Forums:

Things to do with dead wellington (rubber) boots

Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

Posts: 8507

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

4023

I like...

posted 3 years ago

5
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

There are a few threads on best boots for fit and durability, and how to repair leaky boots, but what do you do when they die as boots?

Ideas include:
Cut down to make clogs
Use as a planter (deep if a bit unstable!)

There must be more ways of making good use of the rest of that material?
I wonder if it would make good soles for indoor slippers?

How Permies works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads
My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

Kenneth Elwell

pollinator

Posts: 1165

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

507

I like...

posted 3 years ago

9
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

At a lake house that we rent in the summertime, an anchor for a small boat was made by casting an eyebolt into concrete which filled an old rubber boot.
This same idea could be used as a doorstop, and for that purpose could probably be filled with stones instead of concrete.

I'm assuming that by "dead" you mean they (or one of the pair) has holes or cracks that mean they don't work to keep you clean/dry anymore...
They could be sealed up with molten wax on the the inside and used as flower vases (or just use the one of the pair that isn't leaky).
Cut holes and make a bird feeder out of it.

Cut the upper of the boot into narrow bands that you could slip over rolled-up things to hold them.
Cut the upper in a narrow spiral to create a longer rubbery strap for some use...(belt, strap, edge protector...)
Cut out discs or washers, use for whatever you need those for... or cut the upper and get as big of a square or circle possible...for something... patch a hole, make a cat flap?
Cut off the upper and use it as a flexible funnel.

Trim away the bottoms, and create gaiters. Cut them a different way, to make spats to protect your other boots.

Nails are sold by the pound, that makes sense.
Soluna Garden Farm -- Flower CSA -- plants, and cut flowers at our Boston Public Market location, Boston, Massachusetts.

Douglas Alpenstock

pollinator

Posts: 5007

Location: Canadian Prairies - Zone 3b

1357

posted 3 years ago

8
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Clogs or garden sandals work well, depending on where they failed.

Years ago, I used the cut-off tops as frisbees for young dogs. They flew not too badly, and the dogs would grab them and do the "gopher shake."

It's good heavy material. I wonder if gaskets, o-rings, and vibration dampers might be a re-use.

You can also mess with your neighbours. In the country, some wise guy would push broomsticks into a round bale and put the boots on, as if somebody had been rolled up in the bale. In the city, that might work with a dumpster.

Edit: electric fence insulators?

Pearl Sutton

steward & bricolagier

Posts: 14680

Location: SW Missouri

10143

I like...

posted 3 years ago

1
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

The slipper soles and gaskets, o rings and vibration dampers I make out of dead tire innertube. Good sized flat sections, easy to work with.

Gardens in my mind never need water
Castles in the air never have a wet basement
Well made buildings are fractal -- equally intelligent design at every level of detail.
Bright sparks remind others that they too can dance
What I am looking for is looking for me too!

oddball - sand badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Nicole Alderman

William Bronson

gardener

Posts: 5174

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio,Price Hill 45205

1011

I like...

posted 3 years ago

7
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Bikini top?
Codpiece?
If you have many of them ...
Skintight catsuit?
Batwings?
Devil mask?

Hmm, I think I'm nostalgic for convention going...

Eating Bindweed
Eating Buckwheat Greens
Paul explains why I spend time here,better than I could myself.

Carla Burke

Rusticator

Posts: 8593

Location: Missouri Ozarks

4560

I like...

posted 3 years ago

8
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I could see tying one in place to use as a car trash can; strapping it to the tractor, for tossing things in, that you might need; cutting the tops to make machete sheathes, or even (well cleaned) sheathes for storing knives, pocket knives, scissors - or even sharp garden tools; sliced down one side, the top could become a non-skid/grounding mat, mat for control pedals on sewing machines and shop tools, or a non-slip mat to set power or even hand tools on.
Once the top is gone, the shoe could be cut back like a clog, and if it won't serve that way, anymore, it could be hung by a work bench, to keep pencils, scissors, and such off the bench, but still handy...

"The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance."~Ben Franklin
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." ~ Plato

Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

Posts: 8507

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

4023

I like...

posted 3 years ago

3
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

You are all so creative!

Douglas wrote

push broomsticks into a round bale and put the boots on, as if somebody had been rolled up in the bale. In the city, that might work with a dumpster.

You have a wicked mind!
Our dogs do "shake and kill" too. Douglas accidently killed two bunnies and a hare like that 😕. The hare fed us for a fortnight 😉

William wrote

Hmm, I think I'm nostalgic for convention going...

I think it'll be a while yet. Do you want any dead wellies for your next costume?

