Hat Eagle/Pin

[Pious Jeems]

Re: Hat Eagle/Pin

I have the two prongs minus the hook. Now if I can figure out how to do that part.

[Johnny Lloyd]

Re: Hat Eagle/Pin

Don't worry Johnny, nobody is going to inspect the inside of your hat. Most of us have the same one.

Yeah, you know I know that. But if we can find it, use it... gotta start looking. ;)

[PetePaolillo]

Re: Hat Eagle/Pin

You know, that I know, you know that Pal :):) Seriously it' s a great added touch and if you are able to , go for it.

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Hat Eagle/Pin

Soldering iron, solder, and flux. Get some brass wire. If you can't find wire, just go to Lowe's and get one of those thingies your wife uses to hang a plate on the wall. Spend a little time with some wire cutters and some pliers to form your loops and hooks, then you're ready to solder.

Make the back look like this:

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=35411&d=1317750617

That's two loops that pierce through the crown and a hook. In case you can't tell from the pic, the ends of the hook splay out from each other like a 'Y' with the top prongs at a 180-degree angle... which is more like a line than an angle, but I digress.

If someone else wants to take a crack at soldering instructions, go for it. But, here's the warning...
I'm not a professional, soldering irons get hot and can BURN you, and solder is made from heavy metals that are POISONOUS. Take responsibility for your own safety and the safety of those around you.

...besides, you don't want to follow any example I set for soldering. The backside of my eagle is not pretty like the one in the pic posted earlier in this thread (linked in this post).

Good Luck, Fellers!

[ohpkirk]

Re: Hat Eagle/Pin

Hallo!

Here is an image of the 1855 cavalry hat, showing the embroidered eagel holding up teh brim and the cords:



I think some of the "problems" with the dress hat comes form some suters marketing/offering a M1858 AND a M1861 Hardee hat.

I have hypothesis that the Army took the eagle device from the 1854 shako which was worn on the front, and simply replaced the lower loop with a hook for the 1858 dress hat. And that vendors looked to artifact 1854 eagles and copied them moreso than the 1858 hooked version.


Uh oh. Tornado sirens.

Curt

It's actually the m1851 eagle plate that is used on both the m1851 and 54 shakos, though they are a whole different animal. These are soldered directly to a brass wire that is connected to the pom with nothing attaching it directly to the shako itself. This is so that when the shakos are being worn for fatigue detail, the pom and plate are removed at the same time. It wasn't until the m1855 cav hat came into play that these plates had any type of hook attached to them.

[thad gallagher]

Re: Hat Eagle/Pin

Well, I got a bit daring earlier and soldered on the correct hook and eyes to the eagle pin. It was not too terrible of a task. Thanks Mr. Wickett for the instructions and guidance.

The hook on the eagle pin allowed the brim/crown to line up in a manner resembling the hat pictured on ha.com more closely.

[Pious Jeems]

Re: Hat Eagle/Pin

Well, faith and bejabbers, that is a might pretty sight. Well done, now to give it a try me self!

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Hat Eagle/Pin

That looks fantastic!!

[FlatLandFed]

Re: Hat Eagle/Pin

Anyone with soldering capabilities can refurb existing pins. 1/16" brass wire can be found at numerous sites on the interweb, my favorite is speedymetals.com.

Friend Cody -- I went to my local craft store and Ace hardware and could find 50' lengths of wire in various gauges -- would 12-gauge be the appropriate dimension? They also list in metric but I'm not up on conversions ... another wag suggested clipping the ends from the springy wire frames used to hang collector plates, but the ends were wrong so I figured I would spend more time and still end up with a less satisfactory result.

Friend Paul -- were the originals brass-colored iron, and that's why the eagles but not the rusted-away pins are found in excavations?

Thanks. Am getting my kit ready for Perryville.
Paul Hadley

[CompanyWag]

Re: Hat Eagle/Pin

The originals appeared in both iron wire and solid brass wire varieties. As to what ratios of iron to brass wire was used during the war, I cannot personally speak to that. Relic hunters might have a better feel. The unquestionably original example I have has solid brass wire and is presumably a surplus item.

[FlatLandFed]

Re: Hat Eagle/Pin

Excellent! Thanks, Paul. I think I will then go with brass wire in the 1/16th inch diameter from SpeedyMetals and fashion several of the hooks -- sort of a reenactor's lifetime supply.
Onward, Illinois 24th.
Paul Hadley

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Hat Eagle/Pin

... another wag suggested clipping the ends from the springy wire frames used to hang collector plates, but the ends were wrong so I figured I would spend more time and still end up with a less satisfactory result.

That wag would be me. ;) That's what I used on mine... why? Same reason men climb Everest... It was there. To make it work, you need to get a good, clean "snip" when you clip the wire. From there, you have to work it carefully into the shapes you need for the hook and loops. It isn't very hard, just requires patience to straighten sections that must be straight and bend the hook section cleanly.

What REALLY makes my eagle farby is my sloppy soldering job. Wow! What a mess! Looks OK from the front, though. Best of luck to you, Paul! Would love to see a pic of your finished hat!

[FlatLandFed]

Re: Hat Eagle/Pin

Mssr Wick, I will be glad to post pics of front and back when all is ready. Perhaps others can learn from my trials and errors! Hmm -- maybe they don't stock the right sort of plate hanging hardware out here on the plains? I'll give wire bending a try (probably while I'm trying to familiarize myself with RJ's bugle calls on CD?). If we're going to be following in the 24th's footsteps I guess there will be all sorts of movements for which bugling will be needed and heeded.

Re the back of the current eagle pin -- already a lot of solder there to hold on the straight wire pins. Can this be just heated up a bit and peeled or scraped off? I've not had much experience with soldering, smything per se or the metallogical arts.

Cheers,
Paul Hadley
Two Left Thumbs Legion

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Hat Eagle/Pin

Re the back of the current eagle pin -- already a lot of solder there to hold on the straight wire pins. Can this be just heated up a bit and peeled or scraped off? I've not had much experience with soldering, smything per se or the metallogical arts.

Yep. Just apply the soldering iron and it'll melt and you can pull off the stock attachment doo-dads.

If you have children, I would recommend sound proofing your workshop before starting. I cussed a lot when working on mine. =|