What's the best way to cut sole bend & finish the edges - Tools, Techniques & Tips

[monicaileana]

Hello all, 

 

Firstly, I would like to say what an invaluable resource this forum is! Now, onto the topic. I have been hand carving soles out of sole bend by hand for the better part of the year. I was using Stanley knife, wetting the leather and then rasping, glassing and soaping the edges to make it look smoother. However, it was never as professional as I wanted to look with faint marks of where the knife had cut still visible. Today, I finally bought a bandsaw to cut through this leather and hopefully have that super vertical finish. I tried a few and it certainly looks better (just some slight marks from where I held the leather a bit too long). I am going to rasp & glass the edges to see if I can get rid of those.

 

So I guess what I'm looking for is any tips or tricks people have to get that really professional looking sole edge, how to use the bandsaw properly (I imagine it takes practice to get a really steady hand) and any other information people have to creating soles! 

 

Thanks,

[TinkerTailor]

Drum sander and/or belt sander. Nothing beats a drum sander for inside curve stuff and a belt sander for straight /outside stuff. You can get big drums and rolls for a drill press and little ones for a dremel. All range of grits. Look at the sanding machines they make/have made for boot factories.

One kiss on a belt sander will straighten an edge. Outside curves are also easy on a belt sander. You can just clamp a portable one to the bench. If you can expose the end of the belt sander, the roller will work like a drum sander but will limit the radius of inside curves you can do. You will want to rig up a shop vac for dust collection, especially with dyed and finished leather. Not the best dust to breath.

As to edge finishing, if it is evenly and well sanded, use the edge burnishing and finishing technique that you prefer. The key is not the product it is the surface you put it on. Can't just put lipstick on a pig, you gotta exfoliate first......

[Colt W Knight]

The trick to using a bandsaw is setting it up properly to begin with. These steps can be found in detail from wood working resources.

1. Make sure the tension is set correctly

2. make sure the blade is tracking correctly

3. Set the guides on the blade correctly (bearing guides tend to work better than blocks, IMO)

4. Use a good quality blade.

5. Set the height of the blade guide correctly

6. A nice zero or low clearence throat plate makes cutting softer things like leather much easier and cleaner.

Cutting tips.

A bandsaw is not a scroll saw, so don't try to make too sharp of turns. In areas with sharp turns, add relief cut. You can work nice and slow on bandsaw, so you don't have to get in a hurry.

Rigid makes a nice sanding station called the Rigid Oscillating spindle and belt sander. You can easily and quickly switch from a belt to different size spindles. I use this tool all the time for leather and wood.

[TinkerTailor]

If you do some searching they make bandsaw blades with no teeth just a knife edge as well as these really neat looking wavy edge ones like a serrated bread knife. They make them for cutting foam and that type of materials. Never tried them myself but i have heard they work good for leather and leave a nicer edge because there are no teeth to chew it up.

[Colt W Knight]

I was going through a catalog a few weeks ago and saw Leather specific bandsaw blades, but for the life of me I can't remember where I saw it. I believe they call them band knives instead of bandsaw blades

 

 

Edited October 24, 2016 by Colt W Knight

[monicaileana]

Ah thanks so much for both your replies. I was cutting soles today and was getting very frustrated with the quality that was coming out - granted, I was probably going too quickly and the blade was definitely turning when I would move the leather so I will definitely tune the saw tomorrow.

Will have a search for the band knife or leather type cutting thing (the hardware store where I bought the machine were a bit short on knowledge so will have a look around to see what I can find).

Would either of you have any information about finishing the edges with saddle soap & glycerin? I've been doing this but again it comes out a bit odd - I know I should probably be using cobbler's wax and heating it but I was sure there must be some other way...

[TinkerTailor]

 A couple things about band saws if you are new to them, the width of the blade will dictate what curve you can cut. Narrower and thinner blades cut curves better, but are harder to keep on a long straight line, and are not as strong. For your use i would get the narrowest you can. Leather is nowhere near as tough on blades as steel or wood because it is somewhat flexible and cuts cooler.  Forcing a blade around a curve, or getting it too hot ruins and breaks blades. If you are cutting a tighter outside curve, the best result will come from chopping the curve off close with a couple straight rough cuts, and then go back in to do the curve nice. This reduction of waste material allows the cut off piece to flex away from the blade, reducing binding and allowing you to follow the line exactly. For an inside curve, just cut straight in at 90 degrees to the line or so, and almost up to it a few times. The idea is to make a bunch of slots just up to the line so it looks like a thick comb. Then when you go in to follow the line, the saw is cutting out a bunch of little pieces, not one big one which tends to bind the blade.

Here is the technique for inside curves, I know its wood but the technique applied perfect..

