Tools of the Trade

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idris_nowell
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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1676 Post by idris_nowell »

The thread shown in the pictures is about the size of an 18/3 linen thread, possibly a little larger but still very much a thread rather than a rope.

I probably could get the threads I want by mail order but there are a number of problems with that; Most companies want to deal in large quantities, on the order of 12 spools of each colour which would make it very expensive to have two weights (upper and outseam thread) for each colour. Colours tend to be more limited than normal sewing thread and matching colours online is next to impossible.

Finally, as I'm hand sewing my uppers, my preferred method for attaching needles to my thread is to thread the needle on before twisting the thread (the needle goes in place of the hook at the "tail" end giving a completely secure attachment without any bulk) which is impossible with a manufactured thread.

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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1677 Post by kevin_l »

In October the ADMINISTRATOR promised information on shrink wrap technique following the annual meeting. The time has come and gone and I look forward to that discussion,
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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1678 Post by romango »

Speaking of shrink wrap... I bought a large roll of the 200 mil, 8" tube shrink wrap, which I will sell in smaller portions if anyone is interested. See: http://www.romangoshoes.com/sales.html
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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1679 Post by dw »

I am just about to inseam a pair of shoes and will take some photos and do a short exposition on using shrink wrap as I proceed.

That said...two things:

First, I am using the same heavy weight tubing that Rick is offering above. Same company, same size, etc..

Second, the AGM video will have a full demonstration of how I use shrink wrap (although I used some lighter weight surplus sample material I had on hand for the demo).

The AGM video will also contain other, and just-as or even moreso, valuable footage from presentations given by other people.

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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1680 Post by paul »

From the Peanut Gallery,

Cool!

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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1681 Post by dw »

The first photo in this series has been taken from the bottom of the shoe just prior to applying the shrink wrap. The shoe is actually ready to inseam

14162.jpg



The second shot is when the shrink wrap is just beginning to be positioned on the shoe. The shrink wrap starts as a tube. In this case I opened the tube entirely along one side and about half way on the other side...to allow the tops of the jodhpur to be free of the shrink wrap.
14163.jpg


The third shot is the bottom of the shoe after the shrink wrap has been taped into position over the insole. This is fussy, no question about it. the SW is a little stiff and completely non-stretch. In some areas it is enough to simply pull the SW against the side of the shoe and over the insole. In other areas...around the toe, in particular...the SW must be folded and pleated and gathered to remove excess. I use any old tape that comes to hand to secure the pleats and fold sometimes even going so far as to drive a short tack through pieces of masking tape stuck to the SW and into the insole.

At the back of the heel, I simply overlap the edges and use invisible tape to secure them. At no point is the tape sticking to the upper, however. It is all tape to SW or tape to tape.

I might point out that it is not necessary to get the SW tight to the shoe...as if you were lasting it like another layer of leather. And it is infinitely better to have excess SW and "bubbles" under it than have pleats or folds that encroach upon the upper or are "above" the feather. Shrink wrap will shrink something like 40% (I read it somewhere but don't recall the exact figure--it was significant, in any case). 40% is really a lot. None of the photos show it but on the seconds shoe I had at least a half inch of "bridging" from the toe to the instep and yet it all pulled down tightly. So, any apparent excess along the critical inseam will draw up...more than you think. Folds made in the SW cannot be eliminated..even after shrinking the folds will still be there.
14164.jpg


Photo numbers four and five show the shrink wrap successfully positioned just prior to shrinking. A common hairdryer is run...on high...slowly, past the feather to begin with--about 4"-6" from the plastic. And then over the rest of the shoe as the SW tightens up.
14165.jpg

14166.jpg


In photo six the SW has been heated and it has drawn up to become a virtual second skin on the shoe.
14167.jpg


Heat is the enemy of leather but if you forego an industrial heat gun (what the manufacturer recommends) and don't linger in any spot long enough for heat to build up the SW will draw up quickly and tightly. Tightly enough that when the shrinking is done and we cut the SW off the insole leaving plastic covering just the upper leather over the hold fast, it will remain formed...just as the upper leather is. Photo seven shows this nicely.
14168.jpg


The whole point of doing this is to prevent dyes, hand wax, finishing inks and simple dirt (think white shoes) from getting up on the uppers. If one is hand stitching the outsoles on, you can run several layers of masking tape on top of the SW and along the welt such that the square awl will not "dent" the leather.

