Around the shop

[mekhaus]

Jake:

Can you rotate the boot on axis with the "leg"?
Also, is it bolted to the floor?

[jake]

Mekhaus,

Yeap, you can rotate the boot on the same axis as the leg. This one is bolted to the floor, but actually the base is off one of Dick's "stand-up" stands. I believe he can make a base that will support the arm and still be moveable. But give him a call and make sure.

I can take some more pics, if you are interested.

Take care!

[plugnickle]

Here are a few pics of last weeks shop photos. It has been slow going as it has been very hot and humid, plus my knees will not allow me to work over a few hours every couple of days.

Steve

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[tomo]

Hey Steve,
looking great. I bet you can't wait to get it finished. Won't take long once the framing's up 'til it really looks something. I know the finishing takes a while but a lot of that stuff can be done at your leasure.
How come you guys build them up so high? The tendancy here is to pour a concrete slab and build on that, ie so that you work on a concrete floor. Are you prone to flooding or things like that? just wondering.
What's the floor? Is it particle board? Doesn't look like ply.
Nice sunny spot though. Well done.
More power to y'awl
T.

[dw]

Tom, Steve,

Good on you, Steve! You're gonna enjoy having your shop close at hand. Makes an afternoon nap so much more convenient. BTW, be sure to leave room for the lathe, bandsaw and dust collector.

I know lots of folks who build their shops with wood floors. Don't you have a wood floor, Jake?

On the other hand, I have a cement slab with hot water heating embedded in the concrete. I have to say that given the choice, I would probably go with the concrete again. I like the fact that I can pound like the devil on a boot and there's no re-bound (bounce) coming back at me from the floor. Also the cement holds the heat overnight so the shop is relatively inexpensive to heat.

On yet the other hand, you can bolt down jacks and equipment to a wood floor much easier than you can a cement floor and in one old shop I had, I cut a hole in the floor and piped my finisher blowoff under the floor. That was really convenient! 'Course I had a four foot crawl space under there.

I guess there's advantages to both...the wood floor is probably easier if not cheaper.

Also I would guess that the particle board (looks like that's what it is) is only a sub-flooring. Next comes tar paper (as a moisture barrier) and then tongue and groove teak flooring.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[plugnickle]

Tom,
The primary reason for the wood floor is that I want this shop to be portable. At sixteen wide, it can be moved down the highway with a permit.

I was able to get one wall framed yesterday. Maybe I will get to raise it today. The floor is made of 3/4" osb (oriented strand board). It is composed of small pieces of wood that are pressed with waterproof glue. It is suppose to be superior to regular plywood, and is leaps and bounds better than particle board. The osb is very hard and rigid. So much so that my air stapler will barely drive through it, leaving the staple exposed in 1/2" osb. The skill saw produces occasional sparks while cutting. A carbide tipped blade is a must.

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DW,
I have heard about the radiant flooring. It sounds wonderful for cold winter mornings. I am always a fan for using less energy as well.

My finisher has the old cloth bags for the filters. I am considering piping mine out to the the back of the shop.

I plan to use laminate flooring as my finish material. There are some very nice patterns, all kinds of wood replica's, and it is only .99 a square foot. There is a special pad that goes under it. I will place painted osb under my machines and butt the laminate flooring to it so as not to compress the underlayment under the laminate.

Steve

[jake]

Steve,

Congrats Partner! Looking good! Hope the construction goes smoothly the rest of the way.

Dee-Dubb,

Nope, I've got concrete. I'm really satisfied with it too. Wish I had done like you....radiate floors are the way to go, but I have to say, my shop stays very warm on the coldest of days in north central Arkansas. Like you say, the concrete tends to hold the warmth, once it's warmed up.

I agree, there's advantages and disadvantages to each flooring. Just glad I finally have a SHOP!

[jake]

All,

Here's another pic of Dick Anderson's sewing stand. He deserved a pic in the "correct" setup. I believe the stand could be used without bolting to the floor.

Thanks once again Dick for some fine work!

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[plugnickle]

Sorry folks. Just when I thought that I had the hang of posting pictures, I get a good lesson in humility.

Maybe these will post.

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[tomo]

WOOHOO Steve,
that's fantastic! Looks way bigger now than in the earlier photos. what's the cladding going to be? couldn't see where I asked that earlier, - maybe I did??
Anyway, keep the pressure on man. You're doing great.
Like the solar wax pot, don't need to clean it.
More power to y'awl
T.

[plugnickle]

Thank you, Tom. I am planning to use metal, the raised panel stuff. 26 ga. on the top and 29 ga. on the sides.

I use a one pound coffee can with a CoolWhip® bowl placed inside. The bowl barely fits in the can so that the wax doesn't make it's way into the bottom of the can. I then use a double layer of paper towels over the top of the can, held in place by a rubber band. Wax is then placed on the center of the paper towels. The unit is then placed in the stryofoam box and a piece of double strength glass top the whole thing off. I really like this setup because I can render old comb into a pure, clean, light wax. The sun bleaches the wax and the paper towel filters even the smallest particles. Did I mention that it doesn't cost anything to run it?

Steve

[plugnickle]

These pics are from last week, before the HCC meeting. I had to get it "in the dry" before we had any more rain. I haven't had time to work on it since I have been back.

Steve

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[dw]

Steve,

What is that? Some sort of aluminum siding or clear poly sheeting/moisture barrier? We built a shop about a year and a half ago and I don't remember seeing anything like that when it was going up.

