Landis SS6 Splitter

[rhinez0r]

Just had this splitter delivered today, it's brand new and adjusted at the factory.

I'm having some problem splitting veg tan/dublin. I gauge the leather at 6oz and I want to skive it down to 4oz or 5oz. Yet, I can't seem to get it to feed through the machine.The only way I can feed is if the splitter is gauged to 3oz or lower.

Machine didn't come w/ instructions, nobody is in their office at Landis and all I can find online are Landis 30 instructions.. but they are a bit obtuse for me.

Anybody have suggestions?

[SolarLeatherMachines]

Gah!  These things are a PITA!   I stopped selling them because they are SO finicky, and NOBODY was happy with them.  

If you know what you're doing, you can get them to dance around your kitchen and can do a great job, but they're very hard to learn.  NOT a beginner machine.  

Edited June 16, 2017 by SolarLeatherMachines
added comment

[electrathon]

1 oz is very little to split off.  Try starting with a 10 oz piece and see if you can split it to 6.

[bruce johnson]

My take for the 6" crank splitters in general, and based on my experience with Landis 30/American/Champion crank splitters and NOT necessarily this splitter although I'd wager very similar. I have sold several of these for several purposes, and find that each user needs to have some understanding of the settings and adjustments to make it work best for the job at hand. They were designed to split and/or level shoe sole material. Anything else is a secondary purpose. It can be done for sure, but the factory settings are generally for sole weight leather. Anything else and you may need to do some adjusting and probably disregard the gauge markings other than as a reference and not an actual expected thickness.. The top roller adjusts down, the bottom feed roller adjusts up. The amount of gap determines what they will feed the best. You have to have enough gap for the leather to feed but enough compression for the bottom roller to get a grip into the leather to push it through. Too much space between the rollers and they won't feed thinner leathers until you get down to thinner settings. With a narrower space the thin leather feeds but thicker leather are working against the compression springs and it cranks harder plus put a strain on the parts. The gap needs to be opened up for thicker leathers. How easy it is to adjust the rollers? The top roller is adjusted by turning the two set screws on top of the frame. (These would be the ones the usual Landis 30 instructions say NOT to adjust since they are factory set. Any common screwdriver and wrench will adjust them). These top adjustment screws also allow you to level up the top roller relative to the blade. The bottom roller is adjusted by jam nuts on a stud that goes through the frame into the bearing blocks for the bottom roller. Tighten the nuts to pull the roller down, loosen and the compression springs push the roller up. Each side is individually adjusted as well to level up the bottom roller with the blade.

The next variable is related to how much you are splitting off. The blade on these is stationary and the bottom roller "floats". If you have a really small gap between the blade edge and bottom roller, The thinner splits come through easier but thicker splits are going to put excess tension on the bottom roller and be harder to crank and excess pressure on the frame.  Thin leather and taking off a thin split with  a large gap between the bottom roller and blade can equal wavy and uneven splits since the gap allows the piece to ride up and down. If you are taking "small bites" then a narrower gap is better. Large bites like cranking 16 oz through into 8 oz on one pass you need a bigger gap. The usual recommendation has been about the thickness of a credit card for general purposes. 

Another variable is the compression springs -  one on each side pushing up the bottom roller. These springs allow some float in the bottom roller to provide compression as the leather feeds. It also allows some variability in leather thickness because of the flex in the springs. The spring tension is adjustable at the bottom by some turn screws. A looser tension might have more flex for variable leather thickness but not as much compression for the bottom roller to bite into denser leather. Tighter tension might not crank as easy to feed thicker leather but it will get a bite. The happy medium is attained by scrap leather, prayer or cussing, and a wrench. Then the tensions need to be pretty even side to side. Stronger compression on one side more than the other and the leather will tend to feed more to one side and not exit as straight. This gets really magnified and problematic when you crank a 5" width through a 6" hole. Again - scrap leather, prayer/cussing, and wrench. As an aside - Same feed and exit issue can happen with rollers that are not parallel to each other.

 Blade position is very well addressed in the online Landis 30 instructions. Push it to the stops on the bearing blocks, back off slightly on the back up screws then tighten down the blade screw and edge holders.. 

Top roller position, bottom roller positioning, gap between the blade and bottom roller, level side to side n everything, an even spring compression and blade position all work together to make these work smoothly. 

