Digit

At school and at home I use a water-based CA. I have no experience with anything else, but I'm happy with the water-based stuff I use (Ecostick 9015st): it hardly smells and it does its job, namely keeping pieces together until they're stitched. I'd never rely on glue alone to keep things together; you always have to sew to make it last. Then again, I have no experience (yet) with wet molding. Is molding glued-together pieces a thing? Most of the stuff I see here look as if they're molded first and then glued/sewn together...

My Fortuna skiver is mounted on an old flat-bed sewing machine table. The huge cut-out of the flatbed was partially covered with an 18mm (3/4") chipboard, screwed on the original table top and with a cutout for the skived leather bits to fall down through. The Fortuna is hinge-mounted on top of this chipboard.

I've recently finished one of the more complex assignments at school: a purse with card holders and coin pocket. It's made from chrome tan goat leather: smooth black outer and suede red liner.

As Hans already referred to, in densely populated Europe, the three-phase power that exits the power plants gets transported all the way to the homes. AC power transmission is three-phase everywhere in the world because using three wires is more efficient than using two to transmit the same amount of power. It’s the last mile from substation to customer that is most expensive and where utility companies need to do the math: is is more cost-effective to put down four or five wires (three phases plus neutral in TT systems or the same plus additional ground in TN systems) or put down two wires? in densely populated areas it’s more efficient to lay down three phases as it allows for more power to be distributed before you need additional substations. In less densely populated areas, you can get away with two wires at higher than distribution voltage and the occasional transformer (eg a pole pig as I believe it’s called in the USA) that transforms down to distribution voltage in split phase (eg 2x120V, allowing for larger machines to be hooked up to 240V).

Slight nuance: in the industry motors are built to specifications. If a motor needs to be able to run between a range of rpms, the cooling system is calculated to those rpms. Clutch motors are not designed to provide a range of rpms at the axle; that's what the clutch is for: transform a fixed rpm to a range of rpms (plus heat dissipation on the clutch plate). I'm not saying that a clutch motor can't be speed-regulated; they can, just like any motor; but that's taking them out of their spec and into the realm of safety margins. As long as you don't venture into extremes you're safe. The older the motor, the more likely it has been overdesigned and can take some thrashing.

Do you happen to know if those clasps can somehow open or not? If they don't open then I think this seems to be a variation on a hook and eye closure. If they do open they could be a variation on a firefighter closure. If I search for fireman closures I only find carabiner-like closures though. Variations on hook-and-eye seem to be named hook-and-bar, but that seems to be more targeted for pants. Maybe you could search for large/elaborate hook-and-eye/bar closures and combine the hook part of it with an eyelet to achieve a similar look?

That's something you get when everyone chips in with their own situation and experiences in mind and little to no knowledge about the OP's. I have one three-phase clutch motor that I managed to drive (at constant speed) using a cheap VFD and I have one sewing machine powered by a servo. I love the servo but a VFD was cheaper to convert my clutch-motor-powered skiver to single-phase than buying a servo for that machine. You have single-phase clutch motors, so you advise in that direction and Hans has a whole shop full of three-phase motors so he advises on a plug-in VFD setup. Everyone's situation is different, so everybody will come up with different solutions. The good thing is that in this way we can all learn from each other. The best the OP can do is to distill all the advice he got and apply it to his situation.

@Tigweldor I believe @dikman suggests to replace the clutch pedal with a pedal that controls the VFD and somehow lock the clutch motor into a direct drive (because the OP finds the clutch impossible to control). As I mentioned: this risks overheating the motor because it is not designed to run at slow speeds. If you're going out of your way to transform a clutch motor into a servo-ish motor, then I think it's better to replace it with a proper servo.

I've had a positive experience with a cheap Chinese VFD (see Powering three-phase skiver motor), but note that clutch motors are designed for continuous running at a constant speed. Their built-in cooling fan is designed to provide adequate cooling at that speed. If you lower rpm for any prolonged time, the motor will draw more current (increasing heat production) and lower the fan speed (decreasing cooling). The combination will risk your motor to overheat and burn through. You say the clutch isn't operating smoothly. Could it be that it's clutch plate deteriorated from long-time use at slipping speeds? I have no experience with clutch motor clutches, but does anyone perhaps know if these are wet or dry? And if wet, maybe the oil has leaked out and needs replacing?

As far as I'm aware there are two different snap designs: s-type and ring-type. An s-type snap has a ball on the male side and an opening on the female side in which two parallel spring bars are visible (on the inside these form an s-shape, hence the snap type name). A ring-type snap has an upright rim on the male side and a loose-fitting circular spring on the female side. S-type snaps have two small contact areas between each spring bar and the ball, so they come apart easily. These are mostly used in clothes for closing pockets or a zipper cover in a jacket. Ring-type snaps have a full circle of contact area and are harder to open and close. Depending on the material from which the spring is made, they come in different hardnesses. My supplier has snaps with a brass ring ('normal') and with a copper ring ('hard'): https://www.lederhuis.com/nieten/drukknoop.php?l=e&action=warenkorb&L=Nieten_Druckknopf If you're using s-type snaps, try switching to ring-types. If you're already using those, try finding ones with different spring material, or larger ones (large snaps have more contact area between rim and spring, so they are stronger). If they still come loose too easily, try doubling up or tripling up on snaps.

