One "Last" Question

[erickgeer]

Gigi,

Thank you for posting your images, they are very interesting.

I am curious if you have found a way to work in an Apple environment, or do you do your last-making work all in PC.

Erick Geer Wilcox

[gigi]

Erick,
I'm using Apple Computers, for media managements such as Internet, web site, multimedia and communications...this for safety and friendly "easy to use" interface
The PC only to run all the 3D Cad/Cam Software... but just only because has been made only for window plattform.
Anyway is a kind of balance... Apple is very safe to run on Internet..at the beginning I've got a lot of problem using the PC, and I've lost a lot of time and files due virus attack!

Gigi Agostini

[Lisa Cresson]

Gigi:
When you write in the earlier posting:
"from the ball area to waist we keep 24mm distance on the featherline and on the bottom, same 24mm to Instep, but remember this measure is considering a woman last" is this for an Italian size 36 women? and what size [is it 36 women] do you design the shoe last upon.
Thank you.
Lisa

[Lisa Cresson]

Hi Gigi.
I see you get around and have a international collection of last appreciating friends including the USA, Italy and Asian last makers. . .

Could you post an English-Italian list of the common vocabulary for last construction? And include the widths for shoe sizes as well?

Thanks!
Lisa Cresante <--original family name before Ellis Island changed the spelling.
;-)

[gigi]

Lisa,

Regarding Ball Waist and Instep, 24mm is considering size #37, anyway there is not a big difference also using the same for #36 or #6 or #7 B USA size.
As Bill said , It is just a reference point.

Regarding the Italian terms, I'm going translate the manual for shoelast making adding some parts...and for sure including English-Italian terms.

Give me a couple of weeks..when I'll be back from my trip in Italy , I'll dedicate some time to this.

:-O

[Lisa Cresson]

Dear Gigi:
Thank you for the measurement information. I know of a few old charts but what is the right measure for modern feet.?

On the translating. . . Time is on your side... ;-)

Especially because, more than anyone I have met, you spend more time flying between Italy and Asia. You probably have gold frequent flyer cards for each airline.

I am patient about gathering shoemaking information.

Regards,
Lisa

[jenny_fleishman]

Shoe vs. foot question. Maybe last and orthopedic/pedorthics experts can enlighten me (or anyone else, please pipe in!). I have never understood why shoes soles have a slight curve up at the sides of the ball of the foot. Is there an anatomical reason for this, or does it just give space to wrap the upper leather under the edge of the insole without making the sole of the shoe concave?

Over the years I've had a few pairs of walking shoes that caused pain in the ball of the foot, and I couldn't see anything wrong with them. The only thing I could figure out was perhaps the concave curve of the insole disagreed with my metatarsal bones. If the human foot was designed to walk barefoot on the ground, why would putting this curve in the sole be beneficial?

[gigi]

Jenny,
Re:Shoe vs. foot,
If I've understood clear your question...
I could try to explain in this way, may be if the shoelast is not curve enough, the upper glued around the side of the bottom it will give the wrong shape to the bottom, but doesn't mean that the shoe isn't curve enough inside.
Of course with the right curve , the foot will have a better fit.
This is just my opinion...

[dw]

I think it was Karl Kropf who once told me that the only reason for a bottom radius was to make the last (and shoe) look narrower.


Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[btippit]

Also in the category of opinions I believe that there is a need for some radius on the bottom of a last. True, our feet are more or less flat on the bottom when we stand on them. Of course, some of us put more stress on our feet doing that than some of you lightweights out there do. However, if the foot is in a completely non stress bearing position I think there is some curvature and obviously the bottom of the foot and the upper don’t intersect at a right angle.

Having said that, during the comfort craze in the shoe industry during the 1980’s, things got a little out of hand as most trends tend to do. A lot of lasts started appearing that looked like someone had used a softball as a guide for the radius of the bottom. Contour and comfort were selling and us being Americans, “the bigger the better” became the prevailing school of thought. Can you say “Supersize That”?

