Making sandals (it's woodworking if you count cork...)

[Harlan Barnhart]

My three girls go through a lot of sandals and flipflops. I'm not happy with the commonly available stuff, so I decided to try making my own.

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I used an old flipflop for a pattern.


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Trimming the leather sole


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Cutting out the cork footbed. This is the woodworking part since cork is a tree product.


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Barge cement to glue the footbed to the leather sole.


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I clamped the sandwich for several hours.


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While the sole was curing, I cut out some leather strips for the straps. I didn't take any pictures of how the straps were installed but I just pierced the sole with a chisel and glued about 3/4" of and inch of the straps to the bottom of the leather sole.

[Harlan Barnhart]

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The rubber sole came from a sheet of soling material I bought on ebay.


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Here are the finished products. The sandals need some adjustment, my wife says they bind a little around the ankle. I guess the next pair will be better. The hardest part was making the pattern, even so I estimate about three hours in the sandals and maybe an hour and a half for the flipflops. Now that I have the pattern down, the next ones will be faster.

[Chris Griggs]

Way cool! Glad you shared.