A simple project that'll help you get your boots off at the end of a hard day.

Maker: Teddy Boxberger, Lucchese Bootmaker, est.1883, supplier to LBJ, El Paso, Texas Shoe Cleaner

• scrap wood, roughly 16" x 5", plus more

Step 1: Start with a piece of wood about 16" x 5".

Step 2: From the outside edges at one end of the board, measure in ¾ inches. Draw a line from each mark to the corner at the other end. Use a jigsaw to cut down the lines, creating the tapered bottom end of the bootjack.

Step 3: At the wider top end, measure and mark 1 inch in from each outside edge. Find the center of the width of the board, then mark a point on the center line 5 inches in from the top.

Step 4: Place the coffee cup (or any similarly sized round object) just above the 5-inch mark you made and trace a circle.

Step 5: Draw lines from the 1-inch marks you made on the top of the board to the widest part of each side of the circle. Cut the resulting parabola out with a jigsaw to form the mouth of your bootjack.

Step 6: Cut a small triangle, about 2 inches deep and 2 inches wide, from the narrow end of the bootjack. This creates two distinct feet, for stability.

Step 7: Sand every edge, especially in the mouth of the jack, to avoid scarring your boots.

Step 8: On the underside of the board, 7 inches from the wide end, glue a piece of wood—about 4 inches long and 1 1/2 inches tall—across the jack. It lifts the mouth off the ground, so you can get your boot in.

This originally appeared in the September 2017 issue.

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