I doubt it. My teacher used to work in the prototyping department of Delvaux. After prototyping a new bag it goes to the factory in Brussels where people in aprons and white gloves work in complete silence on an assembly line, each performing one specific task over and over again. In Belgium this story was fact checked and considered misleading. Luxury brands typically require subcontractors to sign NDAs. Some of those luxury parts can well be made in China and some assembly done too, but not by the people in the video clips (one of those manufacturers apparently has a website registered only in Feb 2025 and and used to sell Chinese electric cars a year ago).

is says "N° SERIE" (the numero symbol), which would more appropriately read as "numéro de série" (French), "número de serie" (Spanish), "numero di serie" (Italian) or any other romance language or English. In German (as in Dutch) I would expect "serienummer" with 'nummer' abbreviated as 'Nr'.

A very hard and durable type of wood found easily in Europe would be the invasive Robinia Pseudoacacia (false acasia, black locust). Easiest found commercially as fence posts over here in Belgium, which gives you a nice base to cut (smallish diameter) discs from to then lathe some grooves on.

For cutting out panels I use a heavyweight paper (200-250g/m²) to create a template to the final size of the leather, place the template onto the grain side, trace around it with a silver pen, then cut out the leather on the inside of the ink. On smooth leather the silver rubs off easily with a damp cloth.

I've got several of those lying around. One of them is currently powering a workplace heater (a Chinese Webasto clone) off a tranfsormer. As long as the incandescent bulb keeps working I'll use that one. I'm not a fan of flickering LED lights (even with a cap on the rectifier they still flicker).

If you don't have a needle positioning system, then experiment with turning the handwheel to find the 'correct' position before changing stitching direction or you might undo the last forward stitch on the first reverse stitch. The needle should be down and the interlock made. If the needle is down but the lock isn't made, you're going to pull the top thread right back out and you'll have a hole without any thread in.

Practice makes perfect. Use scrap pieces of leather or very thick textile (folded over to match leather thickness) to test your stitches and thread tension. Experiment with thread sizes and stitch lengths, just make sure your needle size is adjusted to the thread size and your stitch length is adjusted to the material thickness (larger stitches for thicker material). Use different color upper and lower thread while testing thread tension: correct tension means you don't see bits of the lower thread color on top and no bits of upper thread color on the bottom stitch. You mentioned your machine has a servo motor. Does it come with a needle positioning system? If so, practice stitch-by-stitch sewing to get a feel of the pedal control. Also practice stitching at the slowest possible speed. Try to visually align the edge of your piece with the needle plate or presser foot and practice making straight stitches that are perfectly parallel with the edge of the piece or other stitches. When sewing two or more bits together, keeping things in place is the hardest part. With textile you can use pins, but those leave a mark on leather. With leather you can use contact adhesive or double-side tape to set your pieces together before stitching them (just make sure your glue is dry before stitching and don't stitch through tape; both can mess up your needle).

The VFD I ordered has arrived and I hooked it up last weekend. I've left the original switch in the 3-phase circuit because on inspection it contained an overload protection circuit. I guess that when the motor does overload, the VFD would switch off earlier than the elements in the old switch have time to warm up, but having a backup protection doesn't hurt. It took some looking though the manual to find the few things I needed to configure among a gazillion possible settings, but now that I have it configured it's simply a matter of turning the motor on with the green button on the VFD and turning the motor off with the red button. Added bonus is the configurable wind-down time: I've set it to three seconds so that the motor is actively stopped instead of it taking over a minute of free spin when it was powered directly from the mains. I'll probably be adding easier-to-operate external start and stop buttons in the future and hide the VFD under the bench. Added bonus: the motor has some mid-winding leads (so an auto-transformer actually) going to the junction box to offer 12V AC to power an auxiliary incandescent light, which still works. @Tigweldor The VFD fan can be set to automatic, which means that it only runs when necessary, which apparently means from half a second after the motor is started to half a minute after the motor has been turned off. It doesn't bother me too much though; it makes about the same amount of noise as the motor itself and it will only be running for short amounts of time. I never have huge amounts of leather to skive.

