US2404634A - Process for manufacturing felt hats - Google Patents

Description

ations.

Patented July 23, 1943 PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING FELT HATS 7 Alfred E. Hodshon, Bucks County, Pa., assignor to John B. Stetson Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania N Drawing. Application July 10, 1943,

Serial No. 494,267

' 6 Claims.

In the manufacture of fur felt hats, the hat body is today passed through many separate oper- Some of these operations which used to be done entirely by hand are now done in whole or in part by machinery, although the best grade of hats still have many of the operations carried on by hand processes.

The hat-bat is first formed by a process'of blowing and by vacuum drawing fibers of natural fur or wool or manufactured fibers, or a combination of them onto a perforated cone. These fibers forming a bat are then moistened so that the bat may be handled and removed from the cone. The bat so-formed is then subjected to scalding water and at first gentle, then vigorous steps are general even where fur does not predominate in the hat body. I

Where furpredominates, the body thus dried and stiffened is then rewet and the tip or crown is pulled out, then the brim is pulled out, both steps being done by suitable machines designed for those purposes. The body is then given its first locking, which is a general shaping operation done with an expanding metal block inside the crown and does not reduce the body to final hat size or shape. In practice this operation always leaves the brim flat. dried and given its initial pouncing, which removes the rough outer surface of the felted body.

All the above steps take place in what is known as the back shop, and the body then goes to the front shop, where it is blocked to final shape, the crown is ironed, then finished, which involves surface treatment with fine sandpaper or the like and sometimes heated pads, then the brim is ironed, then curled, then flanged or shaped, then finished. Then'the brim is rounded, or cut-01f, the hat is then trimmed, sweat leather and crown lining placed in and outer band placed on. Then the brim is given a final flanging or shaping. The body is of course dyed in the back shop, and the exact sequence of the operations is at times varied and some operations are added and others omitted, most of these operations have special machines and each requires a separate operative.

, The objects of the present invention are, to

The body is then I produce a predominantly fur felt hat that will retaining, hat. These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description. This application is a continuation in part of my former application of the same title filed December 29, 1941, Serial Number 424,787. r T

In carrying out this invention, the hat is formed, dyed, sized and stacked, dried and stiffened, as in the usual process, then the body is thoroughly rewet, and the tip and brim are pulled out, but instead of the initial blocking in the back shop, the body is pressed in a mold once and for all, to final size and shape, both crown and brim. Under the former process, the pulling and first blocking were not to final size, shrinking and further blocking and pressing were required, so that the body had first to be pulled beyond its desired I size, then brought back to it, 'whichsometimes left weak or thin sections or hands in the tip, or crown, and the brim. Drying and rewetting before pulling may be omitted.

Since by the new process, pulling and pressing is done initially to final size, slightly less material may be placed in the original bat.

In the former practice the brim was initially blocked and pressed fiat, then in the later treatment in the front shop, it was given its final curl and shape. By this practice, the brim. was dried in this flat position and it naturally tended to return to it, regardless ofthe successive treatments; after these treatments it therefore tended to gutter and pucker. By this invention, while a wet, while still in active felting operation and while not over stretched, it is given it final shape line will not change because in manufacture it has always been in one place and there is no tendency to resume a former location and there is no weakened portion on either side of the line.

In the former practice, the pulling and early blocking so overstretched the hat that the elasticity of the felt was impaired, whereas, in the process of this invention the felt is at no time overstretched and the fibers remain open, dispersed, not compacted, until the final compression takes place in the press. Consequently ease of felting continues until final drying and shaping, so that a firm, completely felted hat is produced and the felting is to the final shape as fixed by the press, rather than the late blocking or pressing overcoming a previously set size and shape as in the former practice,

The following steps, after this pressing while the body is wet, are much like the steps previously followed in the front shop, except that several are now omitted entirely. The blocking in the front shop is omitted, so is the crown ironing, the brim ironing, the brim curling and the initial and final brim fianging. Omitting the 'machines and operatives for them from the process saves very considerable in the cost of manufacture and enables a better hat to be produced at less expense.

The pressing in the early stage, while the body is wet, may be done on a conventional pressing machine, which has a heated die or mold comprising a cavity for the crown and a support for the brim of the final desired hat configuration. Such machines are generally illustrated in Cuming patents No. 2,064,824 and 2,087,798 and Cipriano Patent No. 2,091,429. Fur hats have usually been placed in these machines to reshapen them, and at all times heretofore, after the body has been blocked and dried. According to this invention, into the crown cavity and on the brim support the wet, pulled body is placed in a, free floating, position. 'A saddle'is then placed inside the crown and over the brim and a rubber diaphragm having protruding portion and asomewhat flattened portion around it is then brought down upon the saddle, the protruding portion fitting into the body crown. Steam, air or water pressure is then exerted on the other side of the diaphragm and the hat body is forced into complete contact with the form. The heat turns the moisture in the hat body to steam. Preferably from 50 to 150 pounds pressure is applied to the hat and the die is heated to around 200 to 350 Fahrenheit, the preferred temperature being 270, although it will of course be understood that both the pressure and temperature may be varied within Wide limits without departing from the invention.

