Shoelace Stoppers

  Since I got home from the trip south I have been battling a sore throat and cough.  I am feeling sort of OK but....not 100%.  My suspicion is that it is my standard spring flu/cold, finally the weather has got good and I have been out for a couple of bike rides as well as worked a bit in the garden, so it must be spring.

I love my bike.

    Having got out for a couple of bike rides helps clear my head, but having post nasal drip and a cough has put me on pills to control the ooze.  I treat those pills the same way that I treat booze, so I have not been doing big stuff in my shop. When my mind is a bit clouded I stick to small goofy projects that I can make with hand tools.  

  Today's project is one that I had been thinking about for a while.  Like most people I have an assortment of shoes for bumbling about hearth and home and a different assortment for bumbling about in the yard.  I try to be a good guy and not mix indoor and outdoor shoes. Mostly I  remember to change shoes as I come and go.  As I hurt my back last spring sometimes getting up and down to tie and untie shoes is  a "pain", it also doesn't help that I am not a svelte 200 pounder any more.  What happens is I find myself wondering around the house in untied shoes.   Flapping shoe laces are a tripping hazard, plain and simple.

  

   My solution, required a 5/32 drill bit, a whittling knife and some pieces of 3/4 square hard wood. (in this case elm).

  

  I made two sets of lace stoppers for my in door shoes so that I don't have to hunch over and tie my shoes.    These are not replacement for a property tied shoe by any means, I expect that the shoe will loosen up as I walk but it does eliminate flapping laces and the tripping hazard they present.

  I can hear some of the serious wood workers out there sighing deeply as they head to their shops to hand cut dovetails, with one hand tied behind their back.  When I started doing wood work in my home shop I referred to myself as a wood butcher, now I feel my skills have advanced to where I am a competent  DIY wood worker.  As a DIY guy I have done a few very nice projects but mostly I work in my shop for personal satisfaction and private amusement, thus lace stoppers are a totally acceptable little project. 

   Remember any time you spend in your shop is time better spent than watching television.