Skiver clone

[Paulin631]

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.

[Paulin631]

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. 

[AlZilla]

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!

[mike02130]

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.

[xnikolaos]

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

[Paulin631]

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. 

[Wheatley]

paulin631, I was trying to do the same thing on ebay. but not sure what to get. would you share exactly what you bought?

[aldoaguilar74]

Do you have a picture of your set up.  Table used , etc

[Garyak]

Several folks on my group have them, and use them in their daily business. I have the Techsew version. Not much difference in the machines except in price. You’ll be fine. The key to success with skivers Is knowing angles and how to achieve them on the skiver. Just turning some screws. 

Edited June 5 by Garyak