So yesterday I got this wild idea stuck in my head – what if I tried making shock absorbing insoles for volleyball shoes outta hard maple? Sounds weird, right? But hey, maple’s tough stuff. Figured it might take the sting outta landing after jumps. Grabbed my sketchbook – yeah, just a beat-up spiral notebook – and started scribbling some real bad drawings. More like squares than anything fancy.
Scrounging Up Supplies Like a Garage Sale Ninja
Rummaged through my garage stash first. Found some scrap hard maple boards left over from that wobbly bookshelf project last fall. Good thickness maybe? Measured my volleyball shoes – beat-up Asics with zero cushion left. Traced the outline right onto the maple with this chewed-up pencil I found rolling under my workbench.
My “Workshop” Essentials:
- Jigsaw that vibrates like an angry washing machine
- Sandpaper rougher than a cat’s tongue
- Wood glue crusted half-shut
- Safety goggles so scratched I squint to see
The Loud, Shaky, Dusty Part
Fired up that jigsaw. Thing sounds like a dentist drill hitting a rock. Tried following my wobbly pencil lines, but man, jigsaws got minds of their own. Ended up with two maple chunks kinda… vaguely… shoe-shaped? More like abstract art. Sanded those rough edges down. Felt like rubbing concrete against concrete for an hour straight. Arms were noodles afterward.
Noticed the maple pieces sat way high in the shoes – felt like walking on bricks. So I eyeballed it (never my strong suit) and tried carving out some “shock cavities” underneath with a chisel I probably sharpened wrong. Dug too deep near the ball of the foot section on the second one. Almost broke clean through. Whoops.
The “Well, It’s Stuck” Phase
Slathered that crusty wood glue everywhere inside my old insoles. Smooshed the rough maple blanks onto the glue. Pressed ‘em down hard with some random heavy books – mostly my wife’s dusty cookbooks. Left it crushed under “Vegetarian Slow Cooker Magic” overnight. Glue squeezed out the sides like toothpaste. Wiped most of it off… kinda.
The Moment of Mostly Truth
Took a hesitant jump in the garage this morning. CLONK. Felt like my foot bones were ringing. Tried a quick shuffle – sounded like wooden spoons clacking together inside my sneaker. Shock absorbing? Nah. More like shock transmitting. Maple don’t bend, it just tells your knees “Good luck, buddy.”
Verdict: Hard maple volleyball insoles? Awful idea. Worse than standing barefoot on Lego. Feet are complaining still. Learned maple’s great for tables. Or maybe a rolling pin. Feet? Terrible. But hey, made for a dusty afternoon in the garage and a story to tell. At least the cookbooks flattened ‘em nice.
