I have a cool Indiana Jones hat and I want to hat stand that’s just as cool.  I thought that making a hat stand would be a fun one-day project, and it may serve as a good project idea for people looking for shop made gift ideas.

The hat stand consists of basic components.  It has a small ball or half sphere or square that the hat sits on, a stick or dowel, and a bottom stand.  There were a few things that I did to spice it up.  I was able to salvage some barn wood from a horse stable. I used that to make the base and the post that elevates the hat holder.  I had to mill the wood a bit so it’s flat and stable, but I didn’t mill the top completely.  I wanted to leave the beautiful saw marks and rustic charm of the board.

I chose to use a half sphere to hold my hat.  I don’t have a lathe so I couldn’t turn the sphere.  Instead, I used the CNC to carve the shape.  I made mine about 4” in diameter.  I could have gone bigger, but I noticed that a lot of hat stands have a small holder so I went that route.

I wrapped the sphere with dark brown leather.  My leather skills aren’t great.  I would love to develop those throughout the year.  I’m happy with how it ultimately turned out though.

The hat stand was finished with shellac.  I felt like an old school finish was the best choice, plus shellac dries fast which makes this truly a one-day build.

I’m happy with the stand and I’ll have to find a good spot in the shop to place it.