Re-soling boots

[iTch]

Okay, so this is more of me ASKING how to do something, and I offer no instruction here really, so I hope this is the proper place for this post. Anyways.. I got a pair of military combat boots. You may have seen the type before; no tags, shin high, steel toe, FLAT FUCKING GRIP-LESS SOLE. They slip all over any smooth linoleum, ice, smooth metal, anything smooth really. They have also caused me to slip off of a rung of a few ladders and hurt myself.
I hear that I could give these boots to a shoestore to have it done for like 40 bucks (yeah right), or to buy a resoling kit and do that, or to cut the tread off of an old (pre '50's) tire and glue it on, OR to just apply strips of glue to the sole to act as the grip itself.
I tried the just glue method and despite it being strong "shoe goo" or whatever, all the strips came off in a month.
If any of you have a good method please share.
Or am I just better of finding a different pair of boots?

 

[Wolfeyes]

You can use modern steel belted tires for a sole job, it just takes a bit more work. Search the highways for a blown out tire a bit wider than the bottom of the boot you'll be working on, 1-2" on each side of the widest point of the boot is good. You just want the tread portion, so don't bother if it's got too much of the sidewall attached.

With a pair of needle nosed pliers, grab two or three of the little steel wires at a time and peel them off. A little rubber will stick to the wires, but that's ok. Repeat until there are no more wires left to take out. Don't get impatient and try to pull out too many at once. They should provide some resistance but should not be difficult. If it's being really difficult stop and try another spot.

You should be left with a fairly thin, flexible piece of rubber with ridges on the non-tread side. Without the steel wires, it should lay flat or nearly flat. Trace out the portions of the boot you want to re-sole on the tire and cut them out. Try get the edges of the boot to line up with a thick portion of the tire.

With a sharp knife or a super hot nail, cut shallow ridges into the sole of the boot.

Scrub the hell out of the non-tread side of the tire and the existing sole with hot water and dish soap. Lay down a thin layer of epoxy or Gorilla glue on both the tire and the boot, and press them together. The next part takes lots of time, and you can't/shouldn't wear the boots during this time, so plan ahead.

Find some way to clamp the sole to the boot. Let them stay clamped together for at least 24 hours, or however long the package says is "full cure" time, then add another 12 hours. Whichever is more. After that you should be good to go. For an added bond, while the glue is still wet, find/steal/borrow a regular spring powered staple gun and staple around the edges.

 

[bote]

Wolfeyes advice is good, but if you can, use contact cement/adhesive rather than gorilla glue or epoxy. It is cheap and perfect for shoes because the bond is really strong, but it is also very flexible (also water resistant).
I have fixed shoes with all kinds of different glues, sillicons, etc. and this is definitely the best I´ve come across, it is what a lot of shoe repair places use, and it is just a couple bucks per can.
you don´t need a solvent/ thinner to go with it, just put it on fast.



If you can´t find a tire or dont mind dropping a little more dough, the cobblers usually have a variety of soles you can buy pretty cheap.

 

[Wolfeyes]

Contact cement huh... Interesting.

 

[finn]

I talked to some of the 12 tribes cult people (whacky as hell X-tians, but they do like their crafts, and I can deal with them) and they used vinyl stick (glue for vinyl tile flooring) to attach their soles to their shoes. I figure they did that because of the amount they get, it's economical, but probably overkill for a single person.

 

[iTch]

Alright thanks everyone, I'll give these methods a shot.

 

[JungleBoots]

haha excellent both my pairs of boots need resoleing and there are plenty of busted tires around here. Thanks wolf, bote, and finn.

 

[Wolfeyes]

Not a prob. shoe/boot making and repair is kind of a hobby. I'm gathering materials to make myself a pair of boots, since I can never find a pair that fits just right...

 

[farmer john]

ahhh just what ive been looking for
ive been wearing the same pair of altama jungle boots for about 3 years now every day adn the already smooth sole is starting to get so i can "skate" on anything but cement so this comes appreciated thanx

 

[drinkycrow]

old tire tread in the shape of the sole and some epoxy should do the trick...

 

[farmer john]

update: just sent them in to be resoled $55 will see how they turn out
theyre my babys they better be dam perfect