Vertical fasteners

[dw]

Coming back to full peg jobs...

Pegging the mid/"clump" sole

14446.jpg

Pegging the outsole (bottom finish tends to accumulate around pegs)

14447.jpg

Finished boots...GH French calf wide chisel toe, inch and five-eights military/Cuban heel, outsole pegged at ten to the inch and trimmed close.

14448.jpg

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[center]Little Jack Dandiprat in a white petticoat,
The longer he lives, the shorter he grows.[/center]

[jesselee]

DW,

That's some sweet peggin' there...

Cheers,

JesseLee

[amuckart]

Thank you for the pictures DW. So there's no welt in this construction, just the midsole? Is the outsole pegged right through into the insole, or just to the midsole?

Thanks.

[tjburr]

DW,

Beautiful!

Does the pegging on the outsole go closer to the center of the sole than the pegging on the clump sole? It looked like it did, but I was not sure.

Terry

[dw]

Jesse,

Thanks. You might be one of the few people on this forum who do more full peg jobs that I do.

Alasdair,

The pegs in the midsole go through the insole and just barely into the last.

The pegs in the outsole go through the midsole and deep into the insole...maybe just short of breaking the grain surface of the insole.

Terry,

The midsole pegs are run pretty close to the edge of the insole. The outsole pegs (two rows) run inside that line, yes. But part of the trick is to run the inside row at an angle relative to the outside row, so that a tension is set up.

Never had a pegged sole come loose.

Thanks to all of you for the kind words...


Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[center]Little Jack Dandiprat in a white petticoat,
The longer he lives, the shorter he grows.[/center]

[homeboy]

Dee-Dubb,

Those are SWEET! Thanks for sharing.
Do you have to "custom-cut" any of your pegs during this process?

[dw]

Jake,

Thanks. No, I have a selection of vintage maple pegs I use for this work and several slightly longer/shorter sizes to choose from.

But if I didn't have that selection, I would not hesitate to use longer pegs and cut them when I felt them just begin to bottom out. I have some special side nippers that I looked long and hard for that are sharpened/beveled only from the back side so that the blades come together flush. I seem to recall seeing Delos do much the same thing in one of those videos.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[center]Little Jack Dandiprat in a white petticoat,
The longer he lives, the shorter he grows.[/center]

[lancepryor]

DW:

A very handsome pair of boots! Well done.

Lance

[paul]

Simple elegance DW.
Beautiful!

[dw]

Lance, Paul,

Thank you!

"Simple elegance"...if there is one aesthetic that I aspire to it is "simple elegance."

Of course, the two often compliment each other.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[center]Little Jack Dandiprat in a white petticoat,
The longer he lives, the shorter he grows.[/center]

[farmerfalconer]

Mr.Frommer,
Is there any disadvantage to pegging vs welting and stitching. If not I ll certainly peg as it looks a lot easier. Do you put ant glue on the pegs before putting them in?

Also I have some brass coated brads from lowes and I wondered if I needed solid brass to avoid the leather turning black and crumbly.

Thanks a lot!
Cody

[dw]

Cody,

Well, you may get contrary advice but I think that while pegging is a good-to-excellent way to attach an outsole, it will, in the long run, shorten the life of the shoe or boot especially if the pegging is in the forepart.The very best way in my opinion is hand welted to a good quality insole and then stitched.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[center]Little Jack Dandiprat in a white petticoat,
The longer he lives, the shorter he grows.[/center]

[farmerfalconer]

Great! Thanks! So by shorten the life do you mean 2-3 years or 6-7? Also do you want pegs to penetrate all the way through the insole or just part way?

Cody

[dmcharg]

G'day All,
Here's an improved brass shoelace aglet maker.
I modified an old pair of pliers. I removed a lot of metal from the nose end of the jaws and the bottom cutter blade to create enough overlap to make the 'crimper', right arrow. I had to carefully remove the temper of the pliers as they were just too hard (even using small diamond burrs). This enabled me to use needle files to make the circular channels for the crimper part and the re-rounding part, left arrow. I'm just squashing brass so don't think I need to re-harden the pliers. The photos on how to use it are fairly self explanatory. Enjoy.
Part 1.

Aglet setter 1.JPG

Aglet setter 2.JPG

Aglet setter 3.JPG

[dmcharg]

Part 2.

