Making boots?

[dman762000]

Hallo, i was wondering if anyone here has any info on making shoes or boots yourself. I have been looking for a sutible set of footwear and cannot find any anywhere. I find really nice goth boots that I would love to have but I cannot find them in brown (sorry but black just will not look right ) so I have decided to either make from scratch or modify from an existing, a pair of about knee high brown brass toed boots with straps all the way up. The only real problem is that I really have no idea how to make shoes. I can make pretty good estimations about how to make the upper and such but really am lost when attaching the upper to a sole. Does anyone know anything about this?

[HAC]

I watched my boots being made.. Was told it took about 5 years for an apprentice to get really good at bootmaking . There are a lot of specialzed tools and techniques involved. The sole attaches with a piece called a welt, and its not a simple operation to do. 

I can always ask the master next time I'm in town, if you wish..

Cheers
Harold

[dman762000]

You know, I should not have been suprised that you were the first one to answer Harold.

No need to do that, I have a fair idea about what a welt is for (years working in an upolestry shop) and can probably guess the rest. Thanks anyway, btw, that was not an insult, I am facinated at the seemingly uending amount of knowledge you have between your ears.

[HAC]

Thanks,
  I'll be perfectly honest, I wouldn;t have known that had I not accepted an invitation to see my boots being assembled. I was talking to the old bootmaker who started the company,  and one thing led to another, and he asked if I;d be interested in seeing the final assembly of the boots I was having made up.. Of course, how could I refuse?

 As far as knowledge, well, I chalk it up to having been around for a long time, and always havng an interest in all kinds of stuff, and learning how things work... Guess that's about the one thing that's really ehlped me out in my 58 years fo existance, always looking to learn something new..

Cheers
Harold

[MhicWombat]

This reminds me of when my brother, a Civil War reenactor of the deepest stripe, decided to make his own shoes.

First he got the Government-issued shoe pattern for the Union Army.

Note "pattern".  As in singular.  As in no sizes.  As in no right or left.  It was quite literally "one size fits almost none". 

Took him a while, but when he was done, his feet were just as uncomfortable as pretty much anyone else in either Blue or Grey during the War. 

[Quothcorvus]

You could always change the colour of the black pair of boots if the style is what you like.  Its probably easier than trying to make a pair from scratch.

[dman762000]

Yeah but how to change black leather into brown leather?

[bluestocking]

That's not so easy. It's possible to dye brown leather black, but vice versa is pretty well impossible. Leather can't be bleached like fabric.

There are some books (and, I'm certain, online tutorials) on shoe- and boot-making: most of the ones I've seen focus on soft, low moccasin-like footwear. A tall, structured boot would be much more difficult to make.

Since you have something so specific in mind, you might want to consider getting a pair of boots made to measure. Ask at your local shoe-repair shop; the cobbler might know somebody, or, if you're particularly lucky, make shoes as well as repair them.

[akumabito]

Buy a pair of M1943 boots, or alternatively, go with the "Patton" style boots. Can't go wrong with either of those, really

[CrackitusPotts]

making boots is not an easy thing,
it can get rather pricey for a custom pair, takes years to learn and has become a rather closed off specialty to learn. . .at least the cobbler community around me is not willing to share much and I don't speak Armenian. . .

That said, I have been working with leather for years and always wanted to make shoes/boots, so i just started figuring it out.
"bluestocking" is right, there are tutorials on line for the soft, "ren faire" boots, this helps give you a basic idea of how to make a pattern from your foot and assembly the pattern pieces together.  Also, to make a good strong, durable pair of boots with good leather you need an industrial machine to stitch the leather together (i have an industrial walking foot). . .unless you hand sew.  The other thing to consider, depending on your design, if the upper is very tall, you may not be able to sew the seam, unless you have soft flexible leather or a long neck on your machine. . .these type machine are used specially for sewing boot uppers.
Found some ways around this, on one pair of highwayman boots I made I used a regular store bought square toe boot that i like the shape, color, heel, sole and found matching leather, patterned and sew'd uppers together to make thigh high riding boots. . .the problem being, I cannot sew stiff leather on my machine in that long of a tube, so. . .I "modified" my designed and riveted the back seem of the uppers, works great and looks like part of the design.

This experience got me thinking about a more "industrial" style steampunk boot design that would be built from scratch, no sewing, and all riveted together
Used the same ideas, pattern and construction methods from the other boots but all riveted. . .
this is what I came up with:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Long story short. . .too late, it is possible.  Your first pair will not be pefect, hell, the pair above is my 6-7th different type boot I have made, they are one of the best, but I am still learning and I probably wouldn't wear them everyday. . .

don't be afraid to try and learn from your experiences, every step we take in what ever we do we learn to make the next thing better. . .
now I am sounding preachy, sorry. . .


good luck!!!

[dman762000]

Actually that is pretty close to what I want to make, only without the platform soles. As far as the proper type of sewing maching, not a problem. My mother is somewhat of a sewing machine collector, (she had a very successful upholstery shop for nearly 30 years) and has pretty much every kind of machine possible, an industrial walking foot, some tough regular types and a floating head walking foot treadle shoe machine purchased from the estate of a nice old shoemaker that used to live in our town. Unfortunately the gentleman has passed or I would ask him to teach me. (he was always trying to get me to become his "apprentice" when I was a kid, kind of creeped me out), Would you perhaps have some sort of basic pattern for those boots of yours that I could look at for inspiration?

