Tire Sandals: a guide to comfy hand-crafted footwear. by RGR_375
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040.JPG
Materials needed:
Tire
Bicycle innertube
Shoegoo
Cardstock/heavy paper

Tools required:
Jigsaw
Drill
Chisel 1/2in
Scissors
Ruler
Marker
Utility knife
Scrollsaw/bandsaw
 
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Step 1: Create the pattern

020.JPG
Create the outline by tracing a pair of flip-flops on some cardstock( i actually used an empty cereal box).
Place foot in center of template, mark at the center of ball of foot, mark  at center first joint of little toe, mark center of ankle inside and outside.
All slits for straps are 1/4in. from the edge of the templateand 1/2in. wide.
At the ball of the foot, two 1/2in. slits are spereated by 1/4in. centered at the mark made earlier.
At the little toe, the first slit begins at the mark and extend rearward. The second slit is seperated from the first by 1/4in.
At the the ankle, the first 2 slits are centered at the mark and seperated by 1/2in. These slits for a right triangle with its apex pointing toward the inside of the template.
the next 2 slits are at a right angle, to the leading slit you just made, and parallel to each other as well as seperated by 1/4in. from leading end of one to trailing end of the next.
The centerline can be found by finding the center point between the ankle marks and the center point between the marks at the ball of the foot and at the little toe, then connect the 2 points with a straight line extending it to the edge of the template.
Cut out the template.
snotty says: Apr 2, 2013. 9:28 PM
Nice work!

I wonder though, wouldn't the straps wear through where they touch the ground? What if you cut the strap slots at an angle so they exit at the sides of the sole?

Using a motorbike tire is a great tip! Thank you.
BuckNasty says: Nov 26, 2012. 11:05 PM
oh man look at that toe fungus
cart562 says: Apr 3, 2012. 9:39 PM
Very nice. I don't think making myself some sandals has ever occurred to me and even though I have some perfectly good sandals, I'm gonna make these as soon as I get a few old tires...which may be a while.
MisterHandy says: May 20, 2011. 9:11 AM
Great stuff! This is probably the best style/instructions on instructables for Tire Sandals. If anyone is afraid of the 'extreme hazard' and wants to buy a pair and support Africa, there's a website selling them called Tzandals.org - They get them locally from Tanzania and donate the proceeds to charity.
rangergear_02 says: Nov 17, 2010. 3:15 PM
RLTW
mscharf says: Nov 17, 2010. 12:54 AM
Are the straps held in place entirely by glue and friction or something else?
kill-a-watt says: Nov 8, 2010. 12:02 PM
Nice,

I'd dispute the "extremely hazardous" part though, maybe they're a hazard with power tools?

I got a tire that was so worn it was de-laminating. Because of that I was able to strip off thin layers of rubber that could be used instead of the innertube scrap. I also got some thin steel wire. I set the project aside to work on an emergency but I guessed I could have used the wire, and drilled some holes to secure the rubber strapping in place. I'm sure they don't have shoo-goo in sub-Sahara Africa.

Many "emergency" spare tires have the steel belts, but the one motorcycle tire I got didn't have any. Fortunately, that info is printed on the side of the tire.
CaseyCase says: Nov 7, 2010. 3:29 PM
Very nice! I've always wanted a pair of Ho Chi Minh sandals. I wear US men's size 9 1/2. So now you know what to get me for Christmas.
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