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1 Remove the heel covering if it's vinyl, suede, fabric or pale/delicate leather.
Leave it on if it's veneer, smooth black leather and maybe dark brown or other colours you can confidently recolour.
To remove heel covering, 1. Remove PU top
2. Heat and unglue any soling that is glued up the front of the heel block.
3. Unfold heel covering 10-20mm past where the block is snapped.
2 Snap heel block completely off
You may need to wrap it in some rags and hold the piece you want to remove in the vice while you wiggle and pull at the shoe.
3 Remove the old tube
3 Remove the old tube
Take the snapped off heel block section, place it good end down on 6mm open jaws of the vice, but not clamped in the vice, as this will damage the surface. With a hammer and using a new tube as a punch, knock out the old tube, and then carry on until the new tube is right through the top section. If the old tube has broken off in the top section of the heel that is still attached to the shoe
Take the snapped off heel block section, place it good end down on 6mm open jaws of the vice, but not clamped in the vice, as this will damage the surface. With a hammer and using a new tube as a punch, knock out the old tube, and then carry on until the new tube is right through the top section. If the old tube has broken off in the top section of the heel that is still attached to the shoe
Remove it before you try to drill the hole deeper. To do this, you first screw in a suitably size self tapping screw. The screw must poke out at least 20mm from the base of the heel. Then heat with gas torch till the tube is loose enough to pull out with pliers.
4 Clean up the break on the two halves of the heel, so that it sits nicely together.
4 Clean up the break on the two halves of the heel, so that it sits nicely together.
Remove as little of the bent plastic as possible, or else you will shorten the block. Use sandpaper by hand is usually best.
5 Drill into the block that is still attached to the shoe.
5 Drill into the block that is still attached to the shoe.
Now drill into the heel block that is still attached to the shoe with a 4.5mm drill bit. Keep the angle the same as it was when the old tube was in there and drill until you hit the shank or some screws! Measure the heel block and mark the drill bit with some tape so you don't drill right through into the inside of the shoe.
6 Check fit
6 Check fit
Cut the tube to length with bolt cutters, better to cut it 3-4mm longer, as you can always grind it off later
7 Glue with Araldite
7 Glue with Araldite
Mask around the block to 1mm from join, so you dont have to sand glue off the block tomorrow. Make sure there is plenty of glue down the hole – but not so much that you end up filling the tube! Hold it all together with cello tape, wrap a bit of tape around joint so that not too much oozes out as araldite sets really hard and you will need to sand the excess off tomorrow! Leave it till the next day to set.
8 Sand the join smooth and recolour/recover
8 Sand the join smooth and recolour/recover
If recovering with a torn covering. A very thin, well skived piece of taught pigskin glued on the inside of the covering across the tear may help.
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