Boot lace up tutorial (Archive this thread)
I worked on this all day, I really hope it helps.
Here is the tutorial I promised, on how I add laces to molded boots. Let me start by saying that in no way are these instructions written in stone, they are the result of receiving some assistance from folks here at OSW and from trial and error on my part. I first got the idea to attempt adding laces to my molded boots and shoes, after seeing some done by ScanManDan. My first attempt at this ended horribly, as all I could find was 1/8 eyelets, and they were huge. DevilGuns and MindXStorm then steered me in the right direction by telling and showing me what materials worked best for this application. If you have a better way of doing any of the steps, please feel free to add them. First a list of the items I use:
Exacto knife
Fine pointed and duller pointed tweezers
Scissors
Eyelet setting tool (purchased from http://www.goodietwoshoes.com/index....688&product=13 )
Sharp pointed metal thing, it is some kind of metal punch with a fine point (sorry, but I don’t know exactly what this thing is, I bought it at Joann’s though)
1/16 eyelets purchased at AC Moore craft store in a multi pack which had several colors in it
Imitation leather cotton cording .5mm in size (purchased from http://www.firemountaingems.com/shop...skw=KWCORDCOTT )
Dremel with a small drill bit
Super Glue
Small piece of flat leather, purchased at Joann’s
Boots
You begin by cutting out the tongue area of the boot with the exacto. Make sure you do not cut past the edge of where the molded eyelets are. You can actually cut more inside the tongue area, and go back and clean it up, but if you cut into the edge of where the molded eyelets are, you will not leave yourself enough rubber/plastic for the eyelets, and it will tear through.
What it should look like when you are done.
Trim the molded laces off of the eyelet area of the boot. You can actually trim all of the molded eyelets off, as well. I do this on some boots, and don’t on others. Some boots have molded eyelets that are not straight, and if you use them as a guide, your new eyelets will go all over the place and will not look as good.
Once you have the tongue area cut away, it is time to make the holes for the eyelets. I use the eyelet setting tool, as mentioned above, but you may use whatever you are comfortable with, and have available. I know MindXStorm uses a leather punch to accomplish this.
As so:
Once you have all of the holes punched out, it is time to set the eyelets. Begin by using a toothpick, and placing one of the eyelets on the end, like so:
Place a small drop of Super Glue in the hole. I have found a super glue gel to work best, as it will not drip into the boot.
Place the eyelet into the hole with the toothpick, making sure the eyelets is as flush as you can get it, as such:
Once all of the eyelets have been set in the holes, and the glue has been allowed to dry, use the dremel (with a small drill bit on it) and clean out each of the eyelets. This is a very important step, as the dried glue tends to clog the eyelets up, as well as the rubber from the boot (as the rubber on a lot of boots is thicker than the eyelets are long). The cleaner the hole is the easier they will be to get the laces into.
Once the holes have been cleaned out, it is time to get the laces ready. I cut approx 6” more lace material than I actually need to do the job, for a couple of reasons. First of, with this particular cord material (imitation leather, cotton cording) the ends will start to fray, making it all but impossible to thread the cord through the eyelets, and you will need to cut a small amount away to get the the un-frayed portion. Secondly, it is easier to tuck in any extra cording, into the boot, when they are tied, than it is to cut it to the needed length, and need to untie and re-tie them later. For the Corcoran boots, I cut approx 2.5 feet, per boot, and for most boots and shoes I cut approx 2 feet per boot.
Begin feeding the cording through the eyelets, pulling it all the way through from the inside, once you have it started. I have tried needles, and have not been able to find a needle that is large enough to fit the cording through on the end, and then have it fit through the eyelets. Therefore I feed the cording through using the fine point tweezers.
Once the laces have been threaded all the way up, it is time to make the tongue. I found some thin leather pieces at Joann’s, and cut the tongues from this. I cut the tongues in approx 1/2 “ strips, and round off one end:
The completed product:
The completed Corcoran boots on my two new Soldat 2 figures:
I really hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions, or if I forgot to add anything. Thanks a lot!!!
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