how to make a shoe sole

 

How to make a shoe sole

A few recipes to try out.

Make one large enough for one shoe:

3 lbs powdered milk + 1 gallon of water

1/2 oz salt + 1/2 oz alum (aluminium sulfate) dissolved in 3 gallons of water, boiled for 10 minutes.

Now mix with a 10-lb wool or cotton yarn, or even hemp from a bale of the plant. Work it around and into the mixture until it is wet but still stiff enough to hold its shape when you pour it out on the bottom of your basin. Let it dry thoroughly before using.

This recipe is old and may not be reliable, but if it works, a pair of shoes can be made for about $1.25.

This is a good method for making a light-weight sole that is short and wide which allows good ventilation to the feet, avoiding sweaty feet. Good for hot weather or jobs where you will be walking on pavement or rocks.

 Image source: https://www.nike.com/

Above are the two basic rubbers used to make homemade soles. They are called "Rubbers" because they are used to make rubber soles on shoes. They can also be found in the tire section of your local auto parts store.

The powdered milk recipe makes a tough, thick sole which wears well and is fairly waterproof, although not as water repellent as latex. The milk soles take a long time to harden but they are very tough once they do.

The salt and alum (or baking soda and alum) recipe makes a tough but flexible sole which is much more water repellent than the milk soles.

These recipes can also be used to make molded rubber "sandals" for your feet without having to buy them from the store. The sandals are waterproof, flexible and long lasting.

To make the sandals, use a very thick cloth -- denim is good. Wrap it in layers around your foot, then sprinkle the rubbers onto and into the cloth. Finally wrap the cloth around itself and tie tight with string or rubber bands. Leave it alone (don't mess with it or they will fall apart) until they dry and harden. You can use other types of rubbers with these recipes too such as latex from latex gloves and balloons, old inner tubes from bikes (the flat ones), but you should use pure rubber from tires only if you want to make a light sole like above which is soft, thin and flexible.

If you want one that is durable and waterproof, try using old inner tubes.

 Image source: https://pixabay.com/

Store them in a plastic bag with a piece of cloth over the top to keep moisture out.

In this application you need materials that are not porous like wood or cloth so they do not absorb water and swell which will turn your mold into a useless mush.  

Mixed together, the two recipes that you see above will make one pair of rubber sandals.

If you want to make a floppy sole, add in 4 ounces of potassium nitrate and 4 ounces of sulfur (sulfur crystals) to every 1 quart of hot milk mixture.