Thread: Shoe Trees for riding boots

Wow good luck!

While this might be from left field, I think you might need some sort of mould to begin with so you have an idea of size and shape on the inside. If possible using an old boot, or a cheap gum boot that you can cut away, insert a good quality bag that you can fill with an item like plaster or foam. As you would need to remove it, I would be using it to find the shape and size of the actual internals where the foot and toes are, rather than the ankle area. If using a gum boot, the internal shape to a riding boot could be different so the casting would need shaping to that of the riding boot. Once you have your mould you can set about carving the timber tree.
An interesting challenge which will keep you awake at night.

If you are going to take a mould of anything, perhaps start with the leg of the end user. For moulding techniques watching just about any episode of Mythbusters will do, but you might want to use something other than balistics jell.

Taking a mould, yes.

I read an ancient book on shoe making and making the "last" from a cast is part of the process. Apparently each person literally had their foot cast in plaster and then a wooden last was carved that copied the blank.

It was quite an art. A cobbler would have a copy of all their customers feet. This way the customer didn't need to come in every single time. Apparently people's feet barely change throughout their lives.

I think though, this may be impractical on this occasion, but I'll give it some thought.....client is in Melbourne.

Hi,
According to the local horse lot, the local expert on such things, who may be worth a chat, is cob.jpg.
Regards

Hope you understand that the leg components in the ones in your link are 4 pieces of wood, Front, back, and two side inserts, and the foot is at least 2 pieces, left and right. The whole lot is held together by internal springs and the eye hook on top is not just for hanging from, but also operates a cam running down the inside of the leg and connecting to the foot somehow. The whole concept is that you fit your boots to the tree, then expand the tree moderately to slightly overfill the boot and stretch it while maintaining it's shape, ensuring that it doesn't shrink or collapse while not in use.

So it's not just a case of carving the external shape, you need to get the internals right as well to provide an even stretch over the whole boot.

I suspect that you might have more than $1200US in R&D costs at basic wages, tooling and materials in developing a working prototype, so if the request is for a single set, fulfilling it may not be economical unless it is for a nearest and dearest for whom you are willing to work for free.

Malb, you are right. I'm fortunate that Im not working at the moment, so I have more time than a man should rightfully have.

I took a chunk of time to read through a few old books on Google Books close to the subject, drew up a few plans and tomorrow I'm making a prototype.

There is a 100% certainty of failure on the first one. There are exactly ZERO plans for these things, they must have taken them to their graves, BUT I did find a lady in New York from an acquaintance who has them. She's into horses, has more money than Sydney and sent me a bunch of photos about how they work. They sure are expensive.

There is some serious time in prototyping, but it's a good challenge.

and another consideration

I was intrigued so did a bit of googling -- simple boot and shoes trees are relatively in expensive. http://www.woodlore.com/mens-cedar-shoe-trees-1/

However, all examples that I came across seem to be made of "cedar" -- which appears to be related to absorbing moisture and odours from the inside of the boot.

I don't even think you could buy the cedar here for the price of those completed trees!

I'd recon just from a challenge perspective this is a good one.

It has everything. 3D modelling, engineering, creating mirror copies, sliding dovetails, using forming tools like rasps and with the added fun of complex curves to sand.

Sure, I could turn a few pens or sell some kids furniture and make the same, but this one will certainly look good in the portfolio!

As for cedar, I found a bloke who sold me 4 old 125 x 125 posts that are 2000 tall. Second hand it seems to be everywhere in Canberra.

Malbs' post still has me thinking. I have plenty of pictures now, but his idea of a twist cam lock intrigues me. I might have to have a chat with Ueee and see if he can fab me up something in brass

Best of all possible luck with this.
I can imagine carving the outside appearance of the parts but
configuring the inner mechanics is an unknown to me.
"Cedar" I suspect that this is either an aromatic cedar = juniper
or really western red cedar (Thuja plicata.)

Originally Posted by Evanism

I'd recon just from a challenge perspective this is a good one.

It has everything. 3D modelling, engineering, creating mirror copies, sliding dovetails, using forming tools like rasps and with the added fun of complex curves to sand.

Sure, I could turn a few pens or sell some kids furniture and make the same, but this one will certainly look good in the portfolio!

As for cedar, I found a bloke who sold me 4 old 125 x 125 posts that are 2000 tall. Second hand it seems to be everywhere in Canberra.

Malbs' post still has me thinking. I have plenty of pictures now, but his idea of a twist cam lock intrigues me. I might have to have a chat with Ueee and see if he can fab me up something in brass

Hey, don't think I'm trying to discourage you

as you say the challenge is everything a WW could want. Perhaps buy a shoe tree to see how the mechanism works?

Wow, interesting task you've chosen.
As a regular user of shoe trees for my standard boots the idea of making some never even crossed my mind. I've tried a few designs and gravitated towards the spring loaded ones because I found I actually used them when I dragged my boots off at the end of the day. The wind up models would always be put on "tomorrow".
I'm guessing that a set of boots, trees and cover that cost as much as my car would require a little more care and attention. Those trees cost more than the boots!
http://www.laspampaspolo.com/shop/Po...-p-1-c-66.html
However, it seems that the models that I favour don't cut it for fancy shoes. I guess the same applies to fancy boots. Too crude.
http://www.theshoesnobblog.com/2012/...hoe-trees.html

A quick check on Google reveals a stack of patents specifically related to boot tree design.
Here are a sample, one even goes back to 1837:
www.google.com/patents/US514
www.google.com/patents/US642728
www.google.com/patents/US1048826
www.google.com/patents/US2006419
www.google.com/patents/US3187357
www.google.com/patents/US3229314
www.google.com/patents/US3729759

One way to start would be with separate components for the foot and calf.
Part 1: http://www.woodlore.com/mens-epic-tw...hoe-tree-pair/
Part 2: http://www.woodlore.com/boot-shapers-pair/

Originally Posted by Robson Valley

Best of all possible luck with this.
I can imagine carving the outside appearance of the parts but
configuring the inner mechanics is an unknown to me.
"Cedar" I suspect that this is either an aromatic cedar = juniper
or really western red cedar (Thuja plicata.)

I'm pretty sure thats Spanish cedar - Cedrela odorata, traditional material for humidors and for storing clothes and shoes. Trend timber usually stocks it. A bit expensive though.