deboardp

Thanks for that! It's a great resource!

Back 50 years ago I made all kinds of designs, with straps everywhere, and every single one of the straps was fully adjustable by the person wearing the sandals. I never made a pair that was not fully adjustable, and I won't now. I use a midsole now (before I would use a French skive I think it was called, to make a channel, and would wax it. Later I used some kind of thin rubber for a midsole and cut out channels for the straps to cross to the other side. Now I'm using the softer portion of the strap cowhide for a midsole - same thickness as the strap, with a rectangle cut out to create the channel where the strap can be pulled to tighten up the part that goes over the foot - so that there are three layers of thinish leather that can be glued and stitched. I'll wax the leather above and below this channel so the strap can slide easily. There was never a problem with straps coming loose on their own, probably because pressure of the body weight kept it from sliding in the midsole. And I recall that even with wax. it took some concerted effort to adjust the straps. Probably a good thing, so it doesn't adjust on its own. In six days my Cobra Class 26 and Cobra Burnisher (the small one) arrives. My work bench is almost complete. Just need to assemble the last drawer and install the last two sets of cantilevered drawer slides (100 pound capacity).

Right. It might not be a problem at all. I'm using luxury veg tan 7 oz for ladies and delicate men, 8 oz utility veg tan for regular men. I think the luxury stuff will possibly be fine as is. The 8 oz is stiffer. All of it is patiently waiting to come out of the shadows down there. I don't remember the weights I used 50 years ago.

I'm concerned that the leather will stretch too much. I'd rather control it more. Maybe slightly wet and walk in them, so they tend to stretch. Leather will stretch anyway over time. The edge stitching will help the edges to not stretch. Maybe that first option of the three I mentioned would be worth trying. I can wet them when they are ready to go out the door, do the stretching with my fingers to get them where I want, then let them dry before wearing. If I can at least get the roundness of the toe knuckles started, maybe a daily pre-walk treatment of saddle soap and water would help the process. I probably ought to take notes.

Water soak and stretch! So I'll show my customers how to do that, wet them and then use fingers to make space at the knuckles. The edges will be stitched so we won't push on them, just over the round part of the knuckle. Slip a finger in there between the bone and the leather... Or I can do the stretching at the final fitting, tell them to let them dry before wearing them. Could be a third option: wet them slightly and wear them.

Well now the app has an 800 pixel option, or I missed it the first time. I've got to assemble the last drawer and install two more slides and then load those drawers up. There's a space under the drawers for the side of leather to slide under. It's a 4x8 bench but all the working of the leather will be probably in the foot closest to my belly. I've yet to install the 2x4 daylight fixture over the working area, thus the lamps.

Ebay had a copy and I bought it. Can hardly wait to read what he says! But it doesn't arrive until Dec 13, and I start with the first two pair early in the week, so I guess I'll search YouTube for videos on softening leather to mold around things.

My app didn't have that option, so I used the smallest option, 1200 pixels. It seems to have come out okay.

I got a photo editor appp

When I started out as a remodel contractor in 1982 I listed with a similar outfit and it helped me get business and stay busy. However after two years I realized that the 5% of each sale I made was the equivalent of at least 10% of my net profit and sometimes more, depending on subcontractor expenses. I had to pay 5% of all the expenses and overhead I had, not just my profit. On some jobs I wound up paying 20% or more of the sale price. It was then I realized that company was getting the cream off the top. I brought it up with the owner of the outfit and he didn't want to negotiate something more fair so I quit our relationship. My overhead was always half of the sale price of a job, and job materials were a portion of the other half.

I'll be starting to make sandals in a week. The front strap will be an inch and a half wide where it crosses over the big toe's knuckle and one inch wide over the little toe's knuckle. These are the bony protrusions over the ball of the foot and the little ball of the foot. The strap slots will be curved to be parallel with the edge of the sandal. I want to treat the leather with something to make it conform to the shape of these knuckles. I'll be using 8 ounce veg tan for men and 6 ounce for women, an Italian luxury veg tan for the ladies. I had heard I could tell my customers to brush saddle soap and water into the straps before wearing them, and I wonder if that's a good idea and if there's something better? I'll be stitching along the edges, about 1/8" in, to help resist stretching, but it would be great if the central portion of the strap between the stitch lines could bulge a bit to accommodate the tops of those balls. Generally I would like to know what I can do to make the top sole and straps soft and supple, and to prevent cracking teen years later. The top will be shoulder veg tan, 10 ounce. I have another, different, question. If I use 10 ounce shoulder for the bottom sole, glue and stitch the three layers (28 ounces total, equal to 7/16"), and then glue an 1/8" thick layer of gum rubber to that, do you think the sandal would protect the foot from walking on gravel? Or should I use veg tan bend (grain roughed off for two coats of glue)? Does anyone on here make custom sandals? Thanks in advance. My Cobra 26 arrives a week from tomorrow, and I'll finish the six drawers of my work bench maybe tomorrow. After that I'll unbox all my tools into the drawers and onto their fronts, and then start making some sandals. Patrick PS The front strap can be adjusted because the narrow end passes through a channel in the midsole and becomes one of the two other straps that are adjustable by a Conway buckle. I can't figure out how to get this picture appear.

