Project Tutorials

Baseball Cap

Click image for enlarged view

Refine the curve at the top of the cap near the chuck before hollowing that area.

The interior of the cap finish turned. Power sand some now to save on sanding time later.

I will use this waste wood chuck with fine grit sand paper attached to reverse the cap on for final turning of the top. The grit side of the sand paper will contact the interior of the cap to provide the drive friction.

With the cap reversed and driven by compression between the jam chuck and the tailstock center I can now finish turn the top of the cap. I use shear-scraping cuts for this.

The rounded top section blended in with the rest of the cap surface.

If you are unsure of the thickness of the wood at the top, stop the lathe, remove the cap, measure and then remount the cap on the lathe. You can do this as many times as needed. I personally don't mind being cautious at this stage of the turning when it means the difference between a finished cap or turning through the top and ruining the piece I have spent all this time working on.

Sanding the top area of the cap.

Most caps have a button on the top where all the seams come together so turn one on the cap.

I use a fine tooth hacksaw blade to cut the small amount of wood away above the button detail.

Use the bill of a cap as a template to mark the bill of the wood cap for cutting.

Bandsaw the waste wood off from around the cap. Always be aware of where your fingers are in relation to the blade of the saw. The uneven edge of the cap on the table surface can be tricky to work with but the wood is thin and doesn’t resist very much.

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