Hat Making Tool: Prototypes #1 & #2 of the DeCou Studio Formillion and Conformer

Well, I had romantic notions of making my #100 Blog Entry a big to-do with a long and folksy Kansas Flint Hills Tour Guide with lots of cross linked information about the area where I live and work. It is a great area, and the rest of the world is starting to take notice. Previously, I enjoyed the feed back from when I wrote about a Tallgrass Prairie Fire Party, and a Kansas Flint Hills Hot Air Balloon Ride.

But, I just haven’t had time to spend on the keyboard with non-business related stuff lately, and I need to get some progress photos posted of some new Hatmaking Tools I’m designing and getting built, so I’ll leave the big #100 Entry Celebration Flint Hills Travel Guide for another time.

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This blog is to show the progress on some special new hatmaking tools I am building that custom hat makers can use to take a customer’s head size and shape, and convert the head shape to a hat shape. This custom shaping makes hat customers very happy.

The big ring around the oustide with all of the fingers is an aparatus that I’m calling a Conformer at this point. The elliptical shaped thing in the middle with all of the small fingers is called a Formillion.

Of all the hat tools I’ve made in the past months, this Formillion/Conformer contraption has been the most sought after tool by hat makers finding me on the internet, and so I’m hoping they will still want one after they see photos and pricing.

These three photos are just some quick shop photos of the Conformer & Formillion sitting on the Centerline Platform, with my off-shaped head used for testing it out, 7-1/8” size if you gotta know. If you are an interested buyer looking for a Formillion/Conformer, let me know and I can send other photos, or more details directly through an email.

There are antique Formillions, Conformers, and Conformatuers out there that need some repair work, or replacement parts made for them, and I’d be happy to do that for you if you wanted to send it to me. Several hat makers have asked in the past if I would do that, and now I feel that I’m ready to say that I can handle the repair work.

Yea, But Why?:
Ok, for the non-hatters out there, I know you are asking yourself, “Why would any self-respecting Hatmaker want a contraption like that one?”

As hatmakers have written and phoned me over the past year looking for custom made tools, many have expressed that the problem with making a custom hat, is not so much getting a customer’s head size, but rather getting the “head shape” and finding a working tool to do the job. To make a hat really fit well, it takes a lot of skill, and some specialized tools. Those that do it well and have the tools have customers that want that service.

Ok, So I’m Probably Not Alone:
In the process of my constant tinkering with this contraption, taking my own head shape measurements, I discovered something that apparently I had to wait until I was 44 years old to figure out.

My head ain’t symmetrical.

The problem for wearing a hat is that the right side of my skull is bigger than the left side, by quite a bit.

If you draw a center line from between my eyes over the top of my head, to the center of my neck, the left side doesn’t look like the right side. That might explain some things, but I’ll let the rest of you make the jokes, I’ve probably already heard them all anyway.

Ok, so now it makes sense why I have never been able to wear a baseball cap without the Bill sitting crooked on my head. Now, I know.

I can put on a hat, get it straight while looking in the mirror, only to find the next time that I looked in the mirror that the hat was crooked on my head.

I could never figure out why…..until now.

I’m guessing that there are probably a lot of folks out there with odd shaped heads that can’t figure out why their shelf-bought hats don’t fit, or sit crooked on their head.

Well, this tool is designed to give the custom hat maker the ability to take a customer’s head shape and size, and convert that information into a hat that fits like a “glove.”

Ok, But Why Me?:
This is not a new concept, there are French antique examples of this type of tool, but I haven’t discovered that anyone else has tried to design a contemporary version of this tool….....until now.

And after making a be-jillion little keys and parts that didn’t work well, I can understand why nobody else has been crazy enough to try designing and building one of these rigs.

I think though, as a project, it fits me pretty good.

I’m a woodworking Mechanical Engineer that got sick of sitting in desks, and so doing some fiddling with a little contraption like this that is made mostly of wood is sort of right up my alley. It’s been fun to figure out, but for every mistake I’ve made, or better idea that I developed, it caused about three more days work to make new templates and fixtures, and so this has sort of been a long process.

I think I’m about on top of it now, and to the point that I could actually sell one of these babies. So, that’s the silver lining to this sweaty August.

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Here are photos of the Prototype Version #1:

There are 40 little fingers on this First Pass prototype Conformer, with 46 little fingers on the prototype Formillion.

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Ok, so how does it work?

Well, the Hatter places the Conformer on the customer’s head. Carefully, makes sure that the brass centering pins are lined up between the eyes, and at the center of the neck. This gives the centerline measurement, so that the hatmaker has a reference to use. Then, the wing nuts on the Conformer are tightened to clamp the fingers.

