|
Twice in as many years I had to change the felts at the bottom of my wading boots. Felts by itself are great on flat rock bottom but if you wade where there are round slipery rocks and some strong currents they are not so good. They will not stop you from zig zaging on those rocks and you ending up in the drink. Think of adding some cleaths on those felts. Very easy!
The Felts
To replace the felt soles you must first tear the old ones out. Not an easy task! The glue that holds them is very strong. I use a pair of "vise grips" to pull them out. Once done, use a grinder or very coarse sandpaper to take away all residu of the old felts and to clean the soles of all dirt and sands.
When buying the felts, they will come in one piece, the heel has not been cut out, you will have to do that. Some suppliers supply an extra heel in their package. You will have to cut the sole out at the right place.(see image) Do not cut the sides of the sole yet. This will be done after the felt soles are glued in place.
Next, spread the glue on both the boot sole and the felt. Wait about 10 minutes and see if the glue is ready by touching it with you finger. If it is ready the glue will noy stick to our finger. It is then ready for contact with each other, thus the definition of "contact glue"
Place both glued section with each other. Make sure that you align them properly, the felt being larger than the sole. Press well together and apply some force. Do this many times to make sure the felts and sole are in conatct all over. Wait about 2 hours before cutting out the excess felt. Use an "Olfa Knife" or any other very sharp knife. Felt is a very hard material to cut so be carefull!
A note: way back then we could not find felts being sold commercially, we used old carpet pieces and they worked just fine.
Studs
Studs. Where to find them? Metal screws! Nothing more simpler. Easy to install and also easy to replace.
Your neighbourhood hardware store or large surface store will have them. Buy a box of 100, #8, 1/2 inch long for about $8.00. One box will have 100 units. Enough to redo your boots twice over. Place approximatly 20-25 screws per sole. Follow the description on the image on your left. Use a drill with an exagon adapter. Doing this by hand will take you the rest of the fishing season.
With a black felt tip pen mark where you want to insert the screws. Follow the picture on your left and all will be fine.
Dont worry about the screws being to long, they wont puncture your sole.
You are now ready to go fishing without the silly dances you do when the bottom is slipery
|