Then there is my bugaboo. On some of these you can have them set up exactly to what a person needs - feeds their expected weights, level, straight wide pieces and all is right with the world. Pack it, give to UPS or International Mail and the rollers are not level, one screw has backed off, one jam nut is half way down the stud, and it just got real. Like SolarLeatherMachines wrote - one that is right will dance around and do a great job. If you have a few common tools and understanding then they can be adjusted to dance again easy enough. There really is not a good mechanical service and adjustment manual available for them that I know of. Being as you just got it, I'd talk to the factory or dealer first. They can probably talk you through setting it up for your particular needs.  

[bikermutt07]

Wow, I haven't seen any of this in the 3 years I have been here. Glad I never had enough scratch to pick one up. I got lucky on a bargain Heritage splitter. Thanks for sharing the info.

[bruce johnson]

35 minutes ago, bikermutt07 said:

Wow, I haven't seen any of this in the 3 years I have been here. Glad I never had enough scratch to pick one up. I got lucky on a bargain Heritage splitter. Thanks for sharing the info.

But then again, once you have one set up for what you do, you won't want to be without it. I had a guy a few hours away buy one for $50 because it wasn't working. We went over that way on a little day trip later on and within 5 minutes with a crescent wrench and screwdriver it was splitting great. They will do things that you can't on a pull splitter, wide pieces will crank through. Small pieces you could never get a grip on will crank through. You can crank out cigarette paper thicknesses. Once you understand the different adjustments then it is intuitive what you need to change if anything. My above instructions were more for the one that's been tinkered with and out of adjustment or taking one down and refurbishing.

The biggest questions I get are usually from somebody who got one and needs to feed thinner leather. If everything else is working good on thicker leather, then a couple turns on the top adjusting screws, eyeball that the roller is level, and they are splitting that fine. If you decide you are going to make wallet backs from skirting and want to split in one pass, then you need a bigger gap between the blade and bottom roller. For the most part once you get one dialed in for the usual jobs you do, then you don't need to change anything again until you get pretty far out from that weight and amount of split. The springs allow for a decent range of thicknesses. It is when you go from a set up for 6 oz leather and you throw some 16 oz through (or vice versa) or you want to take off 8 oz in one pass instead of 2-3 oz at a time. That's when things get dicey. Knowing what to change in adjustments and then how to bring it back afterwards is the deal there.

[Petro49er]

This discussion came up at the right time for me as I just picked up an old Landis 30 I need to tear down and clean up. It splits pretty well but needs to be cleaned and then have the Blade sharpened I think.  I was going to take it to a local tool sharpener and have it professionally done. Is there anything special I need to have them do or is somewhere else recommended?  I saw that it needs to have a hollow ground edge so I assume I tell them that.  

 

Thanks!

[bikermutt07]

Thanks for the clarification, Bruce. Your sage advice is always welcome.

[rhinez0r]

Thanks for taking the time to write that thoughtful reply Bruce. You certainly made me appreciate this beast more.

I'm primarily splitting weights of 5 and 6oz leather, my understanding is that the roller bars should be adjusted for this type of work.

Could you show me where the top screws are located? I only have oil wells at the top and bolts everywhere else. Here are some more pictures:

[bruce johnson]

RhinezOr,

My guess is if they are there it would be are under that cap on top but I'd wait until Monday and talk to the dealer or factory up there. My theory is that you really shouldn't be able to mess one up beyond redemption with a wrench and screwdriver but some dealers are funny that way. I mean that is how they were put together and adjusted by them and the end user having a little knowledge in that regard should be a bonus for the customer service/tech support guy. There has to be some way to adjust them. You are splitting thinner leather than their average buyer I'd bet and that probably means some adjusting.

That one is a little different beast than the landis 30 or Americans. On the those the Do Not Disturb adjusting screws are right on top and available for any passing screwdriver and wrench. If yours under the top then It looks like a guy would have to remove the crank handle, then the gear cover, and finally undo the 4 hex head bolts to look under the hood. If the the top roller is fixed or not adjustable then the bottom roller would need to be brought up to close up some space between the two rollers. 

It also looks like the blade rest has slots the bolts go through and the blade itself can be adjusted up and down? That is a little different if so and I kind of like that idea. Although if they slip that could make a guy say bad words.  

[rhinez0r]

Better safe than sorry, thanks Bruce. I will give them a call and update this thread with my experience