5.1
What I was hoping would be my finest work, ended up with some not so pretty flaws. In my rush to complete the latest project, I made some preventable errors, as well as repeated some from the last boot…
Coming in at 320g, this boot is heavier than I expected for a size 9-ish boot. Improvements were made over the last boot, less stitching, cleaner leather, fixed my sewing machine and a cuff that I am finally happy with.
Going around and around. It’s what we do on a track and it’s what I ended up doing with the cuff. I’ve tried about 5 different cuff designs and in doing so, I’ve learned a few tricks. After two years of thinking and experimenting, I’ve returned to one of my first. The cuff you see here is an improved method over my version 2’s. I first saw this type of cuff on a Vytus boot. Although simple and elegant, I couldn’t reproduce it exactly. I was having issues with the Achilles area. If you’ve made a boot, you’d know what I was talking about.
Over the summer, I was contacted by Bruce Kohen of SS boots. He shared a tip with me. He didn’t use leather at all in the liner. My next boot tried this technique. In doing so, I discovered that you could heat up the EVA and turn it into almost any shape. This thermo forming ability of EVA solved all my cuff problems. My latest cuff is simply, EVA heated and folded over the padding. See photos above.
The leather is glued and only stitched in a couple of places for reinforcement. The machine stitching you see along the cuff is only joining the different outer layers together and is not stitched to the liner. I’m also pretty happy with how the back seam worked out.
The November Rush
I have two more on my workbench to complete this month. I finally got my embroidery work back today. Now I can finish up Jesse’s long track boots.
Up to now, I’ve been working on men’s boots. My first women’s boot (Sarah) is on my workbench. I’ll be hoping to complete these before the end of the month.
I still have EricM, ShannonH, StephenF and PaislyP’s boots to finish before end of year. It’s starting to look like this is no longer going to be possible. I’ll be able to finish what’s on my workbench and I might even get started on the rest, but once the temperature goes below -10C, I will have to stop. I will still try my best though, but these 16 hour days are killing me.
EGC Product List Updated
I’m pleased to announce that I now have ABEC7 608zz Steel Skate Bearings in-stock. I’ve spent some time testing these and they’re pretty good for the money, so I have decided to carry this item. You can find prices and information [here].
Siiick.
Congratulations. The last boot is very elegant.
I like a lot the version 5.1 boot.
The problem of shrinking when I use the vacuum bag is important. I had to break the mold in order to remove it from the carbon.
I estimate that the contraction of the foan (under the atmosferic presure, inside the vaccum bag) is of 1-1.5 millimeters. This produces a more than expected
narrower carbon boot.
Luckily I was able to compensate it.
Currently I will begin the phase of sanding and varnishing the carbon.
What varnish do ou use? How many layers of varnish?
A greeting.
Jokinb
Yes that’s true – the pressure from the bag is high enough to compress the foam. Don’t worry about the compression, the size of the last doesn’t change. The inside shape will remain the same.
The only way to remove the mold is by smashing it. I’ve spent many hours thinking about how to remove the plaster without breaking and I can’t come up with a good system.
One suggestion I saw on a French inline skating news website I think it’s http://www.rollerenligne.com published an article about a Germany based boot maker (I can’t remember his name at the moment.) He shapes the last, then uses a vaccum formed plastic machine to copy the form. Then he uses the form to make a new last, then makes the boots.
Mark from Gatorback is trying something similar, except he’s doing it with fiberglass instead. It’s an interesting idea. After sanding and forming the original last, you can use fiberglass to make two halves, then join it together with mastic tape or rubber cement, then pour another plaster copy. This way, if the boot doesn’t fit the first time, you can fix the original, then try again.
I’m thinking of trying this method since the hardest part of boot making is getting the last/form shaped just right. I have something in mind, so I will write an article in the future.
You will still have to smash the plaster last to get it out of the shoe.
As for varnish – I’ve used the following:
Sikken’s Yacht Clear UV: it is essentially a single part, spar urethane varnish. It’s oil based and is meant for wood, but works okay with carbon. When dry there is a bit of a yellow/amber colour to it. I apply this with a brush. Re-coat times are long (about 6 hours) so this isn’t very practical since I put down about 5 to 6 coats. It’s also very smelly, so I apply it outdoors.