Aglet setter 4.JPG

Aglet setter 5.JPG

Aglet setter 6.JPG

Cheers
Duncan

[dw]

@nickb1 , @das

Nick--I bet if you searched "pegging" on here you'd have a week's worth of reading. That said, my only tips:

► Show Spoiler

1) Plunge the pegging awl into a cake of beeswax at each go to lube it. I have a 4" x 4" x 1" deep low walled compartment on the surface of my bench filled with beeswax (melted then poured in) just for this purpose. Same goes for all awls (sewing, stitching, stabbing, etc.).
2) Number of pegs/inch depends... If you're using all-purpose cement to affix your lifts, less pegs per/inch. If you're using paste, more, but every 1/4" sounds a little extreme--maybe every 3/8" to 1/2" apart on the middle lifts--more "for pretty" on the top piece. Around the edge, across the breast, arranged down the middle however you like.
3) Since you should peg (settle and level plumb) each lift on one lift at a time, not as a group of pre-stuck lifts at once, I've always found +/- 5/8" pegs OK. To me 11/8' would be overkill.
4) I peg with the lifts almost, but not entirely, dry--one hole, one peg at a time. Opinions vary, so do results. Pegs swell, yes. But the more they swell, the more they shrink back smaller than their original dimensions when dry too. What's key is to use a pegging blade that's smaller than the peg, IMO maybe by 50%. Think "square peg in a round hole", as tight as poss. and you should be fine.
5) Without fiddling with setting and re-setting the blade in a haft, try making wee spacer washers out of scrap sole leather to shorten the effective length of the blade, quickly, to the exact depth you want, just a bit shy of length of pegs being used.
6) Depending on your peg wood (lemon wood, birch, maple, etc.)--I only use maple and birch--you only get 2 whacks. The first is light to set the peg point straight into the hole, the other firm, to knock the peg fully in in one blow. More than that and you risk splitting the peg or mushrooming the head. And yes, some will fly off across the room until you get the knack of it (correct angle and force of last blow).

Most pull-on bootmakers, at least in this country, peg extensively. I have probably driven as many pegs, over the course of the last 50 years, as anyone else on this forum. Here are a few of my thoughts:

1) Yes, good tip. I have a brass pot with fancy handles that I keep filled with beeswax. I might have 50 awls in there at any one time.

2) I usually peg at 10 PPI on the outsole (see post #151 this thread). But those pegs are in two rows offset from each other...so really it's 5 PPI. When I first started pegging I drove the first row in at an angle towards the center of the boot, and the second row straight down. This creates an interlocking structure. But through the years I noticed that it was indeed like driving pegs at 10PPI. Where the pegs passed through the upper and the insole, the pegs were near-as-nevermind in a row. This weakened the insole and jeopardized the life of the boot simply because 10 PPI will perforate the vamp and insole like a cheap ticket to a traveling circus.

Nowadays I drive the first row straight down and the second row at an angle inward. Doing it this way still creates opposing lines of attachment that are collectively stronger than if both rows were driven straight down but the holes are no longer in line. Heel lifts...i drive 11/8 pegs straight down and about half an inch apart.

3) I make western boots with higher heels and the heels take a lot of abuse. One of the most embarrassing things for a maker is to have his heels pop off. That can happen even when the heels are nailed on. 11/8 pegs can go a long way toward preventing this...I have never had a pair of my boots come in with the heels off.

4) I peg outsoles tempered and lifts dry. Up to 2-1/4"

5) If you're gonna put a washer on, make it out of rubber...like from a Vibram heel. There is a technique, closing your fist around the pegging awl and squeezing at just the right instant, that will enable you to 'bounce' the pegging awl out of the leather with the last strike.

7) Some of the old catalogues show pegging awls with flat chisel points on the ends of the blades. My advice? Walk away quietly and quickly. Chisel points will cut leather far more than a needle point...which punctures rather than cuts and results in a much smaller hole. Square shoulders are alright...in fact best, but pointed tips.

8) If possible use the 'rubber baby buggy bumper' technique and don't twist or wiggle your awl when you pull it out. Cuts leather and weakens the awl. Kind of like the admonition to never ever wiggle your inseaming/sewing awl until the tip is through the leather--wiggling the tip swings it in an arc that cuts the leather. A seemingly small, almost inconsequential thing, but with big consequences if you are sewing tight or want to retain some measure of water resistance.

