Vegthreads

The Problem

In 2003 alone the U.S. generated more then 290 million tires. With an average lifespan of about five years unless recycled these tires will end up in the trash dump where they will take thousands of years to decompose. As the tires do decompose they will release harmful methane gas into the air, and worst of all create a toxic sludge that could seep into our waterways like your poop. With such an abundance of used tires why not use them for something useful like making a pair of sandals?

Why You Should Do This

1. The pair I test drove are far more comfortable then any store bought pair I have ever owned.
2. Why drop $80 bucks on a pair of Teva’s when you can make your own for free!
3. Your doing your part to reduce waste and make this world a better place. For that you earn my green seal of approval.

You’ll Need These Items

• An old tire, truck tires work best and should be wide enough to create a shoe even for Shaq (get the kind without steel cables running through it)
• A newspaper and pencil
• A knife or chisel
• A whole lot patience

Making Your Sandals

Making the sandals can be divided into three sections

1. Creating your template
2. Cutting out your sandal
3. Finishing up

Creating your Sandal Template

1. Place your foot on a newspaper and trace around it keeping your pencil upright.
2. Mark the point where your ankle starts on both the inside and outside of your foot and label it point A. Also mark the point where your big toe connects to your foot and label it point B. Likewise mark the spot where your little toe connects to your foot and label it point B as well.
3. Trace around your foot. Leave about 3/8 inch of leeway on the sides and in front of the toes. In the back of your foot the line should connect with outline of your foot.
4. Using a ruler find the middle of your foot and draw a line through it, extend it three inches past the outline of your foot. Also connect point A to point A and point B to point B. Extend these lines 3 inches past your outline as well.
5. Finally sketch the tabs of the sandal as shown in the diagram. Also sketch the buckle. Click on the image to zoom in on it.
6. Finally cut out your template.

Cutting your sandal

1. Alright place your template inside of a tire. I suggest gluing it down to hold it in place while you cut it out. You can also trace it with chalk or a white sharpie.
2. Next cut the template out. There are a few ways of doing this, by far the best way is to cut as much as you can using a bandsaw or jigsaw. From there use a pocket knife of chisel to carefully mold the shape of your sandals.

Finishing Up

1. Sand down any ruff areas. If your tabs don’t flex inward slice away at the point where the tab meets the insole to allow it to flew.
2. Grab some straps from your local hardware store or Office supply store and thread it through your tabs. I actually suggest using velcro straps which can be purchased at an arts and crafts stores.
3. Finally repeat for the other foot!

Final Thoughts

I referenced this article while putting together this post, if you have any other questions here would be a good place to start. Your new sandals should now be ready to use. Let me know how they turned out.

Related Stories

How to compost your poop

Make fertilizer with beer

How to make green toothpaste