RockyAussie

Is that not what tinker tailor has used in the pictures above? I personally think that 1snap would be fine.Brian

I just love these Frobana machines. I still have 4 here but none that looks so pretty as this one. The only real problem I have had with them is wearing out the presser foot. In the picture here you can just see a little bit on the right side starting to wear. None of the ones I have here are anywhere near that good and unfortunantly last time I checked they were about $400 au and that was quite a few years back now. When this gets worn enough the stitches start to miss regularly but if good they do a magnificent stitch.BTW if you dampen the sole leather right you can bury that stitch right in and slick over it and hardly see the thread at all.Thanks for posting Jimi. Brian

For the type of shoe you showed in the link I would think 1,5mm max depending on what lining thickness you have or want to use. As I doubt you will have a splitter I would look for what lining thickness you can get and try not to end up with more than 2.5 to max 3mm with the outer skin.(roughly 1mm lining and 1.5mm outer) Most leather sellers will tell what is the normal weight for a given application in footwear as it about the most common and largest part of the market.How well a shoe is built and how the wearer looks after them is a bigger difference than the construction differences discussed here. I was doing shoe repairs for more than 10 years before going into making shoes and that really lets you know where things could have been done better and what parts wear out and why.Done correctly these shoes will last longer than you would want them for unless you like walking in mud and water.

Suede is by far easier to last up as you don't have to pull very hard to get into shape. Also less initial skiveing is necessary.Why do say you wouldn't want to wear this very often if it is cemented construction?

In my own experience yes. I have had both and there is a big difference unless you are using heavy saddle type leathers. Soft leathers will often stay attached to the feed wheel and come around to the knife again then cutting through the leather and wrecking it.The one I had first without a vacuum I sold for $200au and felt bad for dumping it instead.Regards Brian

Well done. I think the pliers may be alright as the hammer part is mostly used to get the right leverage but the length of handle may give you more leverage than you want.Also I am not sure if the grip tip is not a bit too close to your hammer part. A longer tip shape would be better. I would smooth of the teeth a little and consider cutting handles back shorter to perhaps 20cm long.(50mm shorter) as I read somewhere you don't have a sewing machine and an over pull on your upper could be very upsetting. The hammer should be OK I think. Funny enough the main tool in the shoe making process of importance to me is the lasting pliers. Keep in mind that I had (and still have) a lot of special machinery for making shoes and I may not have all the best answers on how to do by hand everything.Would it be possible to post a picture of the type of shoe design you are wanting to make? Regards Brian

Picture looks good to me. Has the Chinese one have a Vacuum or not? If not I would go with the one in picture I think.

Yes I believe to start with you would be best to start with a cemented construction as it will give you more freedom to adjust the fit if required and there is a very high chance it will. Once you get the hang of how to close the upper onto the last you could progress on from there if you want.I am not sure if you have seen this man's video's yet but I would recommend having a look at this one at least. Regards Brian

Hi Adam, that picture above makes no sense to me at all as it shown. Is Gigi anywhere close to you as you may do well to swap notes with her. The presser foot base should angle toward the feed wheel as to allow thick going in and thinner as it gets to the blade edge. For the work your wanting to do I would be getting a roller presser foot either way. I would go with the vacuum model as I doubt that there is any real problem other then setting up properly.They do take awhile to get proficient at using. Some pictures of the machine could help. Brian

I would have a very careful check of how your bobbin is being wound on. If you are not careful with the thread tail from when you start can cause a interruption later as it feeds off or just simply it is not winding on nice and evenly. Your 1st picture shows a tightening to the bottom before the loop and that means that something had to make it pull tight for a little while so bad bobbin wind is most likely. I have had to load a new bobbin and pull it through the case in place to realise how much tension variation can happen when a bobbin is wound badly. Brian

Well done and the stitching looks good. A little bit of practice on the edging and it will look very nice. Brian

Hi Adam again, I would forget about the curved awl to start with as that would be a level of difficulty in construction that at this stage I would not recommend to start off with. I would at least try and get a pair of lasting pliers such as in this link for sale. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Vintage-Cobblers-Shoe-Boot-Tack-Hammer-Lasting-Pliers-Tool-/232351152913 As you work around the last pulling the upper into shape these will allow you to pull way more easily than with a pair of pliers. The tightness needed to pull into shape is quite a lot and when learning and it is not uncommon to pull a piece right out of the upper and sometimes ruining your upper.If you intend to be able to make shoes regularly I would also try and find a lasting jack. Here is a picture of one I own below. The mirrors are just something I added to be able to see that the upper is staying in the correct place while I am pulling the upper around with these pliers. This particular lasting jack allows you to freely turn the last around in to whatever direction makes it easier to pull against and the spring in the middle helps to apply tension so it doesn't revolve too easily. Electrathon do not run off as it has been over 15 years or more since I have made any shoes and my terminology may be off and rusty and you would agree that making shoes as a beginner is a major challenge. When I was making shoes I had the advantage of being able to vacuum form some clear uppers onto the lasts for customer fitting purposes. This had the advantage of showing tight areas as the skin would show white where ever it was tight and made corrections a lot more of a precise exercise. Even with all of this marvellous stuff there were times where getting everything right was difficult. Regards Brian