I'll get a 48" tall tree stump and do the hammering on top of that. It will be quieter then hammering on my bench surface.

Gluing leather I just read this article and apparently I won't need a press to give a good bond. Light hammering will do the trick.

I edited the post right after you posted this. I just added that the 3 ton is roughly twice as tall and twice as deep as the 1 ton, and yes, it's a monster. I'll try using the Top Fit and see how it does for me. My Cobra Class 26 will be here November 30, plus the Cobra burnisher, the small one $575. I hope this 3 ton will be here around then. I'm gluing gum rubber to the bottom of the three leather soles, which will be stitched, but I won't stitch the gum rubber. That's replaceable, so I don't want to cut the stitches to replace it. Thus I want to press the snot out of it to get a good bond. I'll double coat. If I can pull it off, then I'll try Barge.

Dwight, I have been concerned that I would have to push more than I can manage on the handle of that thing, but in my internet wanderings I found this: The 3 ton is 24" tall, while the 1 ton is less than 12" tall. I want to really press hard. 3 ton press, the big brother of the one you posted. I wondered how much pressure was exerted when the head of the cobbler's hammer hit the leather top sole, and thought it might be more than 2000 pounds per square inch, so with this 3 ton press, I might be able to use just a portion of the travel, or whatever I can manage with my skinny old man arms, and get a good bond. It's $259.99, but it seems nice. I'll probably find some white oak cut-offs at the last job I did in construction (they still like me) to use for a base and for putting on the topsole. On a side note, I bought Top Fit adhesive for gluing the three soles. Have you ever used it? My memory doesn't work, so I don't remember where I read that it was good, but I bought it. I had used Barge Cement back in the 70's. I'll try it, see if I can pull the leather apart with my hands, or pliers. I'm going to order the 3-ton.

I'm going to use 1/8" thick gum rubber, for grip. 50 years ago I used horse sides for my straps. I had heard it stretched less than cow sides. I used cow bend (butt) for bottom soles and found them to be very slippery on certain surfaces.

Those things look heavy and uncomfortable, and they look aggressive, scary, and yeah, ugly. I'm hoping my sandals will be stylish, light, minimalistic, beautiful- looking, and that people will buy them to wear to church. My design is so that folks can wear socks with them. I'm almost ready to make a first prototype, maybe within the month. My idea is to make the leather gorgeous, and the design functional. I have five people lined up to test drive a pair, give feedback, in exchange they keep the sandals, or if a modification is needed, then they will get a working pair. I call them my product development team. 3 of them have lifetime issues with uncomfortable and ill- fitting footwear, which is why I selected them for the team.

Al Bane sent me that link, too. I don't use lasts, as the sandals are flat, not wrap around the foot type. And I need just one point of downward pressure, without foam pads under the sandal. I need an ungiving surface below the sandal. I think I can work with the Harbor Freight press, mentioned by Dwight. I can make something that will press into the top sole to help the glue bond. I'll probably use a piece of white oak, sanded smooth, unless I can find something made of steel. thanks for your suggestion!

There's the problem of straps sticking up out of the topsole... plus I think this thing might displace the soles from each other, because it is essentially pushing away as it squeezes. I need the force to be only perpendicular to the topsole, pressing it into the mid and bottom soles, although i will be doing it in two parts. First, press the top into the midsole, then the mid into the bottom. Thanks for the suggestion!

I think this might work! Thanks!

I had a leather shop for about four years after I left the military in 1968. I made hundreds of pairs and loved it. I was a poor businessman, though, and I went on to other things. After a career in remodel contracting I have returned to sandal making. The past 12 months I have spent ten grand buying what I need for another sandal shop. I should launch production in one month. The shop is in my apartment and there is someone living under me and someone across the hall. When I glue the soles together, I don't want to hammer them when the glue is sticky, like I used to do, out of consideration for my neighbors. I can't find a manual press for helping the glue bond. I need something that can press between straps, along the edge of the sandals. It will need a longish handle. I won't something that can press every spot on a sandal quickly, thus handle- operated is a must. I also wonder if I'm using the right kind of leather for the soles and straps. I can't find anyone who's making leather sandals and who might be willing to share information. My name is Patrick, my product will be custom leather sandals of my design, machine stitched, no strap between the toes, straps are fully adjustable, and there's a gum rubber bottom. I haven't made a pair yet but I have a sketch. I have to build my website in the next month with ecommerce store. I'm starting with just one design of sandals, which I developed over this past 12 months. I made about 15 designs my first time around. I'll probably make others, especially if requested. I'm using shoulder for top sole. This might work using the selfie camera.