I've been asked to prototype some custom athletic footwear with a unique sole. The client's patent application depends on it. Where to begin?
Step one: remove the sole from generic store bought athletic shoes.
I removed the sole of the sneaker with a band saw so that I could better attach the prototype. I wasn’t sure whether the planer or a band saw would be a more effective method.
Maybe not surprisingly, rubber that stands up to daily wear on pavement also stands up to to most efforts to remove it intentionally.
I used this electric planer to take the sole off this athletic shoe. The goal was to flatten out the bottom enough that I could glue a new prototype sole onto it.
So, what does the trick? I found that both the electric hand planer and the band saw work, but a bandsaw with a fresh, fine-toothed blade is much quicker. The electric planer on the other hand did well at evening out the cut surface, better readying the footwear for its new sole.
Look for step two in a minute.