Planning stages for making some skating boots.

I am in the planning stages for making some skate boots. My goal would be to build some boots that compliment my skate frames and provide performance equal to that of other top end skate boots. At this point my motivation for the project is simply to produce good boots for myself and use it as a chance to play with a new type of manufacture.

Big thanks to Eric Gee from EGC for the inspiration to take on the project and the advice he has already provided.

My all time favorite boots have been the 2001 stock Verducci VTEK although my current custom Hyper boots are a very close second. In addition to the Verducci and Hyper boots I have owned many other pairs of boots with various levels of success. If I complete boots for myself they would be modeled after the Hyper boots but include features that I think would improve the design.

One feature that I would like is an improved system for mounting the frame. With both the VTEK and Hyper boots the mounting areas is the weak link in the design and that area is prone to failure. My VTEK boots died when the mounting blocks broke. Hyper boots have also had problems in this area and were repaired by Brad once already.

I also think that boot design and construction is even more important then fit. My feeling is that a well design boot will have a shell that flexes to cradle the foot and when laced the ankle area will pull in a bit to hold the foot well. My stock VTek boots were very well made in this respect and they fit just about as well as my custom Hyper boots. Other boots I have owned had shells that were so stiff my foot never felt properly supported even though the shell fit quite well. The problem with overly stiff shells was that the boot lace system would not distribute the retention forces very well and such stiff shell boots seemed like they felt loose in areas and overly tight in other areas. The shell needs to be quite stiff in areas like the sole and flex in areas like the heel cup so it pulls in and yet still provides support where needed. The key to this will be careful selection and layup for the carbon fiber layers. I plan to use a mix of fiber types to tune the shell.

The plan for the project is as follows:

Step 1) Make accurate plaster foot molds similar to the ones used by other boot makers.
I am going to use the STS casting socks for the initial mold. After creating the initial plaster mold my plan is to add material to the heel and ankle area to make the rear part of the heel more like a bowl shape to smooth the transition area above the bump of the heel. I also plan to shape the ankle area a bit more based on the feel that the skating stroke produces some dynamic movement in this area. People debate about heel movement but an exact mirror of the foot is not the solution to fit. The best fit is going to be a last based on the static cast of the foot but with adaptation to accommodate the dynamic demands of skating.

Step 2) Make the leather liner.
The design of the liner will be similar to a light weight moccasin. This will evolve as I start cutting leather although my hope is to keep it simple and minimize seams.

Step 3) Attach padding to the liner in critical areas.
My boots are going to be lightly padded. I think boots don't need much padding if they fit well. Right now I am thinking of using 3mm EVA foam thought the boot and adding a bit of additional padding to the ankle area.

Step 4) Vacuum form a thin carbon fiber shell
Since the lining and padding will be done prior to carbon shell construction I will be ensured that the liner will fit in the boot properly. When vacuum forming the boot liner will be protected with a layer of seran wrap to prevent epoxy from reaching the padding. I also will create a buildup on the mold for the lacing area in the molds at the time time of the vacuum forming step so carbon will curve away from the foot. The first vacuum forming step will create a very thin shell without mounting blocks.

Step 5) Add lacing system, buckles, and mounting blocks to the carbon shell.
Very few boots are built this way but I had this type of construction with my XENAN skates and have seen it used by at least one other boot maker. I want the lacing and buckle systems to be anchored into the carbon system the boot will be stronger and when it is laced, the boot will pull in from the shell for better support. In effect this means that the lace system and buckles will be a bit like a sandal design such that they connect directly to the sole rather then pulling on uppers that are only glued to the sole. This approach will require a bit more labor but I believe the result will be much stronger and provide better support.

Step 5) Epoxy mounting blocks into place.
I will attach the mounting block to a fixture and glue them in place taking care to create percise alignment. My current boots have a very slight canting problem on the right skate and I have seen similar problems in the past with blocks that are slightly miss aligned. My plan is to use the flat sole of the casting base as a reference plane for this operation. After casting the flat base of the foot casting will be used in an fixture where I drill fixture holes through the "legs" of the cast. After the fixture holes are created they will provide all future references because the base area of the casting is sanded and shaped along the way. The mounting blocks will align relative to the fixture holes and then the fore/aft position will be set to provide a 50/50 weight over the frame. In addition the left/right orientation of the blocks will be set to match my desired frame position.

Step 7) Perform a second vacuum bagging step to add outer layer for the shell.
At this point the shell will have two complete layers of carbon in all areas. Additional carbon layers will be added for the base layer to provide strength in critical areas. The retention system for lacing, buckles, and mounting blocks will be firmly anchored into the carbon shell. My goal for the shell is to have it VERY stiff in the base and still provide enough flexibility so that it will flex inward when laced. The current plan is to use seven layers in the area under the ball of the foot. Other areas will use between two and three layers depending on where I want to have strength.

Step 8) Perform a third vacuum bag step to add a final cosmetic layer of carbon
The final thin layer of carbon will smooth over everything to provide a final bit of strength and a smooth appearance.

Step 9) Add the outer covering.
I am planning a minimal outer covering. The anchoring for the lace system will not depend on the glue for the outer leather system. The outer covering will smooth over the transition area from the inner liner. This boot will have more exposed carbon then other most skate boot style. My outer cover will focus on function and not provide a lot of bright colors bu I might do a small embroidered logo or something else special to make it look nice.

Step 10) Lace up the boot and go for a skate
I expect that even with great care, the first pair of boots will have problems. Like Eric Gee did I will document the problems and create new versions until I am happy with the result.