Industrial Splitter (1 ounce veg tan)

[deloid]

I have the Cobra 14 but it doesn't do well splitting to or just below two ounces. I need a consistent .7mm thickness for my wallets.

I believe splitters made for this purpose are going to be too large and expensive.  I'm wondering if anyone has figured out a way to get leather down to an even .7mm or if the leather can be farmed out to someone with these big splitters.

Edited February 18, 2018 by deloid

[Matt S]

From what thickness are you splitting? My splitter is much better at splitting, say, 3mm down to 0.7 than 1 down to 0.7. I find that stiffness of the original piece is key.

[bikermutt07]

I don't think any splitter is made to shave a small layer. You have to go from thicker down to the desired thickness. 

 

[deloid]

On 2/18/2018 at 1:12 PM, Matt S said:

From what thickness are you splitting? My splitter is much better at splitting, say, 3mm down to 0.7 than 1 down to 0.7. I find that stiffness of the original piece is key.

I do the same but the thickness for anything around 1mm to preferable .7mm is inconsistent (really thin spots) with my Cobra splitter.

22 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

I don't think any splitter is made to shave a small layer. You have to go from thicker down to the desired thickness. 

 

I never try to shave off a small layer. The big splitters are not capable of doing this.

[bikermutt07]

.7mm isn't even a 32nd of an inch. That is really really thin. I have gotten from 4-5 oz down to 1¼ ounce with a Weaver heritage splitter. I don't imagine any machine is going to get that precise and small.

[Matt S]

I've split bridle under 0.5mm with a pull-skiver... but it's not consistent or reliable. Splits I normally now do with my crank splitter, but like most models it was designed primarily for splitting boot soles and other thick, stiff pieces. That's true of just about any fixed-knife splitter I'm aware of. (If there's a fixed-knife splitter around that does well on soft or thin leather's I'd be glad to be told.)

If I want a consistent split under 1mm I farm it out to one of my suppliers, who have a band-knife splitter and are happy to do a few splits for some change thrown in their tea fund jar, or £10/hour for larger amounts. These band-knife splitters are apparently the stuff for precise, controlled splits and are fast once they're dialled in, with no stretch. The one they have is adjustable by 0.1mm increments and though I don't know how calibrated that is it's good enough for Simple Ol Matt and the reading on the display usually matches what the calipers say. Problem is these machines are temperamental, easy to put out of whack or break parts by untrained persons and cost a lot of money and shop space. I've been quoted minimum £3k for a small, heavily-used (used-up?) model.

For smaller widths, bell-knife skivers can apparently be set for splitting and are much more accessible and versatile than a band-knife splitter but they are limited to splitting 2" widths at a time. A 4" strip can be done in two passes, but if you're splitting lining for a messenger bag that's going to take a long time.