The really high end RTW makers in the UK...Northampton...have a special product that they use that is tailor made for this technique. I am sure it is not as fussy as using SW tubing (probably pre-formed) but SW tubing is what's available in the US and it is relatively cheap and readily available.

When the shoe is finished...entirely finished...the SW may be cut off with a hot, dull knife or a bladed wood burning tool the tip of the tool is run along the junction of the welt and the upper and it comes off slick, clean and with no evidence that it was ever there. And with a thermostatically controlled wood burner, absolutely no damage to the upper.

At this point I need to inseam the jodhpurs, bottom them and finish the shoes. At which point I will photograph that procedure as best I can and post them here.

Don't wait up.

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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1682 Post by dw »

Sorry... photo four is out of sequence. Photo four is of the bottom of the shoe after shrinking has taken place but before the SW has been trimmed to the edge of the holdfast.

(it's been a long day...)

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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1683 Post by homeboy »

Thanks for sharing your technique Dee-Dubb!
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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1684 Post by romango »

Also useful for suede.
14172.jpg
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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1685 Post by elfn »

DW, I'm so glad you posted the how-to. I didn't stay for the second day of the conference and knew I was missing important stuff. Thanks EVER so much.

Would you please sincerely thank your wife for me. The gluten free lunch was excellent. It gave me warm fuzzies to be so well taken care of.

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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1686 Post by paul »

Great DW! Image
It shows your characteristic care in doing neat and clean work. Thank you.
ImageI'm haveing trouble conceiving the beginning shape of the shrink wrap. I can see that it is against the vamp forepart between it and the pad of the jack, but it's hard to see the borders of the plastic's shape.
Could you provide a drawing or dimensions please?
Paul
ps. admitting one could do ones own pattern making tests, of course.Image
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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1687 Post by dw »

Paul,

Pattern? Pattern? We don't need no stinkin' pattern!

The SW I have comes as an eight inch wide tube. I generally cut along one edge to make a sixteen inch wide sheet. (The SW is stiff and the edges are hard, tight folds.)

For the jodhpurs I cut along the other edge about six inches and then put a piece of invisible tape at the end of the cut to act as a rip-stop. This six inch cut allows the SW to wrap around the top of the boot from instep to the back of the heel. What you're seeing is the flat sheet folded over the toe and the rest laying over the upper (vamp) and then splitting to "parenthesize" the leg of the boot.

Other than that, the SW is basically a rectangle or square. I use a scissors to cut away obvious excess over the insole as I begin to pull the plastic over the shoe.

If the shoe were a standard oxford or derby...a low quarter...I wouldn't make that second cut at the folded edge. I would just pull the rectangle of SW over the top of the shoe and tape it to the bottom of the insole. When shrunk the entire shoe would be "sealed." Then I'd cut a small hole to correspond to the thimble of the last so that I could use my lap jack.

HTH (hope that helps)

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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1688 Post by romango »

To summarize, you just wrap the shrink wrap around your boot or shoe as best you can, using tape to hold it in place. You want to minimize the bagginess around the feather line so that you don't get it doubled over when you do the shrinking.

Ideally you would have a bag shaped more-or-less like your shoe. I played around with this a bit using a soldering iron to make my bag shape as follows:
14174.jpg

14175.jpg

14176.jpg

14177.jpg

14178.jpg

14179.jpg

14180.jpg

14181.jpg


The soldering iron doesn't work all that well. What you need is one of the sealer machines they sell for this purpose but they cost over 100 dollars.

All they really are is a hot wire on a hinge. I might try to make one, at some point. Or I might try an old hair crimping heater.

