Sovran81

I own one and like it. The good--- solid frame, solid tool steel blade instead of the bimetal or edge hardened blade, The blade is set up dead center on the roller, great finish on the frame. The handle locks down securely. The bad--- index markings for depth are only rough guess, The blade could be sharper out of the box, but hey couldnt they all. Controlled tapers are made a little more difficult due to the spring on the handle (this could just be me). My only disappointment is the roller. It is not billet and has an assembly gap from rolling the flat stock into the roller. I have measured the leather before, at, and after this gap and there is no difference so this small gap is purely asthetic. Would I recommend this splitter to a friend? Yes. it is accurate, simple to maintain and easy to use.

Thanks Sylvia. I will check out those links.

I have seen that splitter, I opted for one that would have the capacity for bellies also and have a keystone. If you are interested in beveling your strands, I have a pic of my homemade sizer/beveler in my gallery. Feel free to copy it, I did. For black on veg tanned I use vinegroon before cutting. I havent really played with other colors but when I try it I will probably make a batch of rit alcohol based dye and soak the strands before greasing and stretching. My thought is that the strand will allow the dye to soak in more thoroughly. Downside is that after stretching it might produce lighter color. Greasing may darken the color afterwards. Just another reason to use strands from the same section of hide. @Kiscien I checked out your website. That is some fine work. I work in paracord as well as leather. Unfortunately I have higher demand for the paracord whips so get little time to perfect my leather plaiting.

I stretch all my hide I plait with. Like Pete I cant always afford to use roo so I have experimented with other hides. The biggest determining factor for stretch I have found is where the strand comes from. A strand from the shoulders has almost no stretch while a strand from the belly is can stretch by 1/3. I split my strands to .8-1.3 mm. Roo happens to be about that thickness. Cow needs to be split to that. taking a strand from each animal the same size cut from the same area (shoulder/back) the roo stretches less. from the belly the roo seems to stretch more. Since I have only used roo a few times and they were female, I assumed the roo belly stretch had something to do with it being marsupial. I am far from an expert and didnt stay at a Holiday Inn last night, these were just my findings with the hides I have used. Edit- I try to keep my whips at 20-22 mm. I prefer the Aussie thin whips to the American 25mm thick ones.

Do you plan on using a shot bag? If so your finished whip might be very thick using 3-4 oz. That is 9-12 oz thickness of leather braided tight not including core material. That will make for a very small diameter core. Remember a whip is supposed to be supple once broken in.

Depending on the part of the hide the strand comes from determines the amount of stretch. I try to match strands from the same part of the hide so they all stretch the same. Yes you stretch the same as roo. Realistically I would rather have the strand break on the hook then on the whip. Heavily grease your strands before and during stretching. use more grease as you plait. It doesnt matter what type of critter leather you are using, greasing during plaiting is pretty much the last chance to get grease into the plait.

Sorry no app that I know of for the formulas. I picked them up over the years talking to whip plaiters. The width of the braid..... I am not sure I follow you. The thickness of the strand crosses over a number of other strands which is giving you a thicker diameter then you thought you would have. The width of the braid can affect thickness if you are bunching the braid up as you plait. As for the core size, use the first formula. Just as any math equation if you have only one unknown in an equation you can figure the unknown. I tried to run the formula to determine core size but I must have forgotten something since high school. Using the metric system makes all that math alot easier.

Nice job. I like the way you put the pentagram at an angle. Its up to the viewer to see it as they want.

To expand on what Louie was saying, thin leather bought is normally roll pressed which adds strength to the leather. Splitting it yourself stretches the leather or decompresses it since most small splitters require you to pull it through. On the other hand, bought leather tends to be less consistent then strands you split yourself. Using other hide than roo will greatly increase the hands on time of the leather before you even get to plaiting. Roo has very little stretch in it and makes a tight plait. Other types of hide have much more stretch and usually must be greased and stretched much more than roo. After this you have to resize the strand again since the stretchy bits tend to shrink in width. Veg tanned is the preferred tanning process for all leather used in whips. Roo hides are generally drum stuffed afterwards which adds to strength and greases it internally. I have used upholstery leather (chrome tanned) to make 12 plait whips and they have come out pretty nice after taking the time to grease and bevel the strands. They have held up longer than expected and kept the color well. BUT you wont be able to get the 1/8" strands to make the finer whips without breaking a lot of strands while plaiting. Its kinda one of those "pay me now or pay me later" things. Nothing sucks worse than getting near the end of the whip to break the last extra strand you added at the beginning just for broken strands. Forgot to say I split down to .8-1.3 mm depending on leather type.

