Thinning Larger Areas

[kilted13]

I recently bought some Chromexcel scrap from Aurora Shoe Co. And I must say this stuff is beautiful, but it's too thick for my purposes (wallets primarily). Doing some research has turned up a few options, but I can't find anything specific on reducing thickness across a larger piece that doesn't involve machinery well out of my price range.

I did find a video of a book binder using a spokeshave, and I've had some success in the past with a safety Skiver on veg tan (gets it a little lumpy though). And I played with the idea of a hand plane. My other options are to use a sanding station, but my access to one is limited, or send pieces out for thinning (there's a company in Oregon whose website says they do this).

Home Depot has a spokeshave for sale (online only) for $17.xx. And I even found info on modifying one for use on leather. Anybody on here reduce pieces like this?

Also, would it be better to do a slightly over sized piece first, or cut pieces to pattern dimensions and then thin?

Any advice would be awesome.

[kilted13]

*Update* I bought a razor blade plane from a hobby shop. I tried it on a piece that I had previously worked on with a safety Skiver, and it took all the little ridges down quite well. The only problem is the body on the plane is small and hard to hold on to. A little research has turned up info on better planes on ebay, so I may order one. I'm still looking into the spokeshave option, but I have to order one, as Home Depot doesn't stock them on the shelves. I may try some more pieces tonight, and if they come out good, I'll post pictures.

Again, if anyone has advice or ideas, I'd love to hear from you...

[Tree Reaper]

A block plane would likely suffice.

I use one for belts and it works great but you need to know how to sharpen the blade or get someone in the business of sharpening to put an edge on it.

If you start with a little larger piece and tack the edges down then a sander will also work.

[kilted13]

Well the verdict is in

I purchased a lot of three razor blade planes from eBay. Two Little Giant brand ones and an unbranded one that looks like a Wilkro. The Wilkro look alike and one of the Little Giants have flat bottoms, and work like a charm. The flats needed some sanding (and flattening) which I accomplished with some sand paper (220, 400, 600) but the tools worked fine before hand. They take standard double edge razor blades, and you can adjust the depth of the cut. Roughing in with the safety beveler seems to speed things up, but may cost more in the long run, as the blades cost more. I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow. I did find a company that makes parts for organs that will split leather down, but the minimum is 100 bucks (operator and machine time for one hour). They can work pieces up to 29 inches wide. If I order more from Aurora, I may look into it, but for now this is satisfactory. I also ordered a cheap steel bodied spokeshave, but it seems it needs to be modified to work effectively. I tried it in its stock configuration, and it was awful. Or I was. I found some good information from book binding resources. If you Google spokeshave on leather some good stuff comes up. YouTube also had two videos, one of paring leather with a spokeshave, and one with a razor blade plane.

I don't recommend the Master Airscrew plane, as the body is hard to really hold on to, and the blades are proprietary.

[TXAG]

Does the plane work on veg tan only or can you use it on chrome tan also?

[Greg528it]

I use a sharp wood plane on Veg tanned.

[kilted13]

I use them on Chromexcel right now, but I see no reason it won't work on veg tan.

[Nuttish]

Did you take some pics?

Greg, what style plane body are you using?

[jlangham]

Hi, I'm also looking to thin out a large area.

Which razor blade plane do you recommend?

 

Thanks!

[kilted13]

jlangham, sorry, I stopped following this post a while back. I recommend the Little Giant planes, and good double edge blades. You'll need to strop frequently, or the blade life will be fairly short.

A tip for using the plane: hold it at a slight angle from the direction of travel. Test on scrap first and go slow and easy. It's easy to get ahead of yourself and push too hard, slicing all the way through.

If there's still interest in this thread, I'll post pictures of the results, and the planes themselves this week sometime.

[bikermutt07]

Interested.

[silverwingit]

You might try a violin maker's plane. Search ebay. They're inexpensive and come in flat- or curve-faced models. I have an ebony curve-faced one from China. With a little practice you can get pretty good with one. I use it for skiving edges but there's no reason it would work over a larger area. After all, if it worked for Stradavarius it might work for you. 8^)

I've seen a famous saddle maker skive a huge area underneath the seat of a saddle with a safety skiver. He was a master at it and it came out smooth as a baby's rear end.

You might also try to find a local leatherworker who might have splitter.

Michelle