cobra Bell Skiver, Top and Bottom Feed,

[xnikolaos]

Heavy duty skivers with upper driven feed roll are machines to skive stiff and heavy materials.

Example FAV ( Fratelli Alberti) CUT, CUM2, CUM3, CUM3K.

Edited December 28, 2023 by xnikolaos

[xnikolaos]

Normal old type universal skivers. Bottom feed only. Good for chrome leathers , not for stiff and heavy.

[TomE]

I've managed to do fairly well skiving 9-10 oz straps with a bottom feed skiver by swapping the feed roller and using a roller foot as described in the post below.  It now takes me ~5 min to swap the feed roller and set up for thin versus thick projects.   Thanks again, @xnikolaos for the FAV AV1-AV2 manual.  It has some useful information that I didn't receive with my used Techsew SK-4. 

 

[Silverd]

Hi

A very good explanation of the two skiving machine types and excellent photos of both.  

I guess a question i have at this point is can a top and bottom feed type skiver be used everywhere a bottom only type feed machine can be used?  

Thank you 

Silverd

 

[xnikolaos]

Silverd. According to skiving machine manufacturers (FAV, Old Sagitta, Old ALPHA) , bottom-feed skiving machines are designed to handle soft and medium hard chrome or vegetable-tanned leathers. Top and bottom feed heavy dutty skiving machines are made for hard leathers, which are usually shoe soles and some leathers of the saddlery. If we make the assumption and divide the leathers into three hardness categories (soft, medium, hard). In my experience, you need both machines for the job. 

I'm not a professional, but I have four old Italian skiving machines and from my experience as an amateur I noticed that I can also skive hard leathers (soles) but in a very long time and at the limits of the strength of the motors and the machine. It simply means I can't.

 Of course, the best answer would be given by a representative of a skiving machine manufacturing company, who supposedly has the information that a simple user does not have.

Edited January 18, 2024 by xnikolaos

[Silverd]

Understand.  Are any of your four machines top and bottom feed?  

 

Silverd

[xnikolaos]

No. I haven't found any used ones, for sales, in Greece. I have seen them used in small shoe factories and at shoe machinery shows.

Edited February 3, 2024 by xnikolaos