No, Well not more then the thickness of the strand. The width of the strand is calculated for the number of strands and the diameter of the core to provide correct core coverage at about 45* angle of crossed strands. Here are a couple formulas that will help. Diameter of the core X 4.5 / NS (number of strands)= Width per strand. Strands should be 1.8-2.0 times the length of the core. Hope this helps.

We are wanting to start our business and while I have decent business sense, when it comes to the legalities and requirements to actually register a business a box of rocks has a better grip on reality. I cant afford to go to a business lawyer to ask these questions and get suggestions. I do offer my thanks to any and all that respond to this thread. We dont really plan on turning a profit for the first couple years. We are getting a business and resale license to allow us to make accounts with companies that will only deal with businesses and to take full advantage of deducting business expenses ranging from supplies, car, travel, communications and other business related expenses. I have read some of the other threads and links that posters supplied concerning business and feel we will fit in the category of business instead of hobby. What types of businesses are there that would apply as a small business and what are the differences? What does it take to register a business? How long does it take? How much does it cost? Feel free to add any other information that you think I might find useful, but please explain big words. LOL If I could have written this in crayon I would have.

Thanks. I have read that page but since I have never owned a smart phone, I know nothing about them. Last thing I wanted to do was buy an expensive phone and find out it didnt work. I have heard you can just swap the sims card from phone to phone but once again I am not sure if I can swap from my present phone to an android. I have a lot to learn about these phones and the service.

Thank you both. I have found 2 #2s and ordered them. Since I am pretty handy with tools I figured I can file shape one to make it larger and deeper.

I am in need of a tool to round the edge of a belt or strap on 1-2 layers of 6-8 OZ leather. I am not close enough to anywhere that sells tools to try different ones out. If anyone could suggest an appropriate tool and possibly post a pic of the cut it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Thank you Bob and Wiz. I am pretty sure at this point 3/8 would be the thickest I would be sewing time to time but as has been stated before dont run the machine to its limit. As much as I would love a cylinder arm machine capable of sewing the real heavy stuff its currently out of budget. If I was to set this machine up with the heavier springs, could it still sew thinner material or would the springs have to be changed out depending on what was sewn? What brands and models are these clones you speak of?

What is the leather capacity of this machine? I have found threads concerning the 256 but not alot on the 255. Also the needle and thread numbers are still very confusing to me. Is this machine capable of using the heavier and larger needle thread combos that are needed for 3/8- 7/16 of leather? Thanks for any info. What are the differences between this machine and the 206?

Thanks Bruce. It sounds like a good deal. I dont have one of the new fangled "smart" phones, but have priced data packages. Now I just need to find a phone that Verizon and Square support. Verizon hasnt been too helpful in that regard.

Years back the CC companies used to charge the vendor about 2% per transaction to accept their cards. Has this changed? Do you guys figure in the square fees and the CC fees into your price?

Thanks Mike. I think I will have to get some and play with it.

Thank you.

I got them from the last place I worked. Bought them at cost in a box of 100. While I was at lowes yesterday I checked on the price there. $1.50 for 5. Still not to bad for disposable use when doing a couple different glue ups.

Love it. Where did you get the pattern? Or do you wish to share if its your own?

Ryan something on ebay $8-11 per 50, 3-4 different lengths. Mcmaster-Carr twice as spendy but more options.

A few questions to anyone that has used it. I know nothing about it. How stiff is it? Will it break if bent without being heated? is it sold in precut 1' x 1'. or can it be purchased by the linear foot?

I use paper cups and acid brushes for soldering. You learn quickly how much glue to pour into the cup, The brushes are 20 for a buck.