effect and hid the ribbon stitches for a cleaner look. I really like the way this hat came out. I love how it looks like a late 20's/30's hat.

Open Crown: 6 1/4 inches tall
Brim Width: 2 1/4 inches wide (Raw)
Ribbon Width: 2 inches wide
Crown Front creased height: 4 3/4 inches tall
Crown Rear creased height: 5 1/8 inches tall
Tallest part of crown (creased) 5 5/8 inches tall

BEFORE:

DURING:

BRIM CUT:

 

[Joshbru3]

Resistol Stagecoach Transformation (cont...2)

BRIM CUT (cont...):

RIBBON ON & UNCREASED:

FINAL PRODUCT:

 

[Joshbru3]

Resistol Stagecoach Transformation (cont...3)

FINAL PRODUCT (cont...):

ME WEARING THE HAT:

 

[Sam Craig]

Josh,

That is a beaut!

Great job.

I know they are heavy, but man that Resistol felt makes a fedora that you can wear forever and never worry about conditions.

This summer I did one up in navy blue and I put a tight "Rader" pinch in the front with a "C" shape to the rear. It turned out great!

And I don't have to worry about it getting creased or dirty. It makes the perfect hat to wear when I go out of town for the weekend and don't want to worry about something getting dumped on top of a dress hat at the kids' house or whatever.

Good project and I'm sure you'll get a lot of wear out of it.

Sam

 

[monbla256]

That's a VERY , VERY NICE job on that one ! Well done The brims to short and crown to tall for me ( I'm not a fan of 30's styled fedora's) but it WORKS on you ! Way to go

 

[HatsEnough]

Wow is that a transformation, Josh.

 

[randooch]

Terrific work, Josh. That first photo was an *EGAD* moment for me, and the final product an "OOoooooh!"

 

[RBH]

Very good work Josh!!!