[Zwack]

Tandy sell patterns for making "plainsman boots" these are basically soft boots like moccasins.  You might be able to modify those patterns to get closer to what you desire.  I've never made them so I don't know how easy/complicated they are.

As for the trouble in using a sewing machine for tall boots... Hand sew them.  I've just finished a bag that took over 25 yards of thread for hand sewing all of the seams.  The bag is made from 8-10oz leather so it's not soft and flexible.  Leather does come in even heavier weights, but not much... (about 14oz seems to be the heaviest I've seen). 

The hard part of making a harder leather boot wouldn't be the sewing so much as the shaping of the boot.  You would need to mould the leather into shape, and for that you will probably need to use a last.  Of course I don't know anything about making shoes or boots, so this is mostly guess work.

Z.

[T.Taylor the Third]

i like the altier boot/spats from relik i just wish they were real boots

of course they are expensive....the
calf boots might be just as good

of course they arer preety much just cotume shoes not the real thing

[Silas P. Morgan]

This may either inspire you or dissuade you.... but in one of the Foxfire books (edited by Eliot Wigginton, check your local Library) there is a chapter on making shoes... (well with pegged soles, more like American Civil War brogans/shoes) But it would give you an idea of what is involved.

[dman762000]

Oh yeah, I will have to go back through my collection and look that up.

[Capt_Zaphod]

Buy a pair of M1943 boots, or alternatively, go with the "Patton" style boots. Can't go wrong with either of those, really

Ya know ... if you google "Paton boots", instead of "Patton boots" things go very non-steamy ...

[Capt. Barley Wilkerson]

mr. potts... those boots are interesting... i would like very much to see more pictures of them... preferably construction and/or assembly details... how exactly are the soles attached?

[Gazongola]

I recommend http://www.pennangalan.co.uk/

They will make any of their boots in brown (apart form the New Rocks of course). All you have to do is drop them a line. I will be ordering from them soon when they get back to me. I think they sort of close down around winter time.

[Flabob]

CrackitusPotts,

I must say that is the greatest looking pair of boots I have ever laid eyes on! I think I might try he same principle you used with mixed leathers...

I wish to see more of these soon!

[dman762000]

Well now, I have found an old pair of knee high moc's that I had forgotton I had. I believe that with a bit of extra leather, some belts, and a pair of desert combat boots from my local military surplus, I can put something together that is all together quite what I am looking for. I will keep you all informed with pictures and such while I make them.

[dman762000]

Well now I have found something really special. I located a dumpster of a shoe factory that was full of lasts. I laid claim to several sets in different sizes. They are a mens style, something called savage.  Anyway, here are some pics of the lasts

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Now, to the important stuff. I have already desoled the knee high moccasains and tacked them onto the lasts. Here are some pics of that.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The best I can figure, the next step is to stitch some webbing across the thing from one side of the leather to the other and thanks to the shoe factory I have some of that as well. Then I will make myself some soles and heels from car tire. I will update at each of these steps for those who wish to make boots of their own.

[Lt. Lily Shaw]

a TAFE near me offers short courses in shoemaking. The courses aren't terribly expensive, and they run over a number of weeks.
Perhaps in your country there may be something similar? Try somewhere that runs a fulltime professional shoe/bootmaking diploma or degree course, and see if they do short courses. usually the materials are included, and i'm sure they'd let you work to your own design if you asked really nicely.

That way, you get to use all their fancy equipment and glues, etc. They should, if they're anything like the place I saw, also have an amazing selection of leathers. and the little machine that cuts off half the thickness of your leather along the edge, for lord knows what reason.

[Zwack]

and the little machine that cuts off half the thickness of your leather along the edge, for lord knows what reason.

Skiving.  It's done so that the overlapping leathers at a join are less of a serious lump.  When you consider that leather can run up to almost 1/4 inch thick would you really want a seam that had that sort of drop?

Z.

[dman762000]

Unfortunately, Lily we have nothing like that here, too much of a consumer culture I fear. I have been doing some reasearch and have changed my approach. I now have the innersoles tacked to the last and the mocs are being reshaped on the last as we speak. Once I get some good contact cement I should have them finished up pretty quick. I am going to apply contact to the edge of the innersole and the edge of the upper and wrap around to attach, then I will take the last out and stich the innersole to the upper on the hand turned shoe machine. After that is sole filling with a bit of leather and more contact cement and seam pressing to make them flat. then comes the fun part of making outersoles out of tire tread, replacing the shoe on the last and fixing the sole to the boot.

[Mr. Boltneck]

I have found that with a bit (OK, rather more than a bit) of effort, it is possible to locate a low boot which is more or less what you want, just too short and damnably uninteresting, and then add the shaft of the boot yourself. The shaft is more or less a shallow truncated cone, and can be joined to the stock boot by stitching. Make a pattern in paper first, of course. Add whatever hardware, straps, spurs, escutcheon plates, secret devices, etc. you wish. The main point is that the really tricky construction begins at around ankle height. Thus, you can start with a cowboy boot, combat boot, or boring fashion boot, and go to town. And you will never see another set like them on someone else.