I’m also sure there is also a valid reason for some bottom curvature for manufacturing purposes, such as Gigi pointed out. On the other hand, I would think you’d have to have an exorbitant amount of radius to give the illusion that the shoe was narrower than it really was. I think extra length in the toe would do a better job of creating that false premise. Just my thoughts.

Bill
www.globalfootwearsolutions.com

[dw]

Bill,

Good points. I am always amazed at how much different footwear looks from one century to the next...maybe one decade to the next. I think of boots...all kinds of boots, including cowboy boots from about the mid 1800's to the early 1900's...and on some, at least, there didn't appear to be any noticable toe spring. It's a very different--and somewhat attractive, at least to my eye--look but not one that can be duplicated on todays lasts...not that you would want to.

And Karl might have been "dumbing things down" for this old bootmaker.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[relferink]

The radius on the bottom of the last has no anatomical reason; if anything the opposite would be true. The foot functions better inside a shoe if it is supported by a curvature that is higher in the center of the foot and lower on the sides. Not directly under the ball of the foot but just behind the metatarsal heads. This support is commonly referred to as a metatarsal support. What this does is take some of the pressure of the center of the ball.

You have to remember that feet no longer function and develop like they used to. Going back to a time when live was less complicated, concrete sidewalks were not invented and people did tot wear shoes, feet functioned as they were meant to. All 28 bones in each foot constantly adapted to the uneven ground we would walk on, fields, woods, sand and stones. Next thing you know we would put a newborns feet in a pair of constrictive shoes and make them walk on concrete all day.

Looking at the anatomical construction of the foot, the bones of the foot when functional normally are meant to carry the weight of its owner in 3 major areas, under the center of the heel, around the 1st metatarsal joint and around the 5th metatarsal joint. There are more or less obvious arches between these points (Henry Gray (1821–1865). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.) these arches crest to the top of the foot, opposite to the radius on the bottom of a last.

Obviously feet currently do not function the way they were “designed” to. Since the shoes are flat or curved with the center being the deepest point feet adjust and many foot problems developed when the center of the transverse arch collapses. This can happen because the muscles that are suppose to hold this arch up are under developed. They never had a good workout since all they are used to is being tide up in a flat shoe, not the constant adjusting and balancing on uneven ground. This is where the before mentioned metatarsal support can help and take some of the pressure of the metatarsal heads.

So the question why the lasts are curved the way they are. I believe this is already answered, it provides an area for the welt to be placed without throwing off the balance of the sole. Also to get additional volume without additional width, thus for cosmetic reasons. Since lasts have been made for a really really long time you can bet that just about any and all possible configurations have been tried, more curvature, flat, opposite curvature etc. Why we do what we do? Probably because doing it like this worked well. If this is not a good enough reason for you please get out there and start experimenting. Start by examining foot shapes and function, than make yourself a pair of lasts and feel the results of your experiments. As long as you can find yourself a nice pair of wooden lasts you can subtract and add back into infinity.

Since I’ve been making custom lasts I have found that more people than not benefit from a lift just behind the ball of the foot to offload the metatarsal heads but very rarely can the foot accommodate a position that is not nearly flat or slightly curved the way stock lasts are. Accommodations can be made and accepted when a specific metatarsal bone is hyper mobile, rigid or has a different position due to prior trauma.

That’s just my 2 cents worth. Great question hope I did not bring on more questions than I can provide answers for.

Rob

(Message edited by relferink on December 02, 2005)

[dw]

Robert,

I would pick your brains a bit if you don't mind. I have a Morton's Neuroma (by now, everyone knows the sordid story of how I came by it...no matter). I could use a metatarsal pad...especially since I do a little dancing and the waltz is full of up-on-the-ball rises and falls. But I cannot tolerate much of a pad there. My foot begins to ache and it never settles down. I make a pad that I build into a long heel pad but it is probably not much thicker than a nickel at the highest point.

So...how do you locate the met pad for maximum effectiveness and maximum comfort? And is there a minimum height and/or diameter that affords the best comfort and efffectiveness?

