Skiving Machine Ripping Leather, please help !

[SonderingSusan]

Hey Everyone,

 

If anyone has any advice at all / any suggestions i would be so so grateful. My skiving machine has started ripping my leather and i don't know why/ or what to do. I can't find a skiving machine technician anywhere in the country and don't know from what other profession someone could possibly help/ have the required skills to look a the blade. 

Here are some pictures of what is happening. All/ any help is greatly appreciated ! Thanks!

[SonderingSusan]

 

Above is a link to a picture of the rip in the leather.

[SonderingSusan]

[Ferg]

You aren't going to like the "fix" I am going to suggest. lol

Power skivers that are considered "consumer grade", most of them, do not do well with Chrome tanned leather especially if it is of soft composition. I gave up wasting chrome tanned leather with mine some time ago. I have a small round knife I do all of my skiving with, except veg tanned.

Some heavier weight Chrome tanned will work fair, it just wasn't worth the time and money wasted.

The actual Fortuna skivers may handle this better, I am not spending that much money for a skiver to find out.

Ferg

[SonderingSusan]

Thanks Ferg!

 

I really appreciate your input, so what your saying is that I'm not really doing anything wrong? its just the model of skiver i have coupled with the chrome leather? 

Okay ! Well thanks for the info , much appreciated !

[Sonydaze]

I'm presuming that you have a drum skiver.  The cutting edge of the drum needs to be advanced to very close to the presser foot and then sharpened.  If you have not advanced/sharpened the cutting drum frequently, you likely have to do a long grind to get the bevel on the drum back to how it should be.  Properly adjusted and very sharp, we can skive the edges of upholstery leather.  It doesn't work perfectly all the time, but we get the job done.

[Ferg]

Get yourself a piece of at least 1/4" thick glass. Mine is round and probably 18" in diameter. Edge needs to be ground so you don't get cut on the edges. Lay the leather piece you wish to skive upside down on the glass, holding it with left/right hand. Watch the blade, they need to be very sharp and they will cut a finger in the blink of an eye.

If you have a round knife or skiving blade, allow the edge of the knife to ride on the surface of the glass. Other edge of blade should be held so it cuts an angled skive on the leather.

It takes a little practice but you can get very good at it. I can skive by hand faster than I can with the powered skiver and I don't need to throw anything away.

In the photo I have the leather on my piece of glass, the right edge of the knife is resting on the glass.

[electrathon]

I agree with Sonydaze. your blade is likely dull and possibly out of adjustment.  Once sharp you can make perfect skives in seconds.  The reason for the ragged edge is the knife is not cutting clean.  Take a sharpie and paint the cutting area on the bell knife.  Touch the stone to it and grind gently till the sharpie mark is cleaned off.  You may need to roll the burr off the inside of the bell with a round dowel too.  My skiver chewed leather when I got it, learned how to sharpen it and it works well now.

[Sonydaze]

If this fixes it, don't feel bad, I think almost everyone with a drum skiver has learned this the hard way. I have yet to see a machine with a good instruction manual.

[BillyBuck]

Why are you skiving on that side of the leather? From what I see in your pictures you should be skiving on the other side of the leather.