A rapid-leaf made Boot jack/remover

My parents are both retired and spend quite a lot of time outside in the garden (see my previous post about reconstructing a compost heap with Dad here) and going for walks around the rural area where they live. As a result they are quite often out in wellies, which if you’ve ever tried to remove when they’re caked in mud and you’re exhausted is never fun! So when I came across this (very hilarious!) video of how to make a simple boot jack/remover, I thought it would be the perfect spontaneous gift for them both.

The first step was to figure out the dimensions so I could find a suitable piece of wood from my scrap pile. I knew I had quite a few options with a nice selection of reclaimed pallet wood so I designed the project with those dimensions in mind. I do pretty much all my projects first in a notebook and then in SketchUp (not a sponsored post) as I find it fun to visualise what the ideas might look like in 3D before I start making them. And it also means I can still be doing something towards my woodworking when the weather is terrible and I can’t be outside!

So once the dimensions were determined I found a suitable piece of wood and set to work. The whole thing only took me about an hour to make, as it was a relatively simple construction. The only tricky bit was the tapering from the front end to the back, to make sure that it was even on both sides. I used a circular drill bit to cut out the prongs and the hole at the back end for hanging it up. I then used a saw to cut from the front back to the hole I’d just drilled to form the prongs, as well as to cut an additional piece to go underneath to raise the prongs up.

I finished the project with, as usual, a huge amount of sanding, along the edges to round them over and especially around the prongs and the hanging hole to prevent any splinters or from snagging trousers when used. I decided to leave the boot remover unstained as I liked the look of the natural wood. Finally I added a ribbon and gave it to my parents when I next visited. They both seemed to really love it – it now lives in the kitchen by the back door and happily seems to be being well used judging by the amount of mud on it when I last visited! 🔨