Just curious...

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[plugnickle]

DW,
The panels are 3/4" styrofoam sheets with a foil covering. The stuff is phenomenal for holding heat in.

Steve

[LCresson]

Dear Steve
Thank you for all the building tips. I would like to re-register, or register properly and have been poking around and not finding the link. It would also be great if the 'year' of the last posting could be added to the forum directory.

Thanks!
Lisa
P.S. After taking a western bootmaking class that did not explain enough about fitting to make the cost of custom boots worth it, I decided to get control of the last form by acquiring the right machine. I bought Jim Bowman's Gilman last cutting lathe. And, does anyone have a current email address for Bill Tippit? Thanks in advance for your help.

[admin]

I am moving this discussion about lasts over to "Techniques, Crans..." > "One Last Question."

Yr. Hmb. Svt.

[firefly]

All,

Just another quick endorsement...I received my crimping boards and irons from Dick Anderson a couple of days ago and they are works of art. I really dont want to drive any lasting tacks in them.

I spent some time on the phone with Dick and we talked about everything from fishing that beautiful river that he lives on to fabricating awls. He is not only a wealth of information but a gentleman.

I would endorse his craftsmanship and his professionalism.

Thanks for listening.

Mark

[djulan]

I emphatically agree with you Mark, while I wait on my fourth piece to dry on the crimping board and screws I just bought from Dick Anderson - a couple weeks ago. (His tools are SO CAREfully made) These are not the first tools I bought, or the last I'll buy from him. Worth every cent! (without Dick's tools and this forum, I no doubt, would never try a western boot -East coaster, I am)

Keep up the good work Dick, as you and your tools contribute to the revival, survival and reinvention of this old trade! THANKS


David Ulan

[tomo]

Here's a site that looks promising, the pictures aren't clear but they have a good range of product and might be worth a look at. I think they're in BC Canada.

http://www.labellesupply.com/

I've emailed them about their wood pegs and I'll let you know how it goes.
More power to y'awl.
Tom.

[kadwart]

Just to confirm, La Belle have been around in Vancouver BC for 30+ years and are the local source for shoe supply materials & cobblers equipment. For anyone else interested in potential west coast sources of leather and supplies there is also: (1) a local Tandy Leather Factory at 10608 King George Hwy in Surrey, BC, (2) there is one local tannery, Pacific Leather and Fur, on Commercial Drive in Vancouver (I forget the exact street address but it might be 1789 Commercial Drive) and they will tan hides for people as well as selling a range of deer, buffalo, moose and related, and (3) there is Lonsdale Leather Warehouse at 21 East 5th Ave in Vancouver (www.indigoleather.com) Lonsdale Leather handles a wild range of stuff, is run by a nice person called Philip who is from Australia (they have kangaroo including a veg tan kangaroo and he brings in his own kangaroo lacing) and Philip also does some exotic materials and will sometimes do special orders. Hope this helps, Sue

[mac]

Tom, Susan,
I spoke with the owner of Labelle last year at the National Pedorthic show. He's a really helpful guy. I already buy many of my orthopaedic supplies from him. I plan on making a visit in the next month or so... setting up my own boot shop. Thanks for the other sources susan! What about a list of other Canadian sources??? Landis Letendre and National shoe are 2 that come to mind.

Sean

[guy_shannon]

Hi Sean.

You can try Warkof-Safer they are out of Winipeg. there is Makenzie leather in Edmonton, as well as Caladon leather and Buckskins, in Calgary. I believe Buckskins carry a small line of lace up cowboy boots the local Hutterites make.

Now for other stuff like multiform and poron there is Otho Active 800-663-1254, Ped-Aline 800-547-4767, Turner Medical 800-661-5329, Vittoria Phoenix (519) 426-0046 fax (888) 873-2948 , Anatech 800-667-3442 Action O&P inc. (450) 659-1947. I hope some of these suppliers help fill the gaps

Guy Shannon
Calgary

[mac]

Thanks Guy,
That is a pretty extensive list. Thanksfor the info.

Sean

[kadwart]

Hi Sean and Guy:

Just a few more Canadian links of interest. For sewing machines try Mason Sewing Machine (www.masonsewingmachine.com) based in Vancouver, Michel Simard Ltd (www.simards.com) based in Ontario and Leighton's (www.leightons.ca)in Alberta. I have talked to John at Leighton's and he has both new and rebuilt machines including some old Singers (he also has patchers, skivers and other machinery).

For oddball leathers that might be of interest try Fish Leathers (www.sealeatherwear.com) - they carry two types of fish leathers, different glazes, good variety of colours, and then Marini Leather Co (www.magma.ca/`marini/) for ostrich, rhea and emu - thought these might be of interest to the bootmakers out there.

And for the completely not quite related, look up Ian's Shoelace Site - it has diagrams of a variety of different ways of lacing shoes and boots which is kind of fun.

Hope you are all doing well,
Sue

[dw]

Susan,

Ian's Shoelace Site is very interesting. Thank you for the link.

Most interesting is the length calculator and an online utility that only needs several measurements plugged in (distance between eyelets, number of eylets, etc..) to figure it out the needed length for you. I make laces from a large reel and add aglets so this will aid in cutting a little more efficiently.

For those who make shoes, or the occasional packer, as I do, the length calculator and the diagram for doing display lacing (also known as Lydiard Lacing) are worth the price of admission (free) alone.

Ian's Shoelace Site

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC