"That old sweet song..."

This off topic area is a place where, while you are visiting the Crispin Colloquy, you can talk about beer, whiskey, kilts, the latest WWII re-enactment, BBQ, grandsons, shoes in the media, and even the odd meandering essay on "why we make shoes."
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jss812

Re: "That old sweet song..."

#76 Post by jss812 »

Hey, I'm not a bootmaker so maybe I'm thinking outside the box. But, what if you took your lining leather, cut a hole in the center the size of the shaft diameter, drape the leather over the outside of the shaft and stitch the circle edge and upper edge of the shaft together, then fold the lining into the inside? Attaching the lining to the inside would most likely be less problematic.

James Stafford
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dw
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Re: "That old sweet song..."

#77 Post by dw »

It may be that there is a seam somewhere, I don't know. No other photos. As for the donut idea...maybe...but look at the photo closely. The binding seems to be part of a partial lining that ends about four inches(?) down inside the boot. If the binding were made as a flat donut there would be a lot of "surplus army goods" that would have to be turned into the boot. Could you end up with a neat lining? Again, I don't know.

Tight Stitches
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jss812

Re: "That old sweet song..."

#78 Post by jss812 »

Ahhh, but to me that reinforces the hole idea. If you cut the hole undersized, then formed the leather prior to stitching, looks like the shorter the piece, the easier to form.
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Re: "That old sweet song..."

#79 Post by dw »

All,

I have to say this effort to "re-create" myself has been a real treat and I've enjoyed it...so far. It's truely "re-creation." Image My old teacher used to say that when you stop learning you might as well put the other leg in and pull the sod over--'cuz you're already dead.

I know I should be grateful...not only to all those willing to help me...but because I can learn at all. Whether it be from Mike Ives or Al Saguto or you fellers, or from Golding and Swaysland and all those who have gone before and paved the way, there's something of extraordinary value to be gained. Especially when you compare it to the alternative--shutting your mind to everything you don't understand and parading a limited skill set as mastery.

Beyond that, we all learn from the past masters in one fashion or another--it just depend on how diluted and distorted (by time) you want it. You can learn from one or you can learn from dozens. You can learn it as if from their own hearts and minds, a hundred years beyond their reach. Or you can learn it second hand and by hearsay. And if you are very very lucky, there'll be just enough grains of truth in that hearsay to get you by...but never enough to take you beyond.

And I am grateful...grateful because I can learn and I can learn from so many different sources...including people who don't even know they have a lesson to teach. Some folks can't learn at all. Or they have to have it manually drilled into them so that they can then they spend the rest of their lives doing the same thing over and over again.

I'll never stop being a bootmaker...at 61 and after thirty five years of doing it full time and making my living at it, it's part and parcel of me. But I've always loved John Renborn's version of "My Johnny Was a Shoemaker."


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