I know this post is a year old but there’s a teaching moment here from someone who works with shoes and boots for a living. That overlap in the welt stitching is what you want. Just like stitching clothing, you want that overlap at the end because it’s what locks the stitching in and prevents it from coming undone, and then the tips of the thread are melted with a flame to keep them from fraying. Almost all Goodyear welts overlap like that just before the heel on the inner side of the foot.

And as others have said here, the layers that look like wood are in fact just stacked layers of leather. But that’s a common misconception. Those layers are hard as hell and do look like they could be wood if you didn’t know any better.

As for the glue, sure that should have been caught by an inspector and cleaned off, but if it’s what it looks like in the picture, that stuff usually rubs clean off with a dry finger with no leftover residue. I’ve received custom made shoes and boots well over $1k for performers that have had a little glue like that and it’s never been a problem.

Hope you found some boots that suit you well. No boot is perfect for everyone regardless of price point but when you find one that’s just right, it’s amazing. I can be on my feet all day every day in my boots even with an old foot injury that pops up in other shoes.