Limitations of Last Modifications

[RockyAussie]

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?

[AdamGadut]

the cemented construction is known to fail earlier than that of a goodyear welted. Plus, Suede easily catches dust..

is it alright if the suede we have is about 2mm - 2.5mm thick?... - for the top part i mean. - is there an ideal thickness for the top part?.

[RockyAussie]

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.

[AdamGadut]

for me who doesn't have any experience making those, it would be worth knowing which parts you think would fall apart first and how to prevent those.

[RockyAussie]

The most common failure is with the sole either wearing through or coming unstuck. Separating at the toe is common and back to the widest part as well. I have no idea what tools you have at present to work with and some pics would help. If you want to send them in a PM that is fine. You will need a common steel last and stand as you see at a shoe repair place or a steel plate for the base of the lasts your building.If you are not familiar with any shoe repairing I must urge you to get friendly with a good repairer and get him to show you how to use the tacks and how they clinch in the job. You will want some (a good handful) of the shorter tacks. I think they are about 5mm or less.Instead of the glue around imitation welt as in the video I propose using a full midsole tacked on which actually does most of the work in holding things together and the sole will adhere to this in a far longer and reliable way.You can still use an imitation welt as well if you like but if you can not buy it they are hard to make with out a lot of tools.I will go through an old shipping container here and see what I can find to picture that may be of help. Brian

[George1520]

My father said that my grand grandfather used hard red seal wax to modify lasts.  That was before plastic lasts. If you are in a hurry plastic lasts are a lot easier to work with. You just melt some milk gallons , spread it with a butter knife  and grind it to shape.   

You can also look for George Keloff’s Last Designing and Making Manual book and video  it has step by step instructions on making lasts  

But why not use leather like everyone else? I’m sure you can find some on the leatherworker.net ;-)