[nickb1]

@dw @das
Thanks for the pegging tips gents. First row straight down and the second angled in makes sense.
Since I'll only be pegging the heel area (waist and forepart are stitched), and the split lift pegs will hopefully stay put forever (outsole is on top of it) I think any chronic perforation of the upper due to resoles would take place within the point it's pegged to the insole. However, presumably there's an area of the insole that's vulnerable, between the heel point where the last stitch is and the 'half moon' of the old outsole that is left on at the back of the heel.

[dw]

Yeah, particularly with western boots which are Traditionally pegged in the waist, I will, in all honesty/full disclosure admit that pegging and re-pegging the waist is the weakest part of that particular construction.

[nickb1]

@dw @das
This prompts some thoughts about what are the most durable constructions, including repairability considerations. Since one of the reasons I've been dabbling in this craft was abhorrence of the disposability (and many deceptions) of high street footwear. Al's stitched seat sounds good but I'm wondering what happens when you come to resole; how to do a longsole resole without cutting through the seat stitches and still getting a join under the heel lifts?
From the point of view of repairability, what would be the disadvantage of a 360 welt instead, which seems simpler and enables the outsole to be entirely stitched to the welt. Is there then any call for the pegs in the heel to penetrate the insole, rather than just the outsole? Also looks good on a man's boot, as it should be straightforward to do a wider heel.
Grateful for any thoughts you may have on this,
Nick

[dw]

I don't do (never have) stitched seat construction, but one of the reasons is the very same one that you express.

Pegs driven through the outsole should always penetrate the last even if only a little. That's why peg floats were invented.

If you're good with wider...maybe 'clunkier' looking heels/shoes, no reason not to do 360° welts. My own focus has ever been on refining the process without forfeiting functionality, so I've never cared much for 360° welts or large frequency stitching (although I have just such a pair in process as we speak). YMMV & NHNF (no harm no foul).

[das]

Nick--Sewn seats are by far the strongest seat construction when made well IMO. Since the heel stitching (down behind the sewing stitches) holds the outer sole and split lift to the shoe, it's best considered "permanent". Rarely should anyone wear their heels all the way down into the split lift and compromise those stitches. That said, you are pretty much limited to half sole repairs on these for "life". In this construction, too, the 5/8" pegs need not pierce the insole at all, just get a deep purchase through the split lift and into the outer sole.

[SyLibby]

Hello All, forgive me for bumping an old topic. I am trying to learn about pegging to make myself a pair of mid 19th century shoes. I have read everything I can on here about the process, and watched any videos I can find. Something I'm not understanding is how far the begs should penetrate. Should the pegging awl contact the last, and will the peg contact the last? Also can anyone recommend any books with visual examples? Thank you all.

[das]

@SyLibby Peg penetration: if your pegging awl pierces deeply into the last, and your peg points ditto, you'll peg your shoe fast to the last making slipping (removing) the last impossible. That said, there are plenty of antique 19thc pegging lasts that have deep trenches dug all around the perimeter of the bottom from over-penetration, and not a few old 19thc shoes, unworn stock, with peg points protruding through the insole by 1/8" or more, unwearable until the points were cut/rasped off. In my experience, you want to "shorten" the pegging awl blade via small leather washers (scrap sole leather) until it's only long enough to piece your bottoms (outer sole, uppers, and insole), just a tiny bit hits the last, and use pegs the right length so just the tip of the point comes through the insole; but care must be used, again, to avoid pegging the shoe onto the last--one or two pegs going too deeply into the last is enough to cause a disaster ever getting it back out. You want only just enough peg point showing inside to rasp it smooth later, giving a good fastening. If no peg points go completely through, the join will be weak and apt to come apart, it's all a bit of brinkmanship IOW, but good luck!

[SyLibby]

DAS,

Thank you for the reply. That really helps clear it up in my mind. I'll give it a go. I might practice with scrap materials for a bit. Looking forward to attempting shoes.

Scott

[dw]

I spent most of my career pegging the 'waist' of boots, and heel seats and lifts, sometimes even the whole outsole. IMO, pegs should penetrate the last so that the whole tip is in the last.--a little less than 1/8", IOW.

For me at least, I have no real problems pulling the last even if the whole outsole is done like that and at 10 pegs to the inch.

It's worth remembering that there are/were many tools made to deal with protruding pegs on the inside of shoes and boots, not the least is/was the upright, fixed peg float. (here's a photo of one of mine).

The fact that such tools existed suggests that the common wisdom was for pegs to penetrate the last...and significantly enough that coarse teeth were used rather than sandpaper.