Shoe stretcher woes & repair

[cooncatbob]

Last month I purchased a set of shoe stretchers off OFAS as I had several pair of shoes the rubbed my big toe wrong. I had very good results as I was only trying to slightly widen the toe area of the shoes and now 3 pairs of shoes that used to sit in the closet are now being worn. As I was stretching the 3rd pair of shoes I was tightening the knob that forces the split halves apart I suddenly wasn't feeling any resistance and turning the knob no longer made the halves separate. Taking them apart was a simple matter of 1 screw and the problem was apparent, the wedge at the end of the threaded rod was made out of plastic and the rod had come out the other side. Well I considered the problem and today came up with a solution. I made new wedges out of 5/8 aluminum bar stock on my lathe, took about 1/2 hour and I don't think I'll have any more problems. Bob.

 

[Marty M.]

You're a handy "Sole".

Ok, you're a lot smarter and handier then me.
Marty

 

[Mike K.]

Very nice work!
The problem I have with my stretchers is that the rod, when fully extended, tends to cut into the insole because of some odd piece on the end. I usually just put a thin piece of leather into the toe whenever my boots/shoes need stretching and that solves the problem. However, your aluminum tips would really fit the bill - thanks for the helpful hint.