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Hi, if this isn’t the correct subject for this forum, please direct me to something more applicable.

I’ve been restoring vintage adidas footwear for a few years, most of which have a rubber cup sole with side walls going up and around the upper.

So it’s not just a straight forward process like flat soles where it’s a case of gluing and pressing/clamping the sole to the upper.

Im trying to speed up the gluing process as there’s a lot of time consuming work necessary before the gluing stage.

I’ve just been a hobbyist just working on my own collection, up until a few months ago when I started taking on other people’s restoration projects.

I’ve had a few attempts at making my own jig that is tall enough to wrap around the side walls and keep the shoe in place whilst the glue goes off.But not with great results. I’ve used Renia cologne contact adhesive as a slow cure and also bostik 5050 with the rehagol yellow label as a primer if needed.

I've asked around and been onto several high street shoe repair shops to see if there’s a piece of equipment that exists specifically for gluing cup soles. I’ve even handed over several hundred pounds worth of vintage trainers to a shoe maker of 30 years, but he completely ruined 6 pairs because he’d never worked with a cup sole re-glue before.

So my question is, is there a piece of equipment (other than an industrial press that would be too powerful, wouldn’t reach around the cup sole to the side walls and certainly not conducive to having in my house) that would meet my requirements, or do I just keep messing around with clamps and pieces of shaped wood.

Any info, ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to read my question. 

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Thanks for your reply elfman.

I’ve looked into vacuum tanks and tables but they’re just not cost effective. They also require the exact last for each shoe which is close to impossible when working with vintage uppers and newer soles. A big part of the craft is working with soles and uppers that were not made at the same time or necessarily for the same shoe. 

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1 hour ago, petercoulson said:

There is a press for this although not too many have one, as it pumps up it cups the whole shoe/trainer

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Thanks Peter this looks awesome. Do you know what it’s called or any key words that might help when searching for it?

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