How to Last a Boot | shoemaking.wiki

Shank

bulldogs in the left hand, French hammer in the right, Gurney lasting tacks
lasting jack, but using only the lasting post, not the toe cradle, so the boot can swing around
boot comes to lasting with three drafting tacks in place: a hard tack at the heel and soft tacks, to be removed later, at the toe and both joints
starts in the shank
get most slack out here
hammer down in the insole to prevent it from rising as pulls the leather
first shank pull on the inside of the foot just tight to create an anchor point
pulls the lining first, then the upper and lining
several tacks into the waist while holding
want little air under the upper
repeat on the outside
pull the liner, then the vamp
2:14 misconception: not locking pliers
can lean body into bulldogs, but very rarely need to pull that hard
“usually just a series of light pulls and twists”

next: heel
work from back of heel toward shank
shift the extra material toward the heel line, where you can do a harder pull to take out slack
pleating
want lining layer as flat as possible so the tack goes through a shorter stack of material
even spacing of tacks, on either side of pleats
bigger pull where quarter and vamp come together
usually just one pull makes it tight
over-pulling causes discomfort, aesthetic problems
even pulls create even counter height around the heel
appears to be spitting tacks
low pleats and ridges easier for bottoming with flat heel
once lasted, beats down with face of heavy ball-peen hammer to set tacks and push material in toward the main axis of the insole
also hammers the upper leather down from the featherline
accentuating the featherline
light taps along counter cover stitch line
takes off the jack to check appearance
trim excess with lip knife to make room for shank, shank cover

light layer of yellow glue over top the vamp liner and bottom of the vamp
leave the edge of the vamp dry to keep tools clean, prevent excess piling up
cleans hands with towel at station
push vamp forward with thumbs
pulls the toe, again feeling for stretch with left hand
soft tacks
tacks the outside ball
tacks the inside ball
check straightness and tension over ball
now pleat to create seal around featherline of insole
lasts from toe back to inside ball
lasts from outside shank to outside ball, on the opposing side of the forepart
lasts from the toe to the outside ball
- different approaches
  - can use lasting pliers
  - prefers bulldogs and hammer
    - more leverage and control
    - shaping with hammer while under tension
    - but have to switch back to lasting pliers as lose leverage
lasts inside shank
- last because of the drastic curve
- more likely to get the air out pulling from the top of the ball back through the arch
- easy to get leverage
hammer around the featherline
optionally hammer long nails through tops of pleats, e.g. for difficult leather or steel toe to pull the pleat tighter against the toe