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[Lisa Cresson]

DW -
I have my own [ neuroma morton toe ] as a result of a surgery and a small piece piece of 3.5 oz calf under the ball takes the weight off the metarsal, and increase comfort immensly. FootLogic makes a pressure sensitive paper you can walk upon which reveals weight distrubition when the person takes a step. Very informative, and different from the flat pedograph. Most feet, as they move make an impression at lest 1/4 inch longer than static prints. The FootLogic print shows the shape of the pad that would relieve the pressure as well as the heavy points.
I guess you could stick it on your bare feet and when the print showed normal weight around make a pattern that could be used to modify the rest of your favorite footwear.

And to Mr. Robert Effenick -- your theories and opinions raise alot of questions: I had always understood, as a wearer of MANY types of footwear, that purpose of that radius curve [you suggest is for a welt] with other curves, was to correctly position the weight under the ball at the treadpoint, and distribute body weight correctly throughout the foot when in a shoe. Flat shoes, both too low heel and no curve under the ball leave me with really tired feet cause they make all the muscles work harder.

You also say the following:
>>"...why the lasts are curved the way they are. I believe this is already answered, it provides an area for the welt to be placed without throwing off the balance of the sole. Also to get additional volume without additional width, thus for cosmetic reasons."
It has been my understanding that the addition of 'volume' to a last [except for toe box style] is a mostly a matter of fit, not cosmetic.

When you state ".. the way human feet were 'designed' to work..." is equally mysterious,
I do not know if one could track the genetic evolutionary changes that gives us the feet we have today but it is illogical to suggest that feet should stay the same as the rest of the body ages. Especially since feet do a great deal of work.

Apparently cultural attitudes about ageing in general are unconsiously applied to feet, and it is odd how that modern society accepts changes as one reaches adulthood but not as one ages. Annie Lennox was right.

Respectfully,
Lisa

[relferink]

DW,

I don’t mind the picking of the brain, if there is something useful left go for it. I’m not sure if I know the story of how it came to be or if my memory is failing me. Realize that I’m not a doctor and a neuroma is a medical condition. All I can tell you is based on my background and experience in manipulating the mechanics of the foot to take the pressure of the painful nerve. I can not help you cure the Neuroma.
If you’re still reading after that, neuroma’s are very tricky things and what works mechanically for one person may not work for the next. The use of a metatarsal pad in case of a neuroma is aimed to spread the metatarsal heads apart, specifically the ones that have the irritated nerve (neuroma) in between them. Typically this is in between the 3rd and 4th metatarsal head. As the nerve gets more irritated it causes more pain, grows larger and causes even more problems.
A quick test to see if we are dealing with such a classic neuroma is to lay your hand over the top of your foot at the ball and gently squeeze. If you are cursing me now it probably is a classic neuroma and a metatarsal support may help you in some way.

A quick tip, you can google a lot of this and get some good illustrations but for copyright reasons I won’t include them in the post here.

The metatarsal pad need to be shaped in a way that it has maximum height at the area in between the 3rd and 4th metatarsal. Wider is better to keep the pad from feeling like a piece of stone in your shoe and a wider pad will distribute the pressure more evenly. There are limits, on the inside of the foot you want to stop at the flexor hallucis longus tendon. To figure our where this is take the foot (this is hard to do on your own foot since the position of the tendon moves as you rotate your leg to see the bottom of the foot) and push up the big to. In the arch area you will see a more or less pronounced “string” going from the 1st metatarsal joint to the heel. If your metatarsal pad pushes on this tendon you will be in a good deal of discomfort.
On the outside of the foot you want the pad to stop at the shaft of the 5th metatarsal (the bone that runs from the pinky toe along the outside of your foot.)
The length, the I like to have them 1.5 to 2 inches long on average, to short causes to much pressure on a small area but the key is to match it up to the foot. I just don’t know how to explain how to do that. It’s very simple to see the right proportions but impossible to put into words. At the front end the pad should start just behind the head of the metatarsal joint along the shaft of the long bone. [url=%20http://www.bartleby.com/107/illus286.html]metatarsal bone[/url] In some feet it is easy to feel the bones and where they taper down, is some it is impossible.

