Tools of the Trade

[luckyduck]

Paul K.

Thanks for the confirmation, I'll order them up. Yes, I'm thinking the stretch to fit, resole, condition and restore the finish will not be cheap.

Tom O.

Red Head is the other style I was looking at. I used the Mallory leg ones at Lisa's and they are nice.

Thanks again.

PaulO

[homeboy]

Rick,

Here's the stitch prick I was talking about over on the "outsole" section:

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[romango]

Thanks Jake. Do you place the flat edge against the upper and then roll down or is it more of a gouging movement? Your marks all look so even and I have had a hard time achieving that look.

[homeboy]

Rick,

Just place the flat edge up against the vamp, stick the point into the awl hole, and "flick" the tool away towards the edge. Seems like Dee-Dub has a video describing this technique. Take a look at the Cinema section.

I've seen people do this with a common screwdriver also. Except the action is just a pressing down motion.

I'll check and see if there is a video showing this.

[dave]

Hi Everyone,
This will be my first attempt at posting a picture so wish me luck!

I was visiting my hometown last week (Endicott, NY) and had an opportunity to peruse the antique stores for tools. Endicott was once the home of Endicott Johnson Shoes and they employed over 19,000 people in their operation. I came across lasting pliers, awls, nail pullers and the like but there was one piece I can't identify. I bought it in a lot of other items. Any insights on what this tool is for specifically:

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[dave]

Here is an additional angle. Any insights are appreciated!

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[jesselee]

David,

That is a sole plane. It works like a wood plane but is for trimming the soles. They were made in various sole iron thicknesses. It takes some practice to learn how to use one. You must keep the blade razor sharp and the opening ajusted correctly so you don't gouge the soles.

Cheers,

JesseLee

[dearbone]

David, i have one a little different,It is a sole plane/trimmer as Jesse Lee said but without the blade.

Nasser

[dave]

Hi Jesse and Nasser,

Thanks for the ID work! Looks like I made a good find because I I did a web search for these and the only one I found was an earlier post on the the Colloquy!

My apologies for the lag time in extending my thanks. Your time and effort is appreciated!

[gordon_crighton]

Hi All. This is my first attemped at making a crimp Break, i think it works allright but i have only made 1 boot so far, would anyone like to add their thought on it, because it pivot at the end instead of the top coming straight down like a brought one:

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If this post is in the wrong spot please move it.
Thanking you for your time
Cheers Gordon

[1947redhed]

Your crimp break appeals to my inner tool junkie.
How about a view from the top down inside the double base that receives the levered crimp board?
Georgene

[jesselee]

Gordon,
Looks like you have the principle down, but why would you need one for vamps? Crimp breaks were strictly used in high production factories for full cut Wellingtons.

Cheers,

JesseLee

[gshoes]

Jesse,

Thats a good question. Thanks for asking it. I have been scratching my head feeling too stupid to ask. I have never seen anyone use one before.

Geri

[jesselee]

Geri,

I don't even use one in my shop. I could get it out if I wanted to. I only make full front boots and can crimp a 4/5 oak tanned front in under 10 minutes (average is 6 minutes).
The crimp breaks became popular during the Civil War and gave an advantage so a boot front could be stretched on the 'cramp board' (19th century term from the CW era) in under 2 minutes for mass production.
Personally I love the old crimp breaks. I can see one being used for some modern leathers, as folks are reinventing the wheel crimping stuff they never used in the 19th century and how leather is stretched to the max today, unlike back in the heyday of boot making.

Cheers,

JesseLee

[dmcharg]

G'day All,
Sorry I've been so quiet for so long.

These are some tools I bought recently in a nearby town here in Victoria, Australia. They have a different shaped handle to what I'm used to ( which is fairly rectangular with one top edge rounded off ). Thought Marcell might find some of the edging tools names interesting.

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A lot of them are stamped 'IRING". The fudge wheel at the far right has a clip that swings out so you can change the wheel. I thought this quite a nice idea, but was lamenting the lack of any other wheels in the leather bag I bought the tools in. A bit later, as I picked it up to, I felt and heard a slight movement. What I thought was a decorative line ( I have another tool with a small handle and a fine incised line) turned out to be a two part handle with two more wheels inside.

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The first of the edging tools has this stamp on it

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And Marcell, here's some names for you..

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out of time


Cheers

Duncan

[dmcharg]

Also, I've designed a fume cabinet and now finished it and tried it out. I had been using one I'd made out of card board (sort of a tunnel with an extractor fan at one end, and a hole in the top at the other end for doing the gluing), but it was a bit uncomfortable to reach into, and a bit dark. OK quite dark. A gentleman I know suggested putting a clear perspex top on it to make it brighter. And so began a lot of thinking and designing.

The finished article is plywood;
2 floors, bottom one 6mm ply, top one 10-12mm ply making a sturdy work surface.

The wall is 3mm ply cut so the outer layers' grain runs across the pieces. this allows the ply to bend around the 20cm radius corners on the 'floors'. It took 2 lengths plus a couple of fill in pieces to get all the way around.

I measured the diameter of the fan's intake and worked out the area (3.14159 x radius squared), then did the same with a 21mm spade bit to find out how many holes I should drill to equal the fan. The reason for this is that I wanted to be sure that I did not exceed the fans intake size and therefor not get equal vacuum over the whole surface of the work area.
There is enough space for several pairs of shoes.

