Attaching chrome leather (suede) soles

As recommended in "The Ballroom Dance Pack" by world champion Latin dancer Walter Laird, you can bond chrome-tanned leather (suede) soles over the harder, vegetable-tanned canvas leather used on what we normally refer to as "leather-soled shoes". In addition, I have bonded a pair of "suede" soles on to a pair of dance shoes, and am very pleased with the results. Freed brand (made in England) chrome leather (suede) dance shoe soles are available for only $6 a pair from Kinney Dancewear in Indianapolis. Their phone number is 1-800-93-DANCE. They come in white or dyed black. You order them in a man's size 11 or 11 1/2. After you bond them on and the adhesive is dry, trim them to size with a razor blade. I spoke at length with a shoe repairman, and he sold me a tube of the rubberized contact cement that he uses. I tried it, and it works fabulously!! It's *MUCH* easier to use than Shoe Goo, and dries almost instantly as opposed to the 24 hours that Shoe Goo requires. The adhesive is "Barge All Purpose Cement", made by the Quabaug Corp, North Brookfield, MA 01535. The rubberized adhesive "Shoe Goo" was good for gluing on dance shoe soles. They have now come out with "Shoe Goo II" which is thicker and doesn't seem to work as well for this purpose as the original Shoe Goo. Shoe Goo II, distributed by Second Wind Co., Paso Robles, Ca., 93447-2300, can be purchased at Kmart, Wal-Mart, or even hobby and sporting goods stores for approximately $3 a tube. Each 3.7 oz. tube is enough for a couple pairs of jazz shoes. But try to get the Barge All Purpose Cement mentioned above - you'll be much happier. When boding chrome leather (suede) soles onto athletic shoes with very aggressive sole patterns, it helps to grind the tread down before gluing the suede on. I used a 7" disk sander (though a belt sander would work fine) with a 24 grit sanding disk to grind down the tread on the pair of dance shoes I bonded the suede to. Make sure you use very coarse grit sanding disk (or belt) or you will just end up making a lot of heat and melting the rubber. In use, chrome leather (suede) soles glaze over with the dirt and wax they pick up from the floor, so you must occasionally clean them with a wire brush, as you do for regular dance shoes.