The shape of the pad has to follow the curvature of the metatarsals in the foot, looking straight down on your feet, the 1st and 5th metatarsal are the furthest back, if you imagine a line between them, the others stick out to the front of this line.
The height is individual. When examining a foot you can place your thumb in the area just behind the metatarsals and the amount of flexibility in that area gives you an indication on how much the foot can tolerate. I have seen people do well with over half an inch height and I have seen people not tolerate an eight of an inch. On average I would say 3/16th to a quarter inch should be fine. If you have very delicate feet you have to shave the height down.

A last quick point; if your feet are to sensitive to tolerate a metatarsal pad, try a full contact insert, one that is contoured to the shape of the foot. It may not do a lot for the neuroma specifically but could take enough pressure of the ball of the foot to reduce the symptoms.

Rob

PS, The pressure sensitive paper Lisa refers to is marketed under the name “PressureStat”. It gives a lot of information on the shape of the foot. If you’d like to take one of those and email me a scan or picture I may be able to be more specific about your feet. footlogic can be reached at 866.385.6442

[relferink]

Lisa,

I had always understood, as a wearer of MANY types of footwear, that purpose of that radius curve [you suggest is for a welt] with other curves, was to correctly position the weight under the ball at the treadpoint, and distribute body weight correctly throughout the foot when in a shoe. Flat shoes, both too low heel and no curve under the ball leave me with really tired feet cause they make all the muscles work harder.

I may have miss understood the initial question and want to make sure everybody understands that I am only talking about the radius that runs from the inside to the outside of the ball, side to side, not heel to toe. The countour that determines the deepest point of the ball, the degree of toespring and heel height has a very clear function in the balancing and functioning of the foot.

It has been my understanding that the addition of 'volume' to a last [except for toe box style] is a mostly a matter of fit, not cosmetic

the cosmetic aspect is minor, you are right that the fit is determined by the volume. If by adding curvature to the bottom the width can be trimmed by 1/8th inch to keep the same volume the shoe will be more appealing to most customers. It’s just an obsession we seem to have with buying shoes that make our feet look smaller than they are.

When you state ".. the way human feet were 'designed' to work..." is equally mysterious, I do not know if one could track the genetic evolutionary changes that gives us the feet we have today but it is illogical to suggest that feet should stay the same as the rest of the body ages. Especially since feet do a great deal of work.

I in no way want to give the impression that I know how and why feet are the way they are but when you study the function of the feet you find them to be a very complicated but gracefully balanced body parts that allows us to walk upright and gives us the ability to get around on many different types of terrain with or without shoes.
The point I’m making is that all the bones, muscles, joints and ligaments do not get the same type of workout they did before we started wearing shoes. That in term could causes foot problems as we get older. On the evolutionary scale we have only been wearing shoes that do not allow the foot its ability to adapt to uneven terrain for a short time. Some changes do take place. I’m not an expert in this but some of the muscle structure in feet is slowly disappearing. I believe it’s too early to get a clear picture on evolutionary changes in the bone structure.
I’m not sure where in the post you read that I suggest that feet do not change as we age and that I would not accept such changes. If fact I embrace these changes and make a living dealing with them to improve quality of life for my customers.

Rob

[dw]

Robert,

Thanks for your insights. I have read about Morton's Neuroma...mostly in old books (this was before the Internet)...and even had, at one time, a system for using a pedograph or even a tracing to locate the metatarsal arch pretty accurately (or so the author claimed). But I think from my early years repairing shoes and marketing commercial met pads, I have a tendancy to make them too small. I will try making the pad wider. I think I have room. Always good to get another viewpoint.

I think your point about the volume of the last relative to the width is very well taken. I know that there is a whole "school" of makers out there that think a narrower insole is always better. My experience with the neuroma leads me to believe otherwise. I have always held that where the foot is making contact with ground is the proper width of the insole especially at heel and ball. And taking that approach--deviating from the way I was taught--was the only way to alleviate the pain of my neuroma short of surgery...which at the time I could not afford and today don't feel I need.

