The Gluing Room

Here in the gluing room, the shoemaker glues the soles on the shoes. They use a special type of glue in this process, so that the sole is well attached. Before the shoe maker can glue the sole on, they must first sand the shoe with a sanding machine, which is in the next room. Machine number 1 is a sanding machine. The reason that the shoe maker sands the shoe is to make it smooth under the inner sole, so that it is not lumpy and uncomfortable under the shoe. If the shoe is not sanded underneath there will be a lot of texture under the sole that will make it lumpy and uncomfortable to use, and at the same time the sole will not attach properly. Machine number 2, is used to sew the sole onto the Buxton shoe, that model can only have a sole which is sewn on. The last stage here in the gluing room is to press the sole on. The shoe maker uses machine number 3 to warm up the glue again. Once it is warmed, the shoe maker attaches the shoe and the sole together and places them in machine number 4. The machine has air cushions inside that press the soles onto the shoes using air pressure. This means that the sole is attached evenly across the whole sole.