nof7 Report post Posted February 18, 2014 I currentlr have a LMC 14 inch auto feed splitter. I am having problems splitting peices wider than 3 inches. The leather binds up in the machine, pulls sideways, and sometimes wont grab or feed at all. The company had me check the blade, and since the splitter is only 5 days old, there was nothing wrong with the splitter. I did notice there is a lot of dust created, and the bottom feed roller gets clogged up with fine leather particles. I'm trying to split 10 ounce veggie-tan down to 8 ounce. I tried a 30 second hot water soak, and it seemed to help, but the leather soakes up too much water, and then starts to bind up, and slip .. I know the problem is gonna be something that I'm doing, or not doing. Is there a better way to condition the leather for smoother splitting? Thank You for any info or tricks and tips. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Geneva Report post Posted February 18, 2014 This is not a problem you are creating. I have never soaked leather to split it. I have been practicing at being a leather worker for 14 years or there about. There is something wrong with your new toy. It sounds as though the two roll's are not parallel with each other. Make sure to turn the machine off. Turn the rolls down until they touch and check the clearance on both sides and on each end of the rolls. Either with a feeler gauge or by eyesight. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Chee Report post Posted February 18, 2014 Does the leather always pull sides on one side? It could be that your lower roller is slightly higher on one side then the other. If that happens, more rolling pressure is placed on the leather on one side than the other causing it to turn. One way to check this is to get a feeler gauge and place it between the blade and the bottom roller. I'm not sure what the gap is set at but you can probably find the right thickness to test with. The feeler gauge should not feel looser on one end of the roller than the other. There should be uniform resistance throughout the entire length of the blade to bottom roller contact. Also, check the top roller to blade distance. It needs to be parallel as well. This should have been adjusted before Steve/Dave sent you the splitter but sometimes things happen... I just got an LMC splitter as well. I didn't have this problem with my splitter but I did have that problem with my old American 6 inch splitter until I learned how to adjust it. Andrew Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nof7 Report post Posted February 19, 2014 Did the blade and roller adjustments. Dave from LMC and helped me set the blade gap at 0.010". The leather no longer pulls to the right, but I am not getting a even cut. its cutting thinner on the start end and gets thicker to the middle and then thins out on the end. Now that we got me on track with the splitter, cound this now be a problem with my leather? Its supposed to be vegtan, but is there anyway that a different type of tanned leather could cause this problem? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Chee Report post Posted February 19, 2014 How much difference in thickness is there? I think it is an issue with blade based splitters that if you go through firmer or softer areas of the hide that there will be some variance in thickness. Unfortunately that has to do with the basic fact of blade splitters. But then again, it also depends on how much difference you're seeing. If more than +- 1/2oz or so there might be a problem. Andrew Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