BTW, FYI, once upon a time when I was young and immortal I was in the Army Paratroops. Trying to escape a vicious kitchen detail, one morning, I jumped out of a second story window and landed on an unfortunately placed rock. Except for the short term ache I never noticed it until years later when advancing decrepitude (and too narrow insoles) made the old injury flare back up.

I might point out in passing...for whatever it is worth...that our ancestors, almost universally, were toe walkers and today few of us could walk like that even if we tried.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[jenny_fleishman]

Well, this is really getting interesting! DW, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only dancer posting here! I have not been diagnosed with a neuroma, but I think I have a fallen metatarsal arch in my right foot. I do all sorts of dancing...waltz to salsa to West Coast swing to hustle, except I avoid doing a lot of hustle because for the women's steps, you do constant rock-stepping on the ball of your right foot, and it makes my foot hurt after not too long. Robert, your description of how to place a metatarsal pad should be very helpful. I'll try to attempt it, but it is now clear to me that it's not a simple thing to get it right!

Here's another foot vs last question. I have a heel spur in my right foot. I find many store-bought shoes, even with low heels, have a sole contour that presses up into the front of my heel and irritates the heel spur. What I look for, and now hope to be able to make for myself, is a shoe sole that has a fairly continuous slant downward from the back of the heel to the ball of the foot. What I often see in commercially made shoes is an almost horizontal (parallel to the floor) heel and then the slant down starts at the front of the heel. For me this is trouble, and I have heel pads in most of my shoes to give me a better slant. Don't know if this is another situation where lasts are designed for looks rather than comfort, or if my foot structure is unusual.

[relferink]

Jenny,

The heel spur is a whole different annimal. Have you tried taking a Dremmel and grinding out the area of the insole that causes the pressure? When you try to make a last that has a more slanted heel seat be careful to stay tight on the instep measurements of the last since your foot will have more tendency to slide forward. The upper has to hold you back more aggressively. Something else you may want to try is a more rounded heel seat, this to take the pressure of the lowest point of the heel bone (where most heel spurs are) and transfer it into the fat pad around the heel. It would be more of a heelcup.
You can do this in the last but it may be easier to try as a separate insert at first. Take an impression of your foot with plaster or foam, the heel is most important in this and heat-mold some EVA around the heel area. Make a smooth transition in the arch area, grind it to fit a shoe and see if the moving around of pressure alleviates some of the pain. You could even line the device with a slow release PU foam like Poron to increase comfort even more. If this helps you could incorporate the same shape in your lasts.

The best common sense advice to give someone is: “if it hurts; don’t do it”. I know that dancers are particular passionate about the will and need to be on their feet. I hope some of the tips on the metatarsal pads help. There are by the way some very good over the counter foot orthotics that will address a lot of the fallen arch and metatarsal pressure issues. For short money one can buy a lot of comfort. As to which one to buy, the only way to advise you on that is to have someone examine your feet and advise you personally.


DW,

At least you got out of the kitchen detail, that alone is worth some major of pain and suffering. If it had not been an issue for many years it is not to say that the “accident” and neuroma are related. People get neuromas even if they don’t jump out of windows and there is no way to know if it would have developed anyway without the injury.
As for the width of my insoles; on all my orthopedic work where the bottom of the last is contoured to the foot and a full length orthotic is build on the last before the shoe is constructed around it I keep the width the same as my tracing lines around the foot. After I put a foot on the Pressurestat I trace the foot with a pencil that I keep perpendicular to the ground at all times. That is the width of my last; very rarely do I deviate from that unless there are some golf ball sized bunions. Wider is better for my applications and fashion is a concern once all functional aspects are addressed.

