3D Printed Stilt Feet


This summer my son and I built stilts: I learned how to walk on stilts when I was about his age. He is light enough that we used 1" x 2" lumber but I doubled mine up at the bottom because my stilts are taller, I weigh more, and mine were bowing a bit when I walked on them.

I decided that it would be funny to have a pair of feet at the bottom of the stilts. I used Tinkercad to start designing an ankle and foot that I could attach to the wood and put inside a pair of shoes.


The first iteration had an ABS ankle and a PLA foot: I was hoping to have a flexible foot so I kept the design profile very low. The top part of the ankle attached to the lower part with a 3/8" carriage bolt. This foot attached to the lower ankle with a 1/4" bolt. 

My neighbor has twins and I asked her if she had any of their old shoes that were too beat up to donate: she had a few pairs! I got one for my stilts one one for my son's.



I took the stilts to Constructing Modern Knowledge where the hardwood floors made walking on wooden stilts treacherous. The design fit inside the shoe but proved too fragile: the attachment between the foot and ankle snapped and the foot itself proved too fragile as well.


I revised the lower ankle attachment to use a 3/8" carriage bolt.



The foot was similarly improved.



I put a sock over the foot and stuffed the shoe with butcher paper.



The shoes provide a nice padded feel at each step. I walked down the street with them this afternoon without the foot or ankle failing or me falling, humoring the neighbor kids and frustrating the neighbor dog. 


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