Ideas for a photo or youtube tutorial

[Guest ARGH]

Ive seen it happen,and sooner or later its gonna happen to me (god ,I hope not)..You've fairstitched the upper by accident (usually on the arch/inside edge)..how do you get away with it?

 

The stiletto buildup was a great help btw,I made a customers week by bringing her boots back to life (and balance) thanks to this place (Ive been lurking for months)

[Lee]

Ive seen it happen,and sooner or later its gonna happen to me (god ,I hope not)..You've fairstitched the upper by accident (usually on the arch/inside edge)..how do you get away with it?

 

You'll be lucky if you get any help on this one in a hurry, its never happened to me! I have seen it on repairs that come in, but provided you hold the upper correctly it shouldn't happen!

 

Lee

[hibsjo(SCO)]

you wont!

whats the point in trying to hide a "mistake" (they do happen)(but not in Lees )

you give yourself nothing but trouble so just be honest with customer and tell them what has happened and be ready with the cheque book for replacing shoes.......

it will work out in your favour as your customer will come back

happened to me when I worked with AM(20 years ago), my boss at the time just put them to one side and told customer what happened to them, what a result, customer is still with me today all down to my boss having the gift of being able to talk to his customers(which he passed onto me)

just my thoughts....

carry on!

[Lee]

whats the point in trying to hide a "mistake" (they do happen)(but not in Lees )

 

Yes they do! I have today had a tiny "mistake" & haven't beaten about the bush. I have been online & ordered a replacement item for the customer (nothing to do with shoes!). mistakes do happen & Joes advice is good advice, mistakes do happen in Lees yes, poor workmanship doesn't!

 

Lee

[Guest ARGH]

Thankyou guys..I thought honesty would be the best policy. =D>

[Hugh-Candoit (ENG)]

Remove the stitches, put superglue into the holes and cver with leather dust, press the dust into the holes and wait until set (have to be quick) then sand the area level and spray to match. It is vital that you tell the customer what has happened and offer a free repair. Over many years and countless thousands of stitched pairs it has happened to me more times than I care to admit due to speed ande incorrect setting of the guides. Throught the honesty and the good coverup job i only had to pay out for 1 pair and I still have those shoes and wear them often 26, years after the payout.

 

Some styles of shoe were notorious for getting caught, namely "Mudguard" styles as in the "Eaton Clubman" range in the 60/70s, just pray you dont get these back in fashion.

[elfman]

hugh i cannot believe you have advocated the use of superglue for this repair ,the use of superglue on leather has been covered on the forum before and in no way should superglue be used for leather repairs ,the most effective way i have found to do this repair after removing t straps that have been stitched ti the side of a shoe and then had to have them removed is as follows.

if possable seperate the lining from the upper, apply a thin piece of lining between the two ,open up the holes on the upper with a tooth pick,apply neoprene cement to lining and upper and into the opened holes , when cement is dry knit the whole job back together ehen close the holesand redress the leather

[Hugh-Candoit (ENG)]

hugh i cannot believe you have advocated the use of superglue for this repair ,the use of superglue on leather has been covered on the forum before and in no way should superglue be used for leather repairs ,the most effective way i have found to do this repair after removing t straps that have been stitched ti the side of a shoe and then had to have them removed is as follows.

if possable seperate the lining from the upper, apply a thin piece of lining between the two ,open up the holes on the upper with a tooth pick,apply neoprene cement to lining and upper and into the opened holes , when cement is dry knit the whole job back together ehen close the holesand redress the leather

 

Yeh man, try doing that with a goodyear stitched upper that has been stitched for 3 inches near the toe area on a goodyear stitcher.

How many folk on here will have the knowledge and time to effect the rectification that way elfman, yes some will reply that they can do it and so can I but as a % of the trade the number is very very low. Personally I could count on my fingers who I know can do it and I know or have known some of the best in repairing.Please remember that the jobs done in a fast fix enviroment are different to bespoke work and require an ultra fast fix that will not come out when the shoe is first flexed.

I regard you in high esteem elfman but in this case it is horses for courses and not all horses can jump Beechers Brook.