I then bent and nailed as I went, the wall to the work 'floor', then inserted the base 'floor' and nailed it in place 5mm up from the bottom edge so that it will be easier to sit flat on the table.

A frame was put in the top for the perspex to sit on.

Two rails were mounted on the front and a door sprung with elastic put between. This means that the door is as closed as it can be at all times (coming up from the bottom because glue fumes are heavier than air) , and when you remove your arms, it closes to around an inch from the top so the fan doesn't have to work too hard to keep a flow of air moving through.

The exit is mounted in a sponge edged board and is placed in a sash window.


Enough blab, here are the pics.

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This is the door in action, looking through the clear top.

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[romango]

Duncan - Wow, totally sweet!

The curved walls are quite artistic. You have gone the extra percent to capture almost all fumes.

I figure my design gets about 95% (based on my nose meter).

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Can I ask where you acquired your squirrel cage fan and motor? I have one that has similar dimensions but it overheats after about 15 minutes and shuts down.

[dmcharg]

At a swap meet I'm afraid, Rick. It also gets very hot, so, if you look at the middle pic. you'll see a small clip on desk fan pointing at the motor (the silver fume pipe was moved in between the two so it would be easier to see the fan. Normally it goes over the top of the squirrel cage, giving a direct line for the desk fan's breaze. All the masking tape stuck on the 'cage' is because it wasn't air tight. Will silicone it at some stage.). This is sufficient to keep the motor down to slightly warm to the hand.
It is possable to get heat conducting silicone and alluminium heat sinks from electronics shops, but I haven't shelled out for that yet. The fan seems to work well.

The curved walls served several purposes. It reduced the amount of joinery and increased ridgidity, and hopefully reduces the amount of turbulence in the 'corners', raising efficiency. And with the springy door, can't smell a thing

Hope this helps

Cheers
Duncan

[bj_goodman]

The fume hood is very neat. I do have a suggestion and a caution. Most commercial fume hoods draw feed air from the operators position and force the "clean" air over the work surface and out up a stack. This does a couple of things, It does not allow any fumes to escape into the work space and keeps the fumes out of the motors. Many cement fumes are explosive and drawing them over a non explosion proof motor is a disasterous fire waiting to happen. Pushing air is also easier than suction so your motors may run cooler.
I don't want to be Mr. doom and gloom, but think the very reason we build fume hoods is the reason we should be exploring alternative solvent based materials. When I use cements I place a box fan at my side and blow the fumes across my work area out an open door....which only works until winter.
Just a couple of thoughts.
Brian

[amuckart]

Duncan,

That's a lovely piece of work which is not at all surprising coming from you.

Given that you need airflow rather than vacuum for fume extraction, I'd wager more holes, or even a mesh 'floor' in the unit would save your motor a lot of work by making the air easier to move.

[dmcharg]

G'day Brian and Alasdair,
The motor is isolated from the flow of air and fumes (this is one of the reasons the motor gets hot. Conventional fans are drawing air over the motor in the course of operation. Larger motors often have a built in fan). It gets very hot on it's own regardless of whether it's attached to anything. When it was in my cardboard tunnel version, it had so much open space the drawing breeze was very weak (and the fan still got hot without external cooling.)
This set up also draws the air from my position, and draws it over the work.
What I was meaning about vacuum; I suppose it would be clearer describing it as an equal drop in pressure in the between floor space, therefore producing an equal draw of air through each of the holes. If the area is too open, the fan is able to draw it's quota of air from the area closest to it, having a lower draft at the furthest points of the cabinet.( This is also why I have the round corners, to reduce the possibility of 'dead' areas. To check the characteristics of your cabinet, put a smoky wick on the end of a fine stick, so your arm doesn't affect air flow and move it slowly over the whole interior of your cabinet ).
I noticed this happening with an earlier, open topped, high side walled, design. I had a chicken wire mesh work surface, and glued objects, when placed near the front, would smell. I placed a layer of hessian (burlap) over the mesh, and the slight resistance produced an equal draw over the whole area greatly improving it.
This, probably, wouldn't be so much of a problem with my new one (having a small variable opening right at my hands), but having an even flow over the whole area should create even drying times.
I agree with you, Brian, on the problems with the glues we use. I'm using where possible, latex based contact glue, but I haven't found anything that will stick soleing rubber on securely enough that isn't toxic. [img]http://www.thehcc.org/forum/images/old_smilies/sad.gif"%20ALT="sad[/img] Any suggestions out there?

Cheers
Duncan

[sir_simon_eyre]

My most-used knives. All three are 20th-century tools.

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[sir_simon_eyre]

(Message edited by sir_simon_eyre on August 20, 2012)

[gshoes]

I need some help identifying an item that I just bought. This item was described as a wooden and ivory "What Not".

I think that it is used in rope making or maybe thread making, but I am not certain.

I was hoping that this group could help me.

It appears to be missing one screwed in eye hook and there is already an empty hole that would make the third hook equal distant from the others.

It is wooden and about 3" in diameter. The flange on the end just leads to the center ivory piece which appear to be solid all the way through the circle of wood. So, there is no empty chamber inside. Inscribed crudely along the wood is "D-5" and "1/5/46 or 1/5/16". The circular designs are inlaid with ivory and bands of straight brass. The perimeter is inlaid in twisted brass threads.

The flange might be used to secure a weight.

Thanks,

Geri

[gshoes]

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