AlZilla

I'll let OP answer since it's his thread. I'll just point out that you have a little wriggle room since you'll probably be adding a sweatband inside and you can vary the thickness. The first one is tricky.

No, all that wavy and curling just happens. I'd like the sides curled up a bit like you'd expect a cowboy hat to do. But it just has a mind of it's own.

No, I Leather N' Rich everywhere, inside and out.

Those little stitch line inconsistencies will disappear with practice. Overall, very nice work. It's always impressive when a person can turn out handcrafted work that looks like it was machine made. But what's the point of that?

Missed this part. I kept forming the hat into the shape I wanted as it dried . Just kept coming back to it. Once it was dried, it stiffened up and has held it's shape, except for that pesky brim. I hit the inside with Leather N Rich, too.

I look rustic and used, too ...

I'm thinking verdigris might be a problem with copper. I've got a half hearted eye out for stainless wire.

So, I wore my hat out in the rain today and meant to grab a picture of how well the water beads up. I waited too long but there's 1 big blob left on the right side. I was inside maybe 7 or 8 minutes. I looked at it when I first walked in and it was beaded all up with rain. I probably haven't hit it with anything for close to a year.

By belly, I mean the belly portion of the hide. See how the brim of my hat is a little wavy? It kind of potato chips and curls on me. I think if I had stayed in the upper part of the hide, it wouldn't do that. If I run into a piece of stainless wire that will take a bend, I might do a binding around the edge with the wire inserted. As to cleaning, I wouldn't have a clue. Leather n' Rich is marketed as a leather cleaner, which I use it for on things. The hat, I just hit with some antiquing gel, some saddle tan dye and the Leather 'N Rich a couple days later.

I'm guessing you mean in the bobbin area. I've done it a time or two. You should be able to get it out with tweezers, screwdrivers scissors and assorted pointy things. I'm thinking it's under the hook? I've never had to pull the hook to clear one, but even that's not too hard. A couple of screws underneath, if I remember right. You'll get it. I've had the hook out of mine a couple of times. It's a good exercise just to give you a better understanding of how the machine works.

Blackrocks Leather N' Rich has worked on mine for a couple of years now. Been rained on a few times and wipes/dries right off.

Outstanding and congratulations. It's a tough project, isn't it? The hat in my pic was the first bigger project I did. I made a rookie mistake by getting into the belly for my brim. I constantly have to flatten it back out. Looks like a 1 piece crown? I used 2 pieces, sewn front and back. Then I made another with a 1 piece crown and it just doesn't sit right. Never came back to it. How about a pic of the inside?

Pic requires a login. Please just upload it here and make it easy for us. EDIT: I didn't realize you'd tagged onto an old thread. Also suggest you start a new thread where you'll get more action.

Great. So another manual on the forum.

I grabbed the copy Tejas uploaded and I see all the same graphics as the copy MikeRock got for me. I don't think anything is missing.

Hey, that's interesting. Turns out I misunderstood and the copy I got was 10 megs. Is yours 121 pages? If it's different, I'd be interested in looking at it.

@stelmackr, I appreciate the effort. But notice the result ends in -24. I wish search engines wouldn't serve up best guesses just to fill pages. Even adding the "+" symbol didn't help. MikeRock fixed me up and it turns out the file is 10 GIGS! No wonder it's hard to find ...

A master stroke of scrounging genius.

Thanks for your help, Mike!

Has anyone got a pdf of Army Manual tm-10-3530-202-10? It appears to have a specific section for the 111w151. Google Books has it but it's only to read online. Scribd has a copy but wants me to register to download it. I'm getting ready to list mine for sale and it'd be nice to have that particular manual to send with it. Thanks!

Hey, that chain stitch is fantastic. The whole thing is a knockout. I wonder why we don't see more chain stitching in hand crafted items. I'd never thought of it, but it really, really sets it apart from the crowd. Nice work.

@CowboyBob, Thanks. Even that's a surprise to me. In my limited experience, I thought some of these newer machines were pretty much clones of the Singers. Much to learn, I have.

OK, I wondered if it was something like that. Good, so I don't have to be impressed with Tractor Supply! Thanks for the clarification.

I really hate it when Walmart is the low price leader. But the gallon is a pretty kickin' deal. Now, if only I used it ... Out of curiosity, I looked at my local Tractor Supply (Walmart for rural people) and they show a gallon in stock for 30 bucks. Maybe I should try it out.

Interesting. I would have thought the Singer 111W series would be pretty comparable to the Consew 205's and 206's. Yet the 111W is nowhere on the chart. Maybe they're considered obsolete?