Chris Ramsey comes to us from Kentucky. He was born in New York and moved to California where he worked in the electronics industry. He moved his business to Kentucky and began turning in 1997. Recently he retired to become a full time professional turner. Chris made a ball cap with the AAW logo carving that was recently featured in the spring issue of the American Woodturner. Several days after this demonstration he was invited to the White House by President Bush for a ceremony in the Oval Office, to present the President with an English Walnut cowboy hat.

Chris gently blows on the finished outback hat as he spins it to help the lacquer dry.

The 8 oz hat starts out as a 120 lb piece of maple from which Chris gets a full size hat, a round mirror frame and a mini hat

Chris began his demonstration with the formation of an Outback Hat. He used a piece of water maple cut two days prior to the demonstration. From this piece he will turn a large hat, a wall mirror and a mini-hat. The blank was sixteen inches in diameter. It had been previously rounded and a six-inch faceplate attached. Once on the lathe the piece was further rounded forming a brim diameter of fourteen inches. The cap portion was made seven and three-quarters of an inch. This allowed for one-quarter inch of shrinkage when drying. The fall from the cap to the brim is one and one-quarter inches. A mortise was then cut on the underside of the hat. The piece was then reversed and placed on the chuck. (Chris begins with a 120 lb. piece of wood and ends up with a 7-9 oz. hat.) The tailstock is brought up so that the revolving cone fits into the center opening of the faceplate.

 

Instead of wasted shavings, a coring tool removes the mirror blank from the wood above the brim.

The mirror portion was then turned and separated with a coring tool. The basic hat form was then realized. The brim was turned flat and the cap portion turned to the pre-determined seven and three-quarters inches as noted above. The hatband was then formed with a slight taper. The cap height was made four and one-quarter inches. The cap was then shaped with the top being five and one-half inches in diameter. The upper edge of the cap was then rolled over. The brim was then shaped with the taper upward toward the cap. The edge of the brim was flat for three-quarters of an inch then tapered up to meet the cap. Chris kept the edge of the brim 1/8" thick for durability. For any torn end-grain he moistens the wood, sharpened his tool and increased the angle of tool presentation to achieve a clean cut. (Chris uses Jerry Glaser tools [5/8", ½" and 3/8"]). He then formed a line above and below the hatband. The upper line was cut deeper than the lowerline so that the band could be feathered in to the cap of the hat. Later these will be burnished.

The piece was reversed and the faceplate placed on the headstock. All dust was removed between the faceplate and headstock to prevent wobble (Chris covers his tailstock live center with neoprene to protect his elbow. He does this because he does not remove the tailstock from the lathe bed when not in use.) The brim was then defined as to thickness. As the thickness was decreased to one-eighth inch a hissing sound was produced when touching the brim as it spun. (A light will shine through the wood when turned thin.)

A light mounted on a threaded rod with a bearing (see below) reveals the wall thickness of the top of the hat while it is mounted on the jam chuck.

As the brim approached the cap it was undercut so that the mini-hat could be cored out. The core was cut to leave a one and one-half inches plug in the top of the cap. The core was then removed. (Note: If the rim begins to wobble as it dries it can be sprayed with water to reduce drying tension and return it to the proper shape.) Chris then put a large reversed double "L" shaped tool rest in place to begin turning the interior of the cap. He used calipers to determine rim and cap thickness. He also used a 100-watt light bulb to aid in wall thickness determination. Chris rolled the edge where the brim met the cap to prevent cracking during the drying process and to make the hat more comfortable. He used a compressor to blow "free water" out of the wood. This made for smoother cutting and quicker drying. He maintained a dome shape in the top of the cap portion for increased stability during turning. The top of the dome was then finished.

When asked how to determine the thickness in the crown of the hat Chris replied, "If you see the word 'Sylvania' through the dome you have gone too far."

The interior was then completed. Again, "free water" was blown out. (This decreases sanding and makes any sanding more efficient.) The interior of the cap was sanded with 120, 180 and 220 grit paper - both with an electric sander and by hand. Between sanding grits, the compressor was used to blow out any dust and particles from both the sand paper and the piece. (This assures smoother results and permits longer use of the paper.) Chris sanded with reverse turning. The undersurface of the brim was then sanded. At this point the top of the cap was still attached to the six-inch faceplate. Sanding was done with the lathe off or reverse turning slowly. A coat of acrylic automotive lacquer, which was cut 50% with thinner, was used. (This slows down the drying process so that the proper bend of the hat and brim can be achieved after completion of the piece.

