I’ve gotten most of my lasts from eBay, many of them for around $10 a pair. Some have been a little rough, and I figured they’d need repair eventually, but I finally got a pair that was unusable without fixing first.
I couldn’t find much information on repairing wooden lasts, and I’m not much of a woodworker, so I thought I’d share the process I used.
I bought a 1/2-inch drill bit and a matching 1/2-inch wooden dowel, then cut the dowel into roughly 3/4-inch sections. I drilled out the areas where the nail damage was particularly bad, applied wood glue, and tapped the dowel plugs into the holes. I wrapped an elastic band around the last to keep pressure on the plugs while the glue dried. Once everything had cured, I flush-cut the excess dowel and sanded it smooth.
I’m currently making a pair of shoes on these lasts, and so far everything seems to be working well. Feel free to let me know if y’all have any tips or tricks I might not know!