xnikolaos

Hi Andy. I have a few alpha machines and one is exactly like yours. There is no manual for this model because the company has been closed for a long time. The closest manual is from FAV. I had to repair them little by little and I have a lot of experience. What you have to pay attention to are the screws and nuts that are a mixture of metric with the SINGER system, outside of normality. Tell me what you need so I can send you (FAV manual etc) and where to buy cheap and good consumables and some spare parts.

All bell skivers with the number 801 in the model name are made almost identically in China by at least two Chinese companies and marketed under different names around the world. Some aftermarket companies put their personal touch by changing some screws or modifying the threads (metric to imperial). You can't go wrong with buying them,. They use simple construction materials such as cast iron for the body and simple carbon steels without heat treatment for the rest of the parts. They are durable and easy to maintain because all the moving parts that receive stress are their ball bearings (From 10 to 14 cheap, common, ball bearings.). If you know how to change a worn ball bearing, then you will never throw it away. Most of the consumables are common (bell skiver cutter, stone feed wheel, presser foot). The reason people call them FORTUNA clones , I think, is these common consumables. They are not actually clones. Best cheap solution is to find a used old FAV, ALPHA, SAGITTA, Italian skiving machines. I bought mine in Greece for €50 each. The old FORTUNA skivers of the same type are not good for poor amateurs like me, because they use plastic materials, at least one, which shows problems over time and there is no spare part. Unless you want to give a small fortune to FORTUNA Germany for their wrong design.

No. I haven't found any used ones, for sales, in Greece. I have seen them used in small shoe factories and at shoe machinery shows.

Silverd. According to skiving machine manufacturers (FAV, Old Sagitta, Old ALPHA) , bottom-feed skiving machines are designed to handle soft and medium hard chrome or vegetable-tanned leathers. Top and bottom feed heavy dutty skiving machines are made for hard leathers, which are usually shoe soles and some leathers of the saddlery. If we make the assumption and divide the leathers into three hardness categories (soft, medium, hard). In my experience, you need both machines for the job. I'm not a professional, but I have four old Italian skiving machines and from my experience as an amateur I noticed that I can also skive hard leathers (soles) but in a very long time and at the limits of the strength of the motors and the machine. It simply means I can't. Of course, the best answer would be given by a representative of a skiving machine manufacturing company, who supposedly has the information that a simple user does not have.

I have a similar machine SEIKO LSC8BV and use it regularly for sewing and binding as an amator. To understand if it is a machine for binding, you should turn the hand wheel, without material for sewing, as if you were sewing and observe the feed dog if it only moves back and forth ( binding) or if it simultaneously rises and falls over the needle plate (sewing only, not for binding).

You need to set the direction of rotation on the electric motor. At least that's how I do it. Older motors (Clutch motors) have a switch for this purpose or some reverse wiring connections.

Normal old type universal skivers. Bottom feed only. Good for chrome leathers , not for stiff and heavy.

Heavy duty skivers with upper driven feed roll are machines to skive stiff and heavy materials. Example FAV ( Fratelli Alberti) CUT, CUM2, CUM3, CUM3K.

Yes I can send them to you but the file is larger than 1.5Mb. I think email is easier.

Jazznow, look at the pdf file I'm sending you. It is two pages of Italian FAV1,2 manual. It is the same machine as the FORTUNA with minor modifications. If you learn these pages, then you will understand how the old FORTUNA type skiver works. AV1 AV2.pdf

This is a setup in a cylinder sewing machine.

There are no new spare parts for such old machines. All you can do is fit spare parts from Chinese clones (801, 747), after machining, or design and build them from scratch with a lathe and mill. Some spare parts from clones like presser foot, bell knife, drive wheels (feed roller) may fit. Or finding an old machine and cannibalizing it.

A bit late.

Experienced shoemakers in Greece prefer a single motor and continuous operation of bell knife and feed wheel because they want speed in similar materials. Hobbyists and smaller manufacturers prefer a separate motor (clutch motor) for the bell knife and another motor (servo motor) for the feed wheel for greater accuracy. A good portable industrial vacuum cleaner with a nozzle does the rest of the job accurately. You don't need an integrated hood (vacuum).

Go to the website (https://www.fratellialberti.com/en/) and fill out the form about the machine you are interested in. You have to wait a few days for the answer. There are also Italian sellers who sell these products. But be careful, apart from the price you also need consumables after some time of operation. If the seller is not reliable, he will give them to you at unrealistic prices. Don't rush to buy if you don't have cheap parts. Italian sellers generally have very good prices on branded parts and many times cheaper, than Chinese ones. I don't know if we are allowed on the site to give seller addresses.

You have to go into the board menu and set the rotation speed to high when you are threading bobbins. The rotation speed is usually set from 100rpm to over 3000rpm. This is especially true when you thread bobbins with an external independent threading mechanism (bobbin winder) and after isolating the sewing machine or not. In any case, you must increase the revs. Look at the manual, Ana1234.

Any plain mineral or motor or sewing machine oil of higher viscosity is fine. Motor oil will, over time, stain your sewing machine with pigments, but these oils provide good protection and lubricity. I am sending you a photo from the bonis sewing machine manual for oiling.

For Fratelli Alberti, FAV AV1-2, 1800rpm, SKF ball bearings For chinese clones TK-801, 1270rpm, Unknown ball bearings

Maicol, I have no manual from this machine. Also spare parts, even screws are unlikely to be found on the market. You can only find spare parts from Chinese clone machines (TK-801, 477). Only the basics bell knife, feed wheel, presser foots , may fit.

I don't have the same skiver. I am sending you some pictures so you can see how the flat belt works. You can make your flat belt from scratch with some sewing. You can find flat belts from China or make your own. You must measure the required length (perimeter) of your skiver belt.

I bought a tensioner from AliExpress, from a relatively serious company. I ended up putting it in storage and repairing the old one (SEIKO LSC 8BV) using a used juki original part. The quality of the new tensioner from AliExpress was very low and could not be used for serious work. Some spare parts of the new tensioner from AliExpress, such as nuts, can be used, but the threaded shafts you are interested in are to be thrown away.

KatieM I don't know what model of skiver you have. From the few I see in the photo it looks a bit like one of mine which is a FAV AV 1T ( An excellent Italian). These skivers use three different belts of which two are V-Belts (8mm and 10mm) and the one you are interested in that drives the grinding wheel is a flat drive belt 0,6 to 0,8mm thick and 6-10mm wide. It has a special path through a system of two tensioners until it reaches the drive pulley. But be careful, you have to find the length you need yourself. I am sending you a photo below so you can understand how they are sold. I make my own from industrial belt cutting and sewing and some glue. Have a nice day from Athens. You can use any well-known company's motor oil, but if you use the skiver near people or in an enclosed space, then sewing machine oil is the way to go. And a little grease (All known brands) in some places where the oil cannot stand.

Chinese companies sell their products in Europe without any warranty but in consultation with the buyer. They do not have a representative office in any European country. The sale is almost illegal in the European Union. The selling store is obliged to give a guarantee of at least one year for the products it sells.

Νo. No need for a speed reducer when using a 45-50mm small pulley servo motor (photos). You can manually operate the sewing machine (Hand crank) if you want an even lower speed. I will make a reducer for my pleasure (photos), from cheap Chinese materials, but it is not necessary. I can punch 5mm, chrom tanned leather at lowest speed (100-200Rpm) with easy, with 750watt chinese noname servomotor.

From my experience. It is better if you go with this address (photo) and through AliExpress,. Delivery from Germany to SLOVENIA with DHL and without taxes and delivery costs.