The Conformer is then placed on the Centerline Platform, and the Formillion is placed on it’s platform. All of these components are kept centered to each other with line-up pins on the Platform. The Formillion wing nuts are loosened, and the fingers are pulled out to touch the fingers of the Conformer, copying the shape of the head.

The Formillion wingnuts are then tightened, and the Conformer is removed from the Platform. Now, the shape of the hat crown can be ironed out against the Formillion Fingers, translating the customer’s head shape to the customer’s new Hat shape. The centerline of the Formillion is marked on to the Hat Felt with a tailor’s chalk to use for reference when sewing in the hat band, and finishing up the Crown Shape.

The key to the whole rig is the Centerline Platform which keeps the Formillion in position with the center of the Head measurement, so that the hat can be shaped and the hat band sewn in with the proper orientation. No more guessing, or telling a customer that they will just need to, ”....wear the hat for a few days to get it shaped.”

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Here are photo of the Prototype Version #2:

Taking what I learned on the first one, and making some improvements, this second prototype is designed to be the upcoming “Economy Model,” where bolts/wing nuts allow the clamping of the fingers. This model has 46 fingers on both the Formillion and the Conformer. I’m using Walnut and a black lacquer finish, but any wood, or color could be used. On the version #3 of the “Deluxe Model,” I’ll be using spring loaded handles to do the locking/unlocking mechanism, but I don’t have that prototype ready for exposure yet.

Thanks for reading along,
Mark DeCou
www.decoustudio.com
email: mark@decoustudio.com

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Artisan Hat Tools by Mark DeCou Studio
(Do you want to see More? Just follow these links):

Rounding Jack – The Collector-Series Model w/ a Brass Blade Holder:

1. “Coming Soon”, Progress Photos posted here

Rounding Jack – The Economy-Priced Hobbyist-Hatter Model:

1. Walnut Rounding Jack w/ Bench Top Display Stand
2. Walnut Rounding Jack w/ Laser Engraved Ruler

Rounding Jacks – Custom Built:

1. “Custom Laser Engraved Rounding Jack for Charlie @ Gladdhatter”: coming soon, please check back
2. Rounding Jack, Maple Wood on a Walnut Bench-Top Display Stand
3. Custom Rounding Jack w/ Scrimshaw for the Brainpan Hat Shop in Sumner, WA
4. Custom Rounding Jack w/ Scrimshaw for Steve Delk's Adventurebilt Hat Co.
5. Custom Rounding Jack w/ Scrimshaw for Marc Kitter's Adventurebilt Hat Co.
6. Custom Rounding Jack w/ Scrimshaw for Pyrate Trading Co.
7. Custom Rounding Jack w/ Scrimshaw for the Infamous Hatman Jack at Wichita Hat Works
8. Custom Rounding Jack Laser Engraved for the Inaaya Hat Co.
9. Custom Rounding Jack Laser Engraved for The Penman Hat Co.
10. Prototype #2 Rounding Jack
11. Prototype #1 Rounding Jack

Formillion & Conformer:

1. Formillion & Conformer, Prototypes #1 & #2

Foot Tollikers:

1. Foot Tolliker: Elk Antler & Birch Wood, on a Display Stand
2. Foot Tolliker: Walnut Wood, on a Display Stand
3. Foot Tollikers: Three in White Birch Wood
4. Foot Tollikers: Walnut Wood Set of Four
5. Foot Tollikers, Birch Wood Double Set, on Display Stand

Brim Pencil Curl & Kettle Curl Wooden Shaping Tools:

1. Wooden Hinge-Shackle Curling Tool for the Homburg Hat
2. Wooden Curling Shackles, Various Sizes
3. Wooden Groove Tolliker

Hat Block Spinners:

1. Hard Rock Maple and Walnut Ornamentally Turned Hat Block Spinners

Puller Downers:

1. Puller Downers, made in Birch & Maple

Pusher Downers:

1. Pusher Downers, made in Walnut, Hard Rock Maple, & Poplar

Stainless Steel Slip Stick:

1. “Coming Soon”, please check back.

My Website with other woodworking, including furniture, walking canes, scrimshaw artwork, custom knives, and other misc. items

Mark DeCou Studio Website

(Note:This project story, project design, photos, text, spelling, everything I can possibly list is copyrighted in 2008 by the Author, M.A.DeCou. If you want to use any part of this posting or the photos, for any Feeds, or a book, or another website, or for any reason whatsoever, even ones that I could not have dreamed about you doing before you did it, you must ask for permission first. Please)

-- Mark DeCou - Kansas Flint Hill's Artisan