Is this possible?

[JUTAD]

Hi all,

I was hoping to seek some advice. I am an amateur at woodworking, and I am trying to get these wooden shoe soles made.

I have not had any luck with CNC, for some reason they told me it would e more hassle than it's worth, I also spoke to some carpenters who seemed to think it was a complicated process.

Would anyone have any idea how this could be made, or is it simply not possible? I have been designing these shoes for a while now hoping they would be possible to make..

Thanks for any advice/feedback. Render image attached.

JT

 

[marcros]

the options are steam bending or laminating.

 

[undergroundhunter]

I would imagine they would need to be bent from a single piece of wood as opposed to being cut out, cutting/milling would create too much short grain and therefore weakness. The grain would have to run from toe to heel unlike what is shown in the design. Owing to the severity of the bends required I would suspect that is would be nearly if not impossible to get the right shape.

Matt

 

[thick_mike]

The sole could be steam bent or laminated into shape, but the join between the heel and sole looks very weak to me. You have a shallow joint with a long lever (the heel) under high pressure. Any off centre pressure as the wearer walks will exert a high force in the joint area.

It looks great...but I guess heels are shaped like they are for a reason.

 

[AJB Temple]

Gut feel:

Very easy to make the sole on a bandsaw
Or out of steam bent ply
Much less easy to achieve a mechanically durable joint between the heel and the sole - this carries a great deal of stress
Square section heel needs thinking about for use as if it is just wood it will wear very fast and looks uncomfortable and clunky according to my wife (who loves very high heels)

How are you fixing the toe cover on?

This kind of concept has been done many times.

 

[James-1986]

The shape of that sole reminds me of 1960's plywood furniture. They use heated dies and high pressure in special presses to form complex curves from lamination's of birch. I'm not sure what joint would connect the heel to the sole.

Its not something a carpenter would deal with.

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

I wonder if the heel could be formed somehow around an extension of the lamination that then went all the way to the toe? You'd need a complex form but you'd get a lot of strength.

 

[JUTAD]

Ah ok thanks.. what you are saying makes sense. I want it to be durable and safe.

I could make it thicker. I was looking at examples like scholl shoes

I also came across this designer who has these made out of maple wood.

I was thinking to attach the top by using two bits of wood and concealing the material between them. But the top part can be another material, I just thought it would be a good finish.

 

[Adam9453]

Your design is achievable by making a metal skeleton and cladding it in wood.
Expensive to make though which is no doubt why people have given you the shrug off.
The problem is that to get the price down to a reasonable level with your design, you need to make quite a large volume to counteract tooling costs etc for mass production. However because it's shoes, you would need to make a decent volume of every size you plan to offer!!
If you just want to make a one off pair then approach a metal sculptor to make the skeleton, then clad the outer in wood yourself if you have the talent or find someone who does have the skills.
Providing the metal skeleton is kept to a nice smooth shape and equal width section then cladding will be fairly straightforward.

 

[thick_mike]

Ah ok thanks.. what you are saying makes sense. I want it to be durable and safe.

I could make it thicker. I was looking at examples like scholl shoes



I also came across this designer who has these made out of maple wood.
View attachment 3

I was thinking to attach the top by using two bits of wood and concealing the material between them. But the top part can be another material, I just thought it would be a good finish.

Those two designs have a much bigger and more solid connection between the sole and heel. I especially like the maple example.

 

[Shrubby]

Someone has asked me this before. We found Omes footwear in Birmingham - I don't know how much further the project went
Matt