Chris holds the jam chuck and light with bearing mounted on threaded rod.

The faceplate was then removed. A jam chuck was used with a light inside it. The electrical for the light runs through the headstock. (Chris will be sending information to the club pertaining to details of the chuck building and other items pertinent to the demo.) The tailstock was brought into place. The top of the hat was formed to about one-quarter inch thick and then the light was turned on. [Editor's note: The light was left off as long as possible to avoid heat build up that would dry out and split the wood.] Final shape and thickness were achieved. Tailstock pressure was decreased to avoid or prevent cracking. The outside of the hat was sanded. The band was burnished with ebony and Paduak to the desired color. The nub was removed and the top of the cap was sanded and acrylic lacquer applied. This completed the Outback Hat and a very interesting morning session.

The afternoon session began with the layout of a cowboy hat from a log form. The log was cut in half and the center of growth rings of each end were marked. The two points were transposed to the center cut surface and that center determined. A seventeen inch circle was then scribed. This was for the brim edge. A second circle was made measuring six and one-quarter inches in the center. This was to easily center the blank using a 6 inch faceplate. The corners were cut off the piece with a chain saw so that the piece was semi-rounded. The piece was jam chucked against the six inch faceplate and the tailstock. The piece was then rounded. The tailstock pressure was constantly checked to make sure the heavy piece did not come off the lathe. The tailstock end was flattened so that the faceplate could be attached. It was then attached to the headstock and the tailstock brought into place. The piece was trued-up and the bottom flattened. The tailstock was

Chris adjusts the tension and pressure on his hat bending jig. The bolt applies pressure to make the round form an oval. The rubber bands force the sides of the rim up. The wooden levers force the back of the rim down. It takes about 24 hours in the jig to get the proper bends. Different woods respond differently.

withdrawn and the piece again rounded. The nubbin was then removed and a mortise made to accept the chuck (as in the morning session). The subject's head was measured using a curvex ruler and this was transferred to paper. By calculations the actual size of the hat was determined (will be available on the website). The brim of the cowboy hat was 4 inches wide. The overall width of the hat was determined and the piece rounded to that dimension. The fall was made one and one-half inches. The piece was reversed and placed on the chuck and the tailstock brought into place in the faceplate opening. The piece was again trued-up. The outside surface of the mirror ring was then formed. The ring was parted off. The rim was turned to four inches from edge to cap. The crown was made five inches high. The width was set for seven and three-quarter inches at the band. It was undercut where the rim met the cap. The band was made three-quarters of an inch wide. The brim was then formed with a dip at the edge. The remainder of the top portion of the rim was then formed. Grooves were then cut into the top and bottom of the band.

The piece was then reversed and the faceplate attached to the headstock. The underside of the brim was formed and thickness determined using back lighting with a 100 watt bulb. Any small cracks or potential cracks were repaired using CA glue. The center of the hat was cored out and will later be used to turn the mini-hat. The interior of the cap was then formed and thinned. As during the morning session the dome of the cap was left thick at this stage to add stability to the piece. The interior was then sanded as was the undersurface of the rim. Acrylic automotive lacquer was applied, the faceplate removed and the piece jam chucked. The top of the hat was formed - the band burnished and the nubbin removed. It was then sanded and lacquered. This completed the cowboy hat. This hat and the Outback Hat will be available at the auction of the fourth Saturday in September.

Finally, a mini-hat was made from one of the pieces cored out earlier in the demo. The mortise formed on the piece earlier was used to mount the piece in the headstock. The fall from the cap to rim was three-quarters of an inch. The cap was three and one-eighth inches wide. A tenon was formed on the top of the cap. The rim was shaped. The band was one-quarter inch wide. The piece was reversed and the underside of the rim shaped and thinned. Chris then hollowed the cap. It was again chucked - the top formed - sanded and lacquered. Time restraints concluded the demonstration which proved to be entertaining and remarkably informative. Further information can be obtained on the club website and from the edited tape available in September 2003.

--Bob Gunther

More photos from Chris's Demonstration

Chris's web site