Simple Chukka

[chuck123wapati]

32 minutes ago, Mablung said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I modified this heel pattern to curve a little bit more, at least at the top. I’m a believer in changing this incrementally, so I’ll probably go ahead and try just with the dart, then make another pair. I could use some low-top shoes as well, so I might as well continue to fiddle. Plus, I have a whole side of SB Foote to work with, so I can make a large number of brown shoes. Good thought on the Kamsnap setter. I’ll take a look. The weird thing is, my 1/4” eyelets set just fine, no problems. I’m going to look at the anvil again and at Tandy to see if part of my setup is defective—I can feel a little burr around the outside of the setting eye in the middle, so I may just need to polish it with a small, fine file. 

i wanna see some of this. I just spent 30 bucks in leather and six hours of life to make a pair of three dollar mocs lol.

[Mablung]

52 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

i wanna see some of this. I just spent 30 bucks in leather and six hours of life to make a pair of three dollar mocs lol.

I’ll post some pictures some time soon, although “soon” might mean the end of the week. Hopefully earlier than that. 

[Mablung]

Couple other shots of one in progress. Haven’t stitched the midsole fully or the eyelet reinforcement pieces. The dart and mild curve in the top of the heel piece appear to be doing their job. We’ll know for sure once I finish stitching the midsole and glue on the rubber soles. 
 

I realized, in stitching the other one’s midsole the other night, that I erred by failing to adjust the width of the rear of the midsole heel for the material I removed from the upper heel piece. So, it’s a bit puckered at the back. In my test fit, though, it didn’t seem to make a difference and will become even less of an issue after I hammer it down a bit, hammer the stitches, and glue on the rubber. 

[Mablung]

2 hours ago, Mablung said:

Couple other shots of one in progress. Haven’t stitched the midsole fully or the eyelet reinforcement pieces. The dart and mild curve in the top of the heel piece appear to be doing their job. We’ll know for sure once I finish stitching the midsole and glue on the rubber soles. 
 

I realized, in stitching the other one’s midsole the other night, that I erred by failing to adjust the width of the rear of the midsole heel for the material I removed from the upper heel piece. So, it’s a bit puckered at the back. In my test fit, though, it didn’t seem to make a difference and will become even less of an issue after I hammer it down a bit, hammer the stitches, and glue on the rubber. 

Never actually posted the pictures. 

[Mablung]

These things have taken longer to complete than I anticipated.  Got the eyelets set late last night, as well as stitching the midsole to the second upper.  Now just need to cut and glue the rubber outsoles, stitch the eyelet reinforcement pieces on the second shoe, and run the laces.  I think these will end up being just a little short of toe room, so I'll add that into the midsole pattern modification.  I'll wear these for a bit to see if they stretch sufficiently and to figure out what other modifications I need to make, then go from there.  Looking forward to finally having these done.

[Aven]

LOL, doesn't it always take longer than we expect?  

Its looking good so far. As for them being short, if they are just "tight", pretend you are in Basic.  Get them wet and walk them dry.  Just be mindful of your toes.  They can stretch the leather out, but if your nails are long they can the process can mess with your toes. 

You are getting there!

[Mablung]

5 minutes ago, Aven said:

LOL, doesn't it always take longer than we expect?  

Its looking good so far. As for them being short, if they are just "tight", pretend you are in Basic.  Get them wet and walk them dry.  Just be mindful of your toes.  They can stretch the leather out, but if your nails are long they can the process can mess with your toes. 

You are getting there!

Thanks!  And yeah, I was thinking of doing the wet-walk-dry treatment to them.  I think part of the reason the one felt tight is because I put a veg tan toe counter in the front, but I may need to add a little more "toe puff" to future iterations of the vamp and toe counter.  We'll see how they come out after I move around in them a bit.  I keep my toenails pretty short, so they shouldn't cause an issue.  

[Aven]

Looking forward to the pictures of them on your feet.

[Mablung]

Hoping to get the soles glued tonight before I head out of town and can wear them in a bit.  I'll get some pics, too.

[Mablung]

Well, a lot of things are right about these things, but the soles are a little too small (really not sure how I managed that, when I traced right from the completed shoe) and the veg tan toe counter in each is (a) too hard and (b) lacks sufficient toe volume. Wetting won’t do it, unfortunately. The leather is also thicker and firmer in temper than the previous stuff I used, so I need to adjust for that. Will need to adjust the pattern and then rebuild. 

Here’s a pic of one completed shoe. I think I’m going to either make a taller boot or lower the upper height just a bit as well; this height tended to cut into my ankle just a bit.