[kobblers]

I gotta admit, the superglue way is how I'd do it too as I know of no other quick way besides flexible Polyfilla

 

Superglue n dust is great for those leather covered heels blocks that have gone scraggy or have little bits missing, beats sticking yankee wax which inevitably will fall out (I know loads who do this)

 

The same technique is used in woodworking, beats wood filler everytime if it's done well, especially around loose knots.

 

Rick.

[Hugh-Candoit (ENG)]

I have just made a Gallows to support a roof overhang and have done some fancy Routering, quite a few Knots and usually used French polish to seal them but never thought of super glue, thanks for that ascap.

[kobblers]

Opps, I shoulda mentioned that it's wood glue I use, the Evo Stik exterior brand. No better glue in my experience, I know, I've tried 'em all. It says on the bottle 'Stronger than the wood itself' so I thought I'd put it to the test by gluing and clamping 2 pieces of oak until it had set.

I had to rip the wood apart to separate the pieces and all that was left at the end was the glue and some wood fibres

 

Didn't know you used a router Hugh. I now have a Triton table mounted router, It's great as it can be used a jointer and planer too

 

Rick.

[Hugh-Candoit (ENG)]

Adapted a Black & Decker workmate to take the Router and Circular saw 20 years ago. Also got arouter table that sits on the workmate. Love using them but far too much bloody dust as I cant be bothered to set up the dust extraction. I think "It will only take a couple of minitues, it aint worth getting the dust extraction set up" 2 hours later and covered in dust I wish I had taken the time in the 1st place.

[kobblers]

I try to route everything outdoors for that very reason.

 

Rick.

[Lee]

so it happens once in a life time, as & when or even if it happens to me, the only route is a full replacement. If someone bodged up a pair of my £300 churches I'd be bloody sick as a pig & would take them to court for the damage.

I wouldn't want to risk that on my reputation! at worst tell the customer & come to a compromise for compensation at best, look on the internet for a value to the shoes & give the customer a new pair!

 

Lee

[Hugh-Candoit (ENG)]

I asked the customer the value of the shoes when brought in for repair.... gave them that amount without question... plus their shoes back... plus the repair free and unconditionally guaranteed until the sole has worn out.

Cant remember anyone not accepting. Down to your customer service skills and charm. (dont know why it worked for me as I never had any ).

[Guest ARGH]

SG and wood dust....perfect for dealing with fancy burl and 'Spalted' tops..

 

But remember to use fine grit sandpaper for the hand finish.....and ALWAYS ALWAYS oil.....dont varnish. Unless it has to go outside!

[Hugh-Candoit (ENG)]

Thanks ARGH

[Guest ARGH]

Here's one,when working with spalted tops......SG and 'fine' brass key swarf....get the technique down and throw in steel into the mix...creates a weird,eyecatching glitter effect in the fungal attacked veins.

 

(This does need a laquer finish though)

[Hugh-Candoit (ENG)]

This had me smiling.....so simple yet effective, now trying differentmethods on this theme for the filling of small blemishes in all metals and wood. Also mixing filings with Stormsure where a flexible repair is required.

[Guest ARGH]

Just had another idea....(Ive never been shown)

 

DM sole units.

[Hugh-Candoit (ENG)]

Just had another idea....(Ive never been shown)

 

DM sole units.

 

What about them?

Stormsure will fill and cure split DM sole units.

[elfman]

remembered this topic on thf other day when i got a pair in for a 30mm raise no sooner had i finished them i got a call from a rep .

says one of his customers is having some truble replacing some dm units tried all his glues but they still peel away ,even when using primer . he wanted to know if i had any idea on how to get it to stick.

i told him how to do it and he passed it on .

? how do the rest of you do it

[elfman]

this is the way i did it

scour unit and shoe as normal

wipe unit with thinners

use reina multi colle thined down with the correct thinners i,e reina to a suitable viscosity

allow to dry for 10 to 15 mins

do not reactivate with heat lamps ( as this could couse them to expand and so weaken the bond )

bond cold do not put on the press or hammer them on ,press on firmly by hand

bobs ya uncle job done

[kobblers]

been a while since we had cause to replace a dm unit but we only ever used 5050 when doing them regularly and never had one failure that we were aware of.

 

Rick.

[Gray]

Used the electric hot knife method years and years ago until it dawned on me all those fumes might be killing me Nowadays almost the complete opposite to you elfman. Bostick 5050, reactivate and press on very low pressure and always had 100% success