The .75kW one of this listing: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007944151596.html

Thank you all for the replies. Belgium is basically the sticks in the electro/mechanical field. Labour is so expensive over here that most small industries have moved away or went out of business decades ago and the associated tools have been sold off or scrapped. I'm also under the impression that over here there is very little interest in tinkering with stuff; that means there's not much of a second-hand market (complete machines or loose components) or scrap yards where you can find parts. The skiver I've bought was actually a rare find, especially given its age. It was used by a now retired shoemaker and his successor prefers to use a more modern machine and sold this one. I've tested it in the seller's workshop and I was surprised by the reasonable quietness of the motor and the suppleness of the clutch. The plate on the motor mentions the factory in Leinfelden which, according to the company's website, started in 1960. From 1985 they started making servo motors. Given this info and the motor's build quality I guess it must have been made somewhere in the sixties. I'm not planning to install 3-phase power just yet. In Belgium there's 3ph arriving in most homes, but historically only one phase was hooked up and the utility companies alternated phases between houses to get them balanced. With the advent of electric cars and solar panels, new houses are more likely to get a proper 3-phase connection. Upgrading an existing single phase connection to three phases costs nearly as much as I paid for this skiver and would additionally require an inspection of the full electrical installation, which isn't free either. Since there is an abundant supply of three-phase power in Belgium (albeit with a price tag), even to remote areas, and there has been for decades, there is no market for rotary phase converters (new or second hand). @Cumberland Highpower I know I can run a three-phase motor on single phase using a Steinmetz connection (capacitors), but it's not very efficient and could risk overheating the motor by running it underpowered. @Dwight I get what you're saying and it would make sense from a business perspective. However I do this as a hobby and for the moment I can still use the skivers at school, so there's no real pressure to get mine working. Also, contrary to most other Belgians, I do like to tinker with stuff and try things out. @Tigweldor as I understand it, VFDs use an inverter to rectify incoming AC to DC and then produce simulated AC by pulsing DC (PWM) on successive phases; this pulsing can produce an audible whine in the motor, which you can reduce by tuning the carrier frequency. The VFD can produce 380V if it includes a step-up-converter in the DC line. @Northmount I have no intention to run the motor on a different speed than it was made for, so cooling shouldn't be a problem as long as I vacuum the accumulated dust from the motor's grill. Anyway, the clutch allows me to tune the speed of the skiver using the pedal. To conclude, I've ordered a single-phase 230V to three-phase 380V Chinese VFD and I'll see where that gets me. I'll keep you guys updated.

Hi all, I've just bought an old bell skiver (Fortuna) powered by a three-phase clutch motor. I don't have three-phase power at home, so now I'm looking at possible options to get this machine running. Option one: replace the clutch motor with a servo. This comes with the downside of losing the vintage esthetics and the need to get the servo motor speed-calibrated correctly. Option two: buy a variable frequency drive (VFD) to convert single-phase to three-phase to power the motor. This also loses a little bit of the vintage esthetic, but the VFD can be hidden under the bench more easily I guess. For this option I have two directions to go in. The clutch motor states 220/380V, so that means it can be hooked up to either a three-phase 220V supply when connected in Delta, or to a three-phase 380V supply when connected in Wye. Searching for VFDs I find both 1p/220V-to-3p/220V units and 1p/220V-to-3p/380V units. When I use the former I'd have to connect the motor in Delta, when I use the latter I need to connect it in Wye. Does one or the other have a preference? Can VFDs be used for either Delta or Wye connection or do they assume one of the two?

Why not use chrome tan on both sides? Possibly with a reinforcement tape in between? A while ago I've used two layers of 1.2mm (3oz) chrome tan with a reinforcement tape sandwiched in between as a leg strap for a leg bag. I's very thin, soft and supple.

Hi all, I've been lurking in these forums and occasionally replying for a few weeks now. Time for a proper introduction. I'm from a town near Antwerp, Belgium. In my day job I'm a software programmer and to compensate for the cerebral work I like to use my hands. I've been attending evening classes since 2005: four years of woodworking, two years of welding, two years of photography, four years of metal turning and milling, a four-year electrician's course, and past September I've started a four-year course of leatherwork. Some of the things I've made in school so far: First exercise: tassel (learning how to cut and glue leather) Next, a strap with small carabiner (gluing layers of leather and reinforcement, using the belt cutter, machine stitching, rivet press): A small round coin pouch (learning to cut round shapes): A small card holder (first use of the skiver): A small folding pouch (with pigskin liner glued to the leather): A pencil pouch (pigskin liner, skived edges, inside seams): A glasses case (reinforcement and liner glued in a curved form): And finally a small toiletry bag (inside seams, loose suede liner, zipper stitched in between outer leather and liner): It's been a steep learning curve so far, but I'm enjoying it a lot. All of these were school assignments; I've made some other stuff on my own as well, but that's for another post.

Could the number of posts per page be made configurable in the user profile? I rather liked to see all recent posts on the first page of any subforum (I'd probably even set it to 50 or so).

I was thinking more of some kind of antibacterial spray like https://www.dettol.co.uk/household-disinfection/multi-purpose-cleaning/dettol-mould-mildew-remover-spray-original-750-ml/ or https://www.dettol.co.uk/household-disinfection/everyday-cleaning/dettol-surface-cleanser-spray-500-ml/ Or you could try pouring some 60-90% isopropanol in a spray bottle and use that. Isopropanol is the active antibacterial ingredient in most alcohol gels; I wouldn't try smearing an actual gel on leather. Note that the first one seems to contain bleach; always test first to see if whatever you apply on leather doesn't cause discoloration.