Krylon Clear: is an acrylic enamel clear coat. It’s not a varnish per se, but the results are similar. It dries a whole lot faster and the finish is very glossy. This is applied from a spray can so it’s messy and can run if sprayed too thick. Recoat time is very fast, about 10 minutes, but since it is only available in a spray, I can not apply this indoors (only outdoor in well ventilated area!)
Currently, I’m experimenting with Varathane Outdoor Diamond Wood Finish. It’s a single part, spar urethane varnish. It’s water based and again, it’s meant for wood, but because it’s not oil based, it dries much faster and is low odour. It contains UV absorbers and dries to a clear, hard glossy plastic finish. Recoat times are about 3 to 4 hours, clean up is with warm soapy water and I can brush it so I can apply it indoors.
It’s almost winter here in Toronto, Canada and working outside in the garage is getting very difficult. I still do my sanding, cutting and grinding outdoors, but I’ve started moving all my lamination work into the basement. It’s important that the varnish is low odour and can be applied with a brush. I can’t spray.
There are other systems you might want to try. Many coating and resin manufacturers offer mix options which turn two part epoxies into coatings. I currently use the epoxy for both fabric lamination and as a filler (by using addititives such as collodial silica.) I have not used epoxy as a coating though, but might experiment with it in the future.
I know the video. This is in http://www.skatepodium.com
Direct link: http://www.skatepodium.com/Video/TV/0000185
Very nice job! I am still tinkering in my basement and have produced my finest work yet: sugar plum short track boots. Some comments on the comments: On the first 3 pairs of boots I made I have been able to remove the plaster. The trick was to do so before the epoxy set up too much, within a few hours. Of course that only works if you put down all your carbon layers at once. For the sugar plums I put the carbon layers down in two sets so in the end I had to break the plaster. As for the clear coat, on my latest project I used the West System epoxy (with the slow hardener). It worked okay. One boot is glossier than the other and I don’t know why. There are also some bubbles that I mistakenly thought would settle out – I should have brushed them all out right away. I did not laminate the upper to the base with epoxy. Instead it is attached mostly with contact cement, although I used Sumo glue in some critical areas. I know laminating is what Marchese and S&D do but Simmons does not (contact cemented). But to be honest, the custom Simmons my daughter uses have separated in spots that I have reglued, usually with Sumo glue which I can’t say enough good things about.
–JD Watton
For the edges of my upper, I use Barge Contact Cement. It’s not the easiest to get in the larger containers, but available at shoe finding suppliers. I have a 500m can, which I bought from Tandy Leather for around $30 or $40 – I can’t remember exactly. It’s very thick and sometimes a bit tricky to use, but is super strong. On the can, it talks a lot about how to use it in shoe repair and assembly so I think this stuff is made specifically for the shoe industry. It’s for attaching glue-on rubber soles.
Applying the coating and laminating the leather into the final gloss coating is really up to the boot maker. I find that it is more durable laminating, but it does take more time. As for the glossing, I have since tried (small experiment) using the epoxy as a coating, but I wasn’t overly pleased with the results. I’m experimenting with an outdoor spar varnish right now and will post an article about it soon. What’s great is that it is water based so I can apply it indoors without making a huge mess or smelling everything up.
Are you saying that you put a coat of varnish to the leather?
The problen with the contact cement is that it forms a superficial layer over the leather. The leather is not impregnate by the contact cement, so the two pieces to glue are only superficially glued.
What do you think if we use acetate of polivinily glue? ( the white glue usually used by the carpenters).
Thanks John! – Your sugar plum boots look fantastic.
Jokinb – well, no not exactly – when gloss coating the carbon fiber, I mask off the leather, except for a small portion of about 1mm. The gloss coat overlaps the leather and seals the edges into the varnish. I’ve noticed that the edges of the leather soak up the varnish a little, which further improves it’s durability when everything is cured.
Actually, the contact cement does get absorbed a little by the leather. Leather is porous, so while most of it sits on top of the leather, some of it does get soaked in. Realistically though – the process of varnishing the edges of the leather into the gloss coat creates a pretty tough boot. Nothing is going to last forever in the kind of environment inline skaters train and race in. The leather is going to come apart eventually regardless of how good the glue is.