I can now see a bit more of where and how your going with this.This looks like a shoe last and not a boot last to start with. As Electrathon has pointed out some method of breaking the last will need to be sorted out. Some old ones I've used have a scaloped out section from the lower instep on up and toward the heel which is held in place by a screw. It appears that you may not have taken into account a lot of important measurements and to help with this I have inserted a link that I would think you might consider looking at first. I do not want to dishearten you with where you are at but I have to say I would remove all that cork and start again with some 3mm veg leather if possible. Try and work more with the last shape when building up in a more all over way. I would start with building up first the width of ball (metatarsal area a bit then try and overlay this in a more complete way right across the whole last. This will help to maintain the actual last shape better and thereon your shoe as well. Please pay attention to the instep and long heel measurements when adding on this layer. The best of shoemakers will often not get a good fit straight away and there are a few things that can be done to make this a little easier. The first I would say after getting all of your measurements close is to put a 3mm piece onto the sole of your last (glue it on and metal plate on top if you want.) and this will allow you to put in a cushioned sock liner insole which can easily be sanded down or added too, to get a more comfortable fit. When you have the leather insole glued and attached to the upper and held in place try it on for size here and make any adjustments such as loosing or tightening. Don't forget to do that with the sock liner insole in place as well. Another thing that can help is a little foam on the lining side of the heel counter at the top as this can help a bit with the counter not being a perfect fit to the persons heel. Make this thin at the top back and go wider as it wraps around. This would be about 80mm long and about 20mm deep in the widest part and around 2 or 3mm thick when compressed into place.The last your showing here is a low heel height and I would think only about about 1/2" (13 to 15mm high). Getting the heel height and toe spring right is often overlooked but is an important part to get a correct comfortable wearing shoe. You have the advantage here of tacking on temporally heel pieces until it feels right in wear. Here is the link- http://chestofbooks.com/business/clothing/footwear/The-Manufacture-Of-Boots-And-Shoes/The-Operation-Of-Measuring.html A few pics of the tools that you have may help as well. That's it for now Brian

Lookin good so far mate.Not sure if you are thinking of putting the last stitch in at the top of the gusset just over the edge onto the top/lid but if your not going all the way around I would recommend doing so. I only mention it as I have seen a few projects lately that are not doing that for some reason.Brian

I will check back for the pictures a little later and let you know what I think best.It may be best to show an outline of your foot and whatever measuring procedures you have done.Brian

Are you wanting to make closed in footwear? Can you post a picture of the last side on and down from on top and bottom?

As Electrathon says a build up with leather is the way I would recommend. A few slice marks in it from patterning will not effect the lasted result and won't hurt your cutting knife either. I have not ever used cork board for building up with and I doubt I can see much of a reason why. With leather you can get it take up and go around the compound curves fairly easily and sand or skive down to the required size. The whole lot can be peeled of normally if you want to go back for another job. In the past I found difficulty getting B size lasts and in the hot Queensland weather and the open style footwear normally worn the average feet here tend to be broader across the metatarsal area. That is the wider part of the foot before the toes. I overcame this by doing a 3mm moulded poly type board cast over this area and sanded down into shape and this then allowed me to clip it on or off for whatever size needed A or B in this area of foot. As to how much in size you can build up it is only relevant to the feet in question and the desired shape you want.You'd be surprised at some of the shapes you get when doing surgical shoes after a while. Regards Brian

Still maybe something to consider tho. I can remember with one Frobana I had and wanting to use it without wax and with nylon or poly thread, I put in a separate set of tension discs off some old Singer and it worked beautifully. It gave way better control of the tension adjustment in that way. The double tooth feed foot reminds me of the foot for rubber soles as there is also one with a single spike and blade which puts a bit of pre hole for the needle and a slice into the dampened leather to allow the stitching to bury and be hidden.I don't think a lot of these slippery type threads were around when they designed these machines.Regards Brian

I reckon you will have her blessings all the way it looks beautiful.

If the rest of the stitching looks good and the tensions look good (knots in the middle) I would think that you could have hit a hard patch and the foot pressure was not enough to keep the job down. If it jumps a bit occasionally I'd say foot pressure as that will allow more thread to pull through and then have no where to go.

Nice style. Is it a wire or plastic rim support?

OK. I would find it difficult to see how the sale value would return the effort but if your getting the work enough that's all that matters in the end. Have you tried Schmetz LR needles in the 4500? You can get a heavy left right saddle look if that's what your chasing. Thanks for the better buckle picture. I think it would look nice with croc except I'd have to change the tongue for a rounded shape one.The flat ones are murder on the holes and the last thing I like is getting a belt back to be fixed up. Regards Brian

Welcome and I think your in a good place there as a few on this site like Caza Lopez should be pretty close I think. A whole heap of water between me and there unfortunately.

Looks good but why the hand stitch on the small one? How does the large bag attach to belt loops or ????Love the buckle on the belt.

Beautiful restoration. Now it has to start paying for itself I think.Roller next then extractor adaptation?