The hat when removed from the press is the desired final size and shape and being thin, due to wet pressing, and nearly dry, it will completely dry without further shrinking. It is smooth on its outer surface because that side is next to the mold. All lumps and uneven portions are forced to the inside. Therefore, wet pressed hats pounce more evenly and show less imperfections than wet blocked hats, in which the-pressure is applied inside the hat without any outside mold to press against, thus allowing all lumps and uneven portions to protrude to the outside of the hat. These wet blocked hats, when pounced, show up uneven incolor, due to the fact that the high spots have to be cut more than the low spots in order to obtain a smooth surface. "The wet pressed body produced by this invention has no weak or thin spots because it has never been stretched beyond its final size and it conforms readily to the mold because its fibers are open, dispersed, not compressed, up until the final pressing out and drying out of moisture in the I press.- Because it is wet when placed in the press,

it continues to felt until dry, so it has no full or wrinkling spots. The felt is tight and firm, not a false felt as is obtained by dry pressing. The felt is also resilient because it has never been overstretched or dried under compression to any but its final position, both in its fibers as well as its outward configuration. better than hats made by the old hand methods, there is uniformity of thickness and weight, there is this same uniformity of color and finish, the hat retains its shape better and longer, as well as its finish. The feel of the hat to the hand is like that given by the-finest of furs.

Substantially the same results described in the preceding paragraph would be obtained by interrupting the pressing process while the hat is still in a moist condition and before it has been fully compressed and removing it from the p ess and letting it dry. The hat if desired may then be pounced. At a later time, when it is known precisely the final shape that it is desired the hat shall have, it is steamedand again placed in the press for final shaping, compressing and drying. Interrupting the pressing process in this manner is sometimes desirable in the manufactur of hats in large quantities when quite a numberarekept in stock by the manufacturer awaiting lfinal orders. The orders may be filled from the stock on hand with substantially the same economy and improvement in the hat body as though the pressing were carried through to completion in a single operation.

I claim: 1. The process of manufacturing felted predominantly fur fiber hats comprising forminga wet, felted hat body with crown and ,brim shrunkento the desired size for pressing and while the body is wet-and the fibers. of the body are still in their original open and interlocking felting condition, placing the same in a freely mobile position into the mold of a die-press and die-pressing the same to substantially the final size andshape and to shrinkandharden the same and to shrink andpermanentlylockthe fibers together.

2. The process of manufacturing felted predominantly fur fiber "hats comprising forming a feltable hat bat, wetting and shrinking the same forming the crown and brim, and while wetand the fibers are still dispersed, placing the hat in a freely mobile position into the mold of .a diepress and die-pressing thesame to substantially final size and shape and applying heat thereto to facilitate felting, formlngand hardening and to permanently interlock the fibers together.

:rhThe process of manufacturing felted predominantly fur fiber hats comprising forming a It holds its shape wet, shrunken and felted hat body with crown and brim of the desired size for pressing and while wet and uncompressed when placed in the mold, and the fibers are still dispersed, placing the hat in a freely mobile position into the mold of a diepress and compressing the same to substantially final size and shape to set the crown and brim thereof under a pressure and temperature substantially to dry the same and to shrink and permanently interlock the fibers together.

5. In the manufacture of felted predominantly fur fiber hats, the method which includes the steps of wetting, shrinking, and felting the hat bat to final size for pressing, forming thereon the crown and brim and while wet and the fibers dispersed, placing the hat in a freely mobile position into the mold of a die-press and compressing the same to substantially final size and shape, and to 6 shrink and permanently interlock the fibers together, the compressing of the press being the first compressing to which the hat is subjected.

6. In the manufacture of felted predominantly fur fiber hats the method which consists in forming the hat bat and wetting, shrinking and felting the same to final size for pressing, forming thereon the crown and brim and while wet and the fibers are open and dispersed, placing the hat in a freely mobile position into the mold of a diepress and compressing the hat under heat and ressure to final size and set, and, to shrink and permanently interlock the fibers together, and thereafter completing the manufacture by pouncing, finishing the crown and brim, rounding the brim and trimming the hat.

ALFRED E. HODSHON.