Paulin631 Report post Posted February 24 Does anyone have any knowledge about these leather skiving machines on Amazon and Ebay. Ebay has complete packages for under $800. Includes Skiver SM-801, hardware and servo motor. Seems to be complete setup minus table and foot pedal. An upholstery guy told me they are all clones of Fortuna and they're all the same.with different labels as parts are interchangeable. Anyone have one? Thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paulin631 Report post Posted March 16 Ill respond to my own post. I took the plunge. Bought a complete setup, servo motor and controls under $800 shipped on Ebay. Identical in every way to my friends techsew except for the clear plastic guard on the side. Even came with an extra round file and oiler. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlZilla Report post Posted March 16 33 minutes ago, Paulin631 said: Ill respond to my own post. I took the plunge. Bought a complete setup, servo motor and controls under $800 shipped on Ebay. Identical in every way to my friends techsew except for the clear plastic guard on the side. Even came with an extra round file and oiler. Another one of those luxury items in this craft. I'll be interested in how you like this after you use it. A skiver is definitely on my wish list! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mike02130 Report post Posted March 16 1 hour ago, Paulin631 said: Ill respond to my own post. I took the plunge. Bought a complete setup, servo motor and controls under $800 shipped on Ebay. Identical in every way to my friends techsew except for the clear plastic guard on the side. Even came with an extra round file and oiler. Save up your leather scraps for testing. Those machines get pretty damn hungry. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xnikolaos Report post Posted March 20 (edited) 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. Edited March 20 by xnikolaos Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paulin631 Report post Posted March 21 Thanks for sharing that information. I've only had it a week but couldn't imagine not having it now. It has a stone feed wheel which works great on the 2 to 6 oz veg tan that I've been using. I see there's rubber wheels and fluted metal wheels available. Also see presser feet with rollers too. So much to learn! I'm happy with what I got, especially for the price. I now know there's no need buy as a package. I didn't want to deal with having to pair up a motor but any servo motor with 600 watts or more pairs nicely. It's a little bit cheaper if you buy separately from different sellers. There's a bunch of sellers on Ebay. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