Pearl: yes I find inner tubes good for plant ties as well. Nice and soft but strong. Our ozone and UV laden environment here rots rubber very quickly. I need a solid tubed wheelbarrow wheel....

Carla, tool sheathes as a suggestion has definately inspired me! I need a sheathe to hold my wet stone while scything. If I can find a waterproof foot, that would be just the thing! Thanks!

Thanks everyone!

How Permies works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads
My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

Kenneth Elwell

pollinator

Posts: 1165

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

507

I like...

posted 3 years ago

5
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Carla Burke wrote:I could see tying one in place to use as a car trash can; strapping it to the tractor, for tossing things in, that you might need; cutting the tops to make machete sheathes, or even (well cleaned) sheathes for storing knives, pocket knives, scissors - or even sharp garden tools; sliced down one side, the top could become a non-skid/grounding mat, mat for control pedals on sewing machines and shop tools, or a non-slip mat to set power or even hand tools on.
Once the top is gone, the shoe could be cut back like a clog, and if it won't serve that way, anymore, it could be hung by a work bench, to keep pencils, scissors, and such off the bench, but still handy...

I'm loving these ideas!!! All the riffs on "holsters" are awesome! I especially like the tractor mounting idea and may just try this. The rubbery aspect is great since it's weatherproof in rain, snow, cold... and also grippy, not like a holster made of say PVC pipe, both slippery and brittle in the cold, one bump and your tools slide up and out or bump it too hard and it breaks off. It's also flexible enough to flatten and slip a snow hovel handle through, one would need a 6 inch PVC pipe to do the same! Mounted sideways, the weight of a tool hanging in it might twist the holster and grip itself...hmmm... where do have some old boots?!?! I bet I know...

As a material for crafting, the uses are endless... worth cutting the uppers off and "saving for later" if no space or ideas now to use the whole/rest of the boots. (says the guy who has inherited a box from Mom, of "dungaree legs" (pieces from below the knees that still seem new even once the rest is worn out, some that I'm sure were mine as an adolescent...)

Nails are sold by the pound, that makes sense.
Soluna Garden Farm -- Flower CSA -- plants, and cut flowers at our Boston Public Market location, Boston, Massachusetts.

Robert Ray

gardener

Posts: 3261

Location: Cascades of Oregon

817

posted 3 years ago

12
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

dog-boot.jpg

boot-bag.jpg

sandal.jpg

Our inability to change everything should not stop us from changing what we can.

Douglas Alpenstock

pollinator

Posts: 5007

Location: Canadian Prairies - Zone 3b

1357

posted 3 years ago

6
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Robert, the dog thing is brilliant -- and hilarious!

Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

Posts: 8507

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

4023

I like...

posted 3 years ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Those dogs just look so happy don't they!

Thanks to whoever corrected the typo in the header.....

How Permies works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads
My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

Jay Angler

master steward

Posts: 12490

Location: Pacific Wet Coast

7044

I like...

posted 2 years ago

10
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Winter here is damp and cold, so Neoprene boots with a rubber cover over the foot area are popular. Unfortunately, the rubber *always* cracks where the toes bend - you'd think the designers could find a way to fix that!

However, I realized that my recent dead pair was tall enough that I could cut out a pair of neoprene insoles out of each boot. It did impact on the rubber coated part a little, but I was able to carefully peel that off.

Neoprene insoles are good for shock absorption and warmth in other footwear, particularly regular rubber boots. My feet are on the narrow side, so many shoes and boots fit better with an insole added and the commercial ones aren't as long-lasting as they used to be. I've only just started to use one of the pairs I cut out, so I don't know how long it will last, but since it's reusing something that would otherwise be garbaged, I'll accept whatever it's new lifespan is.

insoles-out-of-holey-boots.jpg

Visit Redhawk's soil series: https://permies.com/wiki/redhawk-soil
How permies.com works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads

oddball - sand badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Mike Haasl

textiles - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Mike Haasl

dimensional lumber woodworking - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by jordan barton

Food Prep and Preservation - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Leigh Tate

greywater and willow feeders - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Leigh Tate

Judson Carroll

author & pollinator

Posts: 1207

Location: Blue Ridge Mountains

418

I like...

posted 2 years ago

1
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I think a monument to Bill Owen would be appropriate

"Them that don't know him don't like him and them that do sometimes don't know how to take him, he ain't wrong he's just different and his pride won't let him do the things to make you think he's right" - Ed Bruce (via Waylon and WIllie)

Semper Ubi Sub Ubi. Latin for "Always Wear Underwear." tiny ad:

Switching from electric heat to a rocket mass heater reduces your carbon footprint as much as parking 7 cars

http://woodheat.net