Craft Works - Let's Get Creative!
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Tell us about the boots Chris…..
Since Giles asked so nicely… Back at the beginning of September, I decided to take a class to learn how to make cowboy boots.
The class is taught by Carl Chappell, a master boot maker, in St. Jo, Texas, which is about a 5 1/2 hour drive from my home in Houston. He teaches three classes a year, a maximum of six students per class and is assisted by another master boot maker, Mike Kearnes. My class had three students, so we got nearly one-on-one direction. It's pretty intensive, running from 8am to 8pm Monday through Saturday for two weeks. At the end, you leave with a pair of boots that you made yourself and (theoretically, at least) the knowledge to make more.
First, we learned to draw stitching patterns and then add in stitching, one row at a time. The progression looks like this, more or less.
Next, you make the vamps, which have to be soaked in water and stretched into shape. Then, you stitch in the toe “bug”, which is a decorative design to help control wrinkling during wear. After that, you attach the vamps and the heel counters to the tops
The appeal of custom boots is partially that they are custom fitted, so we learned how to measure feet and build a last to match, which involved grinding down and building up the stock factory form as needed. When that's done, you attach the partially made boot to it and then sew in a welt, put in a steel shank, and then peg the outsole onto the boot using wooden pegs.
Finally, you stack the heels, one layer of leather at a time, then trim and shape it and do the final dyeing, inking and burnishing. If you have some time left over, and your teacher decides your boots need additional personalization, you can even do some decorative tooling on the soles.
It was a really fantastic experience, and I can't wait to build my next pair. It was fascinating to build things the traditional way and to understand how radically different that is from modern factory methods of production. We used techniques that often dated back a hundred years. Most of the machinery was at least 50 years old, and I did most of my sewing on a machine that was designed in the 1890s. Learning how to make something that is functional and beautiful and completely unique is amazing. It's hard for me to express how much I loved the whole process, even the parts that were tedious and exhausting.
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Really amazing work Chris!
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Humbled! Such amazing skill old chap. Plus many thanks for the step by step breakdown of the process!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Thanks, guys. As I said, it's tough for me to adequately express how much I enjoyed the whole process, and I'm seriously exploring how to turn myself into a real bootmaker, not just a student bootmaker. So it will be a while before I'm taking orders (thanks for asking @tmg
), but when it happens, I'll be sure to share the news here.And @seawolf, I'll be happy to share what I know about last making any time. We definitely need to get together and geek out on leather stuff and how to make it. It's been too long since we've hung out, anyway. New York City was, what, three years ago?
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And @seawolf, I'll be happy to share what I know about last making any time. We definitely need to get together and geek out on leather stuff and how to make it. It's been too long since we've hung out, anyway. New York City was, what, three years ago?
How time flies!! With our powers combined we could open a custom leather shop and take over the world!! Or, just sell boots and wallets, and stuff. Actually, no bullshit, custom boots with matching belts would be great.
Either way, I'm so glad you've gotten into this! We definitely need to talk more about it over a beer sometime!!
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Here's a wallet I made for myself. It is my very first attempt in leather working, I just ordered some (cheap) leather, basic tools and gave it a try.
Since I had so much fun making it I ordered a better set of leather working tools recently, and at the moment I'm making me a sewing spony from scrap wood I had in my basement. Soon I'll make another of these wallets, better leather, and hopefully bit cleaner edges etc. I will most likely invest in a belt sander for better edges, this time I used just a rasp from my toolbox.This wallet is far from being perfect, but for a first attempt I think it's not too bad. At least the stitching came out pretty well (for my taste).
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@Andreas1965 That wallet is an unbelievable first attempt! I'd be embarrassed to show you my first project! No need to invest in a belt sander. Seriously.
A while back, I wrote a guide for beginner tool buying. Give it a read when you have a minute. If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a line.
Click below to read my guide "So you want to get into leatherworking…"
http://zeebeeleather.com/blog/
