Simple or not so simple wooden head shape hat blocks.

[gladhatter]

Anyone here interested in making some wooden head shape hat blocks? We have photos and examples.

gladhatter@gladhatter.net www.gladhatter.com/forum
276-926-6423

[gladhatter]

I should explain this better I suppose for better answers.
We are traditional hat makers and share the same plight as about 700 other custom hatters in the USA in that we cannot find a source for well made hat blocks. The tradition block and flange machines of past are still used generally and all are worn out. No one seems to care about quality and the blocks we see are all just junk anymore.

We hope to work with someone interested in making blocks that we can use here and also would like to offer them to the hatters community as well if some one in interested in producing a quality line of block and flanges.

If you are capable and interested in such a project and wishing for paid work, please let me know. We can offer anything from actual blocks to reproduce or Auto Cad drawings as well as even the wood to make them from if need be.

We are interested in some good solutions to this.

Not sure if these shop bots work in metal or not but that may well be a solution as well.

[Brady Watson]

Charlie,
You have mail.

-B

[jseiler]

I'd love to see a picture of what you are talking about. I'm sure others are curious too. If you'd like to have it posted, send me a copy and I can post it for you.

jseiler@bluemarble.net

John

[Brady Watson]

John,
There are PLENTY of pics if you follow the link that Charlie provided.

-B

[gladhatter]

Thank you all that have responded privatly and publically. Sorry I am under the weather today and hope to follow this up tomorrow.

I will get some block photos together and post them or a link to them which ever this forum accepts.

I do not have the Autocad drawings as of yet to supply anyone as we are taking bids on these on Rentacoder.com.

To update all some more. I think we would be interested in probably maple for the wood and preferably rock maple.

I knew nothing about shop bot when posting this and little more about it now.

We would likely be interested initally in 2 profile shaped blocks 6 inch in height and sets of 13-16 blocks in each profile in varying sizes. We may get more than one of the very most common sizes done.

We have other hatters that do need blocks immediatly as well that have had nothing but night mares trying to get them.

I have been the go to guy for most all hatter supplies for years but it has never been my business and I do not want it to be my business.

On the other hand I am likly the one that would have to distribute the blocks to make it work out.

There are also many shaped blocks that some hatter require.

I would also mention that folks that can duplicate can make a good living for a time off of ladies millinery blocks alone. My wife sold around 300 of these on eBay this year and some fetched a fortune and others a pentence only but she has photos of all of them still and they would not have to be exact to sell as these folks want some weird and unique shaped blocks.

They mosly need 5 piece blocks that come apart to release the hat.

We will soon as well need pork pie and bowler and telescope and gambler and other styles of blocks but we need to seem a couple sets of simple blocks first.

We would certainly as well want these same two sets of blocks make in 5 inch 5 1/2 inch and 5 3/4 inch in near future as well to go with the current need of the 6 inch ones.

We also have a customer that is currently in the market for quite a few full sets of blocks in varying shapes right now and we hope to parlay his need with ours so as to save a bit on ours.

I have understood that shop bot requires a finish as well and not sure how all that works. We would consider unfinished blocks as well as fully finished to our standards. I think we would like 3-4 coats of West system epoxy on our maple blocks and again can do that work here or get it all done where you are.

We hope to find some one that may can do all the work including the drawing in shop or again we can supply 3-d auto cad for this but this will take a few days or more to get done.

[gladhatter]

I am not including an excel chart of axis for the ellipse in all the different hat block ovals that are the common ones. Some uncommon ones like Egg OVAL are well not very common. the reason is that it exceeds the 50 KB size limit as does the photo of it. If anyone cares to share in this valued information for free, please let me know as all are welcome to it for any use public or private and for any profits you may make from it without limitation.

I again wish to thank all that continue to work with us on this project. While we feel we have the field narrowed down and about ready to engage in block making, some of you folks may enjoy the over runs when and if they occur. I think they will occur early on if all demand the blocks they are already ordering in a very timely fashion and that will not include the around 2000 blocks I need and around 20,000 flanges.

I need to get busy robbing a bank now to pay for all this.

[gladhatter]

OH and we also have the adjoining auto cad files if anyone needs them as well and can send it all in a zip where as the excel file is hyperlinked so as to open the pointed to Dfx file included.

There are 120 files in dvx that represents all ovals and sizes from 6 1/4- 8 5/8

[gladhatter]

We contine to get emails with interest expressed in this project. I am thankful for this. As I say there will likely be overruns for the blocks.

What I have not expressed is that we are also working on several complex projects here with a member that are not all wood working but some metal and other materials. My feeling is that once we get all the specifics down concerning the block making so that he can share all we have done with some others, that we will need help cutting the blocks out as we likely will be busy on the other projects.

There is a variety of things needed more than one man can likely keep up with. Wooden hat boxes and some leather luggage that may be part wood framed.

Conformatures and formillions to make and much else.

I am actually quite amazed what is possible to do with these shop bots and again while we have a fair relationship with one of the members here that has expressed a desire to do these most economically as well as a great deal of the other projects we have in queue, I am sure he will want to share part of the load as it stacks up so, I just want to say I really appreciate all the positive responses. I also appreciate the folks that give this project a lot of attention and yet could not meet any price range that these items would market for or else calculated far more time per block than the others and based thier pricing accordingly and choose to not make the block as many have and find it goes really fast.