Hat Bending Jig

We recently featured a project on how to make a wood turned Cowboy Hat. In that project, you put the finished turned hat into a jig while it dries. The jig helps the hat keep an oval shape during the drying and also allows you to bend the brim with the use of large rubber bands.

To help you make your own jig, this article shows pictures of several of Johannes Michelson's (The Hat Man) own jigs. And for those engineers or others needing formal plans, check out Don Kleinschnitz's SketchUp drawings for the hat jig at the bottom of this page. Don used the new (and free) Google SketchUp program, get your free copy here.

As a bonus Don has also created a drawing of the Michelson Light Box / Rechucking jig for cutting the tops of the hats using light as a source for measuring the thickness of the top.

 

Here is a future baseball cap in the bending jig.

Here is a finished cowboy hat with rubber bands helping to bend the brim while it's drying.

---

SketchUp copy of the Hat Bending Jig
and the Light Box / Rechucking jig
By Don Kleinschnitz
www.turnedoutright.com

Here is a preview of the sketchup drawing, click here for full size image

Click here to get the .zip file containing the SketchUp drawing

Get the Google SketchUp View to see the SketchUp drawing here

Click here to get your free copy of Google's SketchUp Software
to modify or create your own drawings