 

Here is one that helps for inside corners. Notice how he just veers off the cut and chops off the waste really quick and then goes back in.:

 

The blades are made by several people. Here are blades by one of my favourite US based tool companies, they are available from amazon. :http://www.starrett.com/saws/saws-hand-tool-products/band-saw-blades/specialty-band-saw-blades/band-knives 

Here is a seller or two of others:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#knife-edge-band-saw-blades/=14r0iq0

http://butchersupply.net/knife-edge-band-saw-blades/

http://www.lagunatools.com/accessories/S/Scallop-Bandsaw-Blade-5-8-X-2-TPI-X-123

 

I found several US based manufacturers and saw blade supply houses that list these blades as band knife blades. I would contact a Starrett or one of the others and see what type and width of blade would work for your application and saw. Most of the brick and mortar companies still left making and selling product in the USA are very good with the customer service because that is the only way they can survive and still compete with china.

[TinkerTailor]

IMPORTANT ADDITION:

Buy and wear thick leather gloves, wear a jean jacket and jeans(or other tough full coverage clothing), also a face shield when changing the blade. These things are very sharp and very springy and LOVE to bite your arms and legs. The blades come shipped coiled and are usually stored this way. When they uncoil they can shoot off in lots of ways, even at your face. Do not be scared, just be prepared. Once you have a feel for how the blade behaves, you can relax a bit. and maybe ditch the face shield. Never change the blade in a tank, shorts and flip flops.....

If you really want to be safe, police and security personnel supply houses sell Kevlar lined leather gloves to prevent knife injuries to the hand during arrests. Kitchen supply houses sell chain mail gloves to make sure restaurants and delis start and finish the day with the same finger count. Not gonna have the best dexterity with mail.....

Watch a couple videos about changing band saw blades before you do it.

[Colt W Knight]

5 hours ago, monicaileana said:

Ah thanks so much for both your replies. I was cutting soles today and was getting very frustrated with the quality that was coming out - granted, I was probably going too quickly and the blade was definitely turning when I would move the leather so I will definitely tune the saw tomorrow.

Will have a search for the band knife or leather type cutting thing (the hardware store where I bought the machine were a bit short on knowledge so will have a look around to see what I can find).

Would either of you have any information about finishing the edges with saddle soap & glycerin? I've been doing this but again it comes out a bit odd - I know I should probably be using cobbler's wax and heating it but I was sure there must be some other way...

The real trick to nice edges is sanding them nice a smooth first, then I just mix up some water and saddle soap, wet the edge, and run the edge on my wood burnisher/drill press until its nice and slick. If I really want it nice, Ill let it dry, give it a coat of bees wax and burnish again following up with a a piece of blue jean or canvas.

 

[gigi]

On 10/24/2016 at 1:17 PM, monicaileana said:

I'm looking for is any tips or tricks people have to get that really professional looking sole edge

I was told this is useful tool for shoe repairers for cutting the excess of a sole when resoling boots and the skiver part is good for the heavy leather glued on the sole. If you are interested PM me: I bought it for leatherwork but seems is not good for that (the teeth marks the leather). Where are you located?

 

[monicaileana]

Hi Gigi, 

On 28/10/2016 at 6:19 PM, gigi said:

I was told this is useful tool for shoe repairers for cutting the excess of a sole when resoling boots and the skiver part is good for the heavy leather glued on the sole. If you are interested PM me: I bought it for leatherwork but seems is not good for that (the teeth marks the leather). Where are you located?

 

 

Hi Gigi, sorry for my late reply. I am actually in Australia so probably a bit too far to ship but thanks for the info!

[Northmount]

17 hours ago, monicaileana said:

Hi Gigi, 

Hi Gigi, sorry for my late reply. I am actually in Australia so probably a bit too far to ship but thanks for the info!

Since this is a world wide forum, it is a good idea to add your location to your profile.  Then you can get answers that are more applicable to your area and country.  There are several Australian members here that can help you.

Tom

[TinkerTailor]

6 hours ago, northmount said:

Since this is a world wide forum, it is a good idea to add your location to your profile.  Then you can get answers that are more applicable to your area and country.  There are several Australian members here that can help you.

Tom

Even a couple aussie machine dealers....

[johnv474]

For cutting and finishing sole leather, look to the people who do it most: shoemakers and shoe repair people.

 

Cutting is commonly done with a machine similar to that posted by gigi, but it is used to cut the soling oversized and then sand it down to size.  Typically this is done with belt sanders, following a sequence of 24 or 40 grit, then 80 or 100 grit, then 120-200 grit.

 

At that point, people differ on whether they use ink, dressing, or wax.  Ink, aka burnishing ink, is applied as a liquid with a dauber to the edge.  The ink is left to dry, and then it is burnished via a rotating horsehair wheel.  Others use sole & heel edge dressing, which is a bit thicker than ink, but applied and used the same way.  Still others use hard wax (Yankee Wax is a common one).  The wax is very hard as is applied to a rotating wheel, a "flap wheel" of leather.  The wax is then applied to the edge of the leather by holding the edge to the wheel.  Once applied, the edge is taken to the horsehair wheel to burnish/shine.

 

That is typically how they do it.  If you have to do the finishing by hand, then I would look at the edge ink or edge dressing, because they would be easier to shine up by hand than the very hard wax.  In any case it would be uncommon not to see sanding first.   If you don't have access to a belt sander, then a small sanding wheel in a Dremel or other rotary tool can do the job adequately.