Anyone ever bend a hat?

[Bob Hallowell]

My daughter has crazy hat day coming up on thursday (everyone wears a crazy hat in a parade), so today I turned my first hat it still needs some sanding, I would like to bend it so it fits her alittle better. I saw some of the jigs and read you should wait 12-24hours before you attempt it. But I don't want to crack it as I don't have time to make another. Should I attempt the bend?

the whole hat is and 1/8" or slightly thinner.

Thanks,
Bob

[alex carey]

no idea but that is certainly cool.

[Doug Thompson]

Bob, it looks good but don't try to bend the hat and finish it the way it is right now. Johannes Michelsen www.woodhat.com (http://www.woodhat.com) has a few pictures of the bending jig that might help for the next one.

Hats need to be bent right after they are turned, the longer you wait the more they tend to crack.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Bob - you sure did an amazing job on this hat! I would think your daughter would be thrilled to be able to wear it in a parade as no one else will have anything even remotely like it! Very nice work!

[Jim Kountz]

Now thats just downright cool!! Great job on the hat Bob!!

[Jim Underwood]

The way I understand the bending process is that you place the still wet turning (you do spray it to keep it wet while turning don't you?) on the drying/bending jig and clamp it with rubber bands and let it bend while it's in the process of drying.

The guy that demonstrated turning a miniature hat even brought the freshly cut blanks in a bucket of water to keep them wet. And of course, sprayed the hat as he was turning it to keep it wet.

Nice job on the hat! I haven't been that brave yet....:o

[Jarrod McGehee]

I think that's pretty sweet.

[Bob Hallowell]

Thanks guys, looks like she will wear this as is. I read about waiting till it was dry here

http://www.turnedtreasures.com/project.html/hat_pg6.html

I can see myself trying a cowboy hat in the future. It really wasn't that hard to make the brim kept the whole thing pretty stiff to turn. The hardest part is sizing it. Doug you got any help on that part?

Bob

[Tony De Masi]

Bob, great job on the hat. I saw Johannes demo his hat making and he did use the rubber band method as soon as the hat was complete. I haven't looked but there must be something on his website about sizing.

Tony

[Joshua Dinerstein]

Well done. That looks great! One of these days when I am feeling brave I will have to give something like that a try...

Again, I think it looks great just as it is...

Joshua

[Brian McInturff]

Hannes has a video out on making hats. I've got a copy but can't remember the process. If I have time I'll scan through it and see what he says. I hope to take his class someday. He's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. You did a superb job on that hat. Simply stunning!

[George Morris]

Great hat! if you go to Johannes Michelsen web sit he has a lot of info on hats and a bending jigs.George

[Dennis Ford]

I have done 4, the rubber band method works pretty well for bending the brim. Sizing one to fit is the hardest part, have only made one that fits well. Ideally the wood will shrink into an oval shape that nearly matches your head and only a small amount of reshaping is necessary for a good fit. You did a good job turning that hat, it will look great when finished.

[Bob Hallowell]

I made a bending jig, and soaked it in water for and hour. It seems to have formed to the jig and rubber band well. Time will tell

Bob

[Doug Thompson]

A Curvex ruler made for drafting will wrap around your head to get the size, this is a lead filled rule that holds it's shape so it can be traced on a sheet of paper. Measure side to side then front to back, average the measurements to get your hat size then add 1/2 inch... this is the outside diameter of the turning.

The secret to a good hat is when you think your thin enough take another cut.

Bob, your first hat is done very well... Good Job!

Here's a link to the first demo I ever did... the crowd only adds more excitment to a tough turning demo. This was 3 hours I don't see how Johannes does a demo in 1-1/2 hours.

http://www.bwwt.org/bwwt_sep07_newsletter.pdf

[Bob Hallowell]

Thanks Doug good article.
Just wanted you to know that I used your 1/2" v gouge for the 98% of the hat. I love that gouge! The onlyy other tool was a scaper for some shear cutting.

Bob

[Doug Thompson]

Thanks, that's my favorite gouge too. If there was a way for you to learn how Johannes Michelsen grinds his tools it would make hat turning easier. There's a picture floating around the internet of a 1/2V bowl gouge sending shavings sky high at a demo... we all know a demo is a show but it's still fun to do.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Bob that is one great looking hat. Well done.