Rob

[dw]

Jenny,

Hey, sounds like you're active. We've been dancing and taking lessons for about 15 years now--started with CW back when that was hot. But as you get older the lessons don't stick as well as they used to. We dance WC, EC, Salsa, cumbia, cha, rumba Waltz and Foxtrot...and a tiny bit of Nightclub two step and Viennese Waltz. Never liked Hustle. Hate International Tango. Tried to take some Argentine Tango lessons but it was hundreds of miles to drive and the teacher had this philosophy that you had to learn in a practice frame and get the basics down so pat before actually attempting social dancing (if you know anything about AT, it was, honestly, the best philosophy) that we never got to the "reward" part of the lessons. Just finished an intemediate/advanced cha cha class. Still dance a little CW and in our area two-step and ten step are kind of having a mini revival. (BTW, did you see Ballroom Boot Camp last night?)

Anyway...'nuff of that...my advice would be to try something along the lines of what Robert suggested. If you put yourself into any footwear that has a unaltered slant from the back of the heel to the ball of the foot you will increase your chances of metatarsal problems and hammer toes and painful bunions. Women seem to grow up in this type of footwear so they tend to think themselves immune but they almost always pay the price later in life. When you wear shoes that have no up lift in the arch area, you take the longitudinal arch out of the picture. It evolved to distribute the weight of the body (in high heels women strike the ground with as much force per square inch as the Empire State building) from the massive bone structure known as the os calcis (calcaneus) to the metatarsal arch. Take the long arch out of the equation and suddenly all that weight and all that force is thrown, unmitigated, onto the met heads. And the result...fallen metatarsal arch/heads. Not a good idea.

Robert...well, I know you are correct but the doc I saw suggested that the Neuroma was probably the result of an old injury (he was looking at Xrays) and that's when I made the connection.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[jenny_fleishman]

Thanks to all, for all the information. Making my feet comfortable appears to be becoming more of a challenge every post I read!

Robert...what do you think of pink plastizode (not heat shaped) as a layer of insole padding to conform to the foot with wear? Will this create arch support and a heel cup over time as it compresses with wear?

I also have very high arches and a tendency toward bunions (narrow heel, wide ball of the foot, with a large big toe joint--probably not quite a bunion yet). My arches are high enough that shoe arch supports normally don't touch them, so if feels very strange and not particularly comfortable to have anything actually touching my arches. Would it be beneficial to build arch supports into my shoes that actually touch my arches, or is it not really necessary?

[dw]

Jenny,

I defer to Robert...I am not an orthopedic shoemaker nor a doctor. That said we do see stuff likethis all the time...it's what bespoke bootmaking is all about.

Robert was right about the width of your heel too. Especially in enclosed shoes or boots, if the heel is narrower rather than wider it will tend to force flesh under the foot thus creating a pad under your heel. That's why I alawys insist on the heel seat of the last being no wider than the footprint...NOT the tracing...the footprint.

Also the fact that you have a high arch (pes cavus?) is all the more reason to look at shoes or lasts that ARE level (or close to it) in the heel area. Again, no arch support in high heels and you're begging for trouble.

It may seem counterintuitive but building yourself a heel pad that is slightly *lower* towards the back and with a depression or cut-out under your heel spur might help...it's one approach I would try anyway. You could use about an eighth inch of "cloud" crepe with a leather cover.

I hope Robert weighs in on all this...and correct me if I'm wrong.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[relferink]

Had to run out and get our Christmas tree or as the are now politically correct called Holliday tree. It’s sure getting cold here and it feels like snow is in the air. Got my snow thrower ready to go!
Jenny, the heelspur, when is it hurting you most, first thing when you get up or after you’ve been on your feet for a long time? I will explain in a later post.
The pink Plastazode will over time start to conform to the shape of the foot but will not help you all that much. In the beginning it will probably feel nice and soft but as soon as the compression start the bottom of your heel bone, where the heel spur is will no longer be cushioned and you will get the pain back. Pink PZ is just to soft. If nothing else go for the material know as Diabasole, this is a layer of pink PZ glued to a layer of Poron or equivalent. In this way when the PZ compresses and forms to the foot the Poron will continue to provide cushioning.
Let me cut this short and just post this. I have a little more to finish in the shop, have not gotten to as much as I wanted today. Will try to come back to it later or no later than tomorrow.

