Making a Pair of Lasts for 1st Cen Calcei - Printable Version +- RomanArmyTalk (https://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat) +-- Forum: Reenactment (https://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/forumdisplay.php?fid=5) +--- Forum: Roman Re-Enactment & Reconstruction (https://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/forumdisplay.php?fid=26) +--- Thread: Making a Pair of Lasts for 1st Cen Calcei (/showthread.php?tid=16196) |
Making a Pair of Lasts for 1st Cen Calcei - Neuraleanus - 12-16-2009 I intend on making another pair of 1st century calcei, this time correcting some of the mistakes that I made on my first pair. Here is an original: [attachment=7:b8fuvspf]<!-- ia7 calceus1st.jpg<!-- ia7 [/attachment:b8fuvspf] Towards the goal of having the left and right boots more in agreement with each other, this time I want to construct the boots using more or less full sized lasts. These boots are actually somewhat higher than the lasts that I made, but since the boots are laced about the ankle that shouldn't matter. I start by making templates for the insole and for the side profile: [attachment=6:b8fuvspf]<!-- ia6 lasttemplatesSmall.jpg<!-- ia6 [/attachment:b8fuvspf] Notice how much wider the sole is compared to a caligae sole. The side profile is for my feet, anyone else would likely need to make their own. I then cut six pieces for each last from 1x6 Swedish pine following the sole template and glued them together making sure the stack was square:[attachment=5:b8fuvspf]<!-- ia5 gluedstack2dSmall.jpg<!-- ia5 [/attachment:b8fuvspf] Then after marking the side profile using the profile template I roughed-out the shape using a band saw: [attachment=4:b8fuvspf]<!-- ia4 gluedstack3dSmall.jpg<!-- ia4 [/attachment:b8fuvspf] The next step is to mark the peak line down the top of each last: [attachment=3:b8fuvspf]<!-- ia3 markedpeaklineSmall.jpg<!-- ia3 [/attachment:b8fuvspf] Next comes shaping. For this step I started out using a disc sander followed by curved wood rasps and finally hand sanding: [attachment=2:b8fuvspf]<!-- ia2 shaped2Small.jpg<!-- ia2 [/attachment:b8fuvspf] Another view: [attachment=1:b8fuvspf]<!-- ia1 shapedSmall.jpg<!-- ia1 [/attachment:b8fuvspf] The finished lasts are cut into two and held together with duck-tape: [attachment=0:b8fuvspf]<!-- ia0 finishedlastsSmall.jpg<!-- ia0 [/attachment:b8fuvspf] Now I need to revise my pattern for the upper and actually make the boots. Though intended for the making of modern shoes, I have found an interesting book on the subject. Many of the techniques appear to be applicable: "Bespoke Shoemaking", Tim Skyrme, Artzend Publications, 2006. Re: Making a Pair of Lasts for 1st Cen Calcei - Magnus - 12-16-2009 Pretty cool stuff Lee. Re: Making a Pair of Lasts for 1st Cen Calcei - M. Demetrius - 12-16-2009 Size 10.5D. Medium arches. Send a pair right over, please. Good work! Re: Making a Pair of Lasts for 1st Cen Calcei - Sutoris - 12-17-2009 Nice job! The band saw is ideal for this kind of work. How long did it take to make the lasts? Re: Making a Pair of Lasts for 1st Cen Calcei - Neuraleanus - 12-17-2009 Quote:Nice job!Not counting the week and half waiting for the band saw to arrive, I spent about a week making these lasts. It would of been much longer without access to a band saw. The next step is adjusting the boot pattern. Following a technique from the Bespoke Shoemaking book, I'm going to cover the lasts in masking tape and compare the flattened-out pattern that results to my existing pattern to see where I need to make adjustments. |