In the mean time, I will just wrap as DW describes. I present this only to give some ideas and to help clarify what you are trying to achieve.
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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1689 Post by romango »

oops. sorry for the large photos.
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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1690 Post by dw »

Here are a few more photos in this sequence on using shrink wrap...

The first is right after inseaming.
14183.jpg


Next we see the same scene after the shrink wrap has been trimmed to the edge of the welt. This needs to be done with the wood burner or a hot knife.
14184.jpg


The third is a photo of the wordburning set up I have and the setting I use when I know the tip will be touching leather--the knob is set to three. YMMV with other brands.
14185.jpg


The fourth is a close-up of the woodburning tool. Notice the shape of the tip.
14186.jpg


The fifth photo shows the heel seat area and I have marked where I will trim the shrink wrap.
14187.jpg


The sixth photograph shows the heelseat with the SW trimmed and the heelseat stitched. I ran the tip of the woodburing tool along the marked line, firmly touching the leather underneath and cutting through both the SW and the clear (Scotch invisible) tape holding it together.
14188.jpg


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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1691 Post by homeboy »

Dee-Dubb,

I was wondering how to proceed. Thanks for the follow-up!

I just know we'll see these in the "gallery" upon completion.....right? (hint, hint)
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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1692 Post by dw »

Jake,

Next pics (tomorrow?) will take us to just before mounting the outsole, then I'll bottom them and put the heel on before posting more.

I am hoping these will turn out to my satisfaction. The fitter's were good. But I'm not completely comfortable with jodhpurs yet. So I'm a little shy about touting them. We'll see.

I'm glad to be able to illustrate the shrink wrap though...it's the best answer I've come across yet for a really difficult set of problems.

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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1693 Post by dw »

Couple more photos just to bring it all together...

This first one is a shot of the heel seats pierces I recently posted in another subtopic. Here mounted and I've pegged them such that the heel seat merges seamlessly with the welt--same thickness, skived edges mated.
14191.jpg


Second photo is the final shot before mounting the outsole. Posted this one mostly to show the felt forepart filler that I am experimenting with. I Hirschkleber-ed the felt into place and will not put any cement between the felt and the outsole. With the HK and the felt, I hope to avoid the drawbacks of either cementing the insole and outsole together or setting the shoe up to creak.
14192.jpg


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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1694 Post by paul »

Thank you DW.
Rich, I also appreciate your input.
You guys are great.
Paul
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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1695 Post by rosesj »

Did you get the entire pair out of one skin?

That looks like alot of quill.
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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1696 Post by dw »

Paul,

Thanks.

Shane,

Yes, and with no problem really. The only real problem is that ostrich is not as stretchy as other leathers, especially in the quill area.

More than that, the premium stuff--from Klein Karoo of S. Africa--is, and always has been, a strange leather with a lot of "layering" and looseness in the flesh. The grain layer is strong but thin and not very well connected to the underlying fibers. So that blocking becomes somewhat problematic.

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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1697 Post by kemosabi »

Curious...
Is it common not to use a shank cover on shoes like this?


-Nat
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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1698 Post by dw »

Nat,

"Common?" I don't know...I have seen high end, West End oxfords with no shank cover. I suspect it has something to do with how the waist wants to be shaped. A fiddleback waist, for instance, would always have a shank cover.

That said, I am ever inclined to use a shank cover. And indeed these do have a tarred felt shank cover...it is just not shown in the above photographs.

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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1699 Post by dw »

PS...I'm pretty busy this time of the year...especially this year for some reason.

I had a hard-to-put-your-finger-on subconscious reservation about the shoes until I went to put the outsole on this morning and realized I didn't have the a shank cover.

It was serendipity, because I just happened to have a small piece of tarred felt that I had made and figuring the tar would inhibit any possible rusting of the shank, it just seemed natural to use that.

A reasonable assumption/solution? I don't know. It's just something I am experimenting with and the results probably won't come back to me for a year or more.

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Re: Tools of the Trade

#1700 Post by rosesj »

How do would you maintain that finish on a Western boot vamp?

I was told that the shine would likely be removed by soaking and lasting. That's not to mention the stress on the leather during crimping.
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