Rob

[jenny_fleishman]

Robert,

My heel spur rarely hurts, unless the contour of the sole of the shoe presses up into the front of the bottom of my heel. In my walking shoes I use Tacco heel pads, the grey ones with a leather top. When they lose their resiliency, both my heels start getting sore. Of course the pads give me that continuous slant down towards the ball of the foot that I'm hearing isn't so good.

Some mornings, when I first get out of bed and walk on the wood floors, the bottoms of both my feet hurt briefly. I attribute this to middle-age and not having as much padding on the bottom of my feet, but if there's a way to avoid this, I'd love to hear it!

(In the past I've had 2 pairs of orthotics made by professionals that I couldn't wear, because I couldn't find shoes that I could wear them in, but that's a whole 'nother story.)

re padding...I recently bought a ton of stuff from a local pedorthics supplier, and have some PZ/Poron combos (1/8--1/8 and 1/8-1/16) as well as some Cloud, Ultra Cloud, and Poron by itself in various thicknesses up to 1/8. Haven't used any of it yet because I'm still in the midst of making my lasts.

[relferink]

Jenny,

Let me give you a little more info on the heel spur. You may have seen your X-ray and you can see that the heel bone at the lower front part forms a sharp spur like bone. The bone itself is not painful but because of its shape it can easily press up against some nerves that cause pain when you are standing on it. The exact place of this spur is where the plantar fascia connects to the heel bone and travels to the front of the foot.
A couple of things could be happening to cause the spur to form but among the most common cause is some type of injury at the spot where the plantar fascia connects to the heel bone. The body’s response to heal this injury (that could be as innocent as stepping of a curb wrong) can cause bone to be formed along the fibers that connect the ligament to the bone. If this is an ongoing process, as it often is since we spend so much time on our feet that even small injuries often do not get a chance to heal properly or timely, the bone put down forms a good size spur.
An other response to the trauma is a small inflammation at that spot. This inflammation is call plantar fasciitis.
A common symptom is pain under the heel when you fist get up in the morning. Plantar fasciitis can heal over time and become symptom free, a bone spur can only be surgically removed.
Since I don’t know what the cause it I only explain one common option here, there could be others and I will state again I’m not a doctor and the rest of the disclaimer from the other post.

Now to what to do about it; I’m not familiar with the Tacco inserts. There are many different types but you may need more than just a heel pad. You mentioned having had custom orthotics made before but not wearing them due to shoe fitting issues. Something I run into very often and the orthotics don’t do you any good in the draw! I don’t know what type of orthotic it as and there are so many some better than others, even on the custom made ones. What it should be doing to help you is to take off access pressure of the insertion of the plantar fascia ligament. This will give any type of inflammation a better chance to heal. That same orhotic can also be build to accommodate a bony heel spur.

If you are considering making yourself a set of lasts I would suggest that you contour the bottom of the last the way your foot is, not just how the last came from your supplier. You probably won’t be able to just tack an insole onto that and make a shoe, you may have to fill out the voids with cork or cloud EVA. (I prefer cork for comfort since it’s a natural material but EVA works easier since its heat moldable) The subsequent shoe will have a full contact insert that will take some access pressure of the plantar fascia. This improved contact will also help take the pressure of the forefoot, specifically around the big toe joint. An enlarged 1st metatarsal joint could be one of the signs of a misbalance in your foot and could be the start of a bunion forming. Once this process starts it very hard to stop so the sooner you get to it the better of you are. My suggestion would be to wear the an appropriate orthotic or contoured shoe at times when you spend most time on your feet and have high impact situations like running, exercise walking and don’t forget, grocery shopping (and carrying heavy bags). Find a causal walking shoe or something designed for an orthotic and you should feel a lot more comfortable on your feet. When you dress up and just go from the car to the table in a restaurant or to the theatre you just keep wearing your pretty shoes and you should be fine.

Hope this will give you some things to consider as you are making your lasts to be most comfortable for your feet.

Rob