Leather Splitter

[JD Alan]

I bought this on E-Bay a few months ago, no instructions included of course. I'm reasonably certain I have it assembled correctly, but adjusting it is a chore, to say the least. As far as I can tell you adjust it by loosening the set nuts and cranking the bolt up or down to get the desired thickness of leather. Sounds simple, but so far it's anything but. I don't understand the slant on the blade, so if anyone has one of these puppies, and would like to give me some pointers, I sure would appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thanks, JD

   

[JD Alan]

well, 24 people as of this writing have viewd this thread, and I'm going to assume (dangerous) that none of them own one of these "beasts". Hopefully someone has had some experience with one, and can give me some pointers on adjustment. Help!

[Slowhand Bob]

JD, I have one that is a bit more expensive than yore model and do not like it, never have.  Last time I was using it was to simply thin belts for the buckle mount and now I do that with a sanding drum.  They do allow some options for skiving down to a feather edge but it takes a bit more practice than does the sanding machine.  I have often thought that one of the large area sanding machines(giant drums) would be handy for thinning leather and dressing the large plastic pieces used for cutting and punching but most of them use a feeding surface material that would ruin the surface of leather.  I get the large plastic butcher blocks from Sams Club and restaurant supply stores pretty cheap but still hate being wasteful.  I have on an occasion or two over the years seen giant leather thinning machines on Ebay that were simply specially adapted sanding machines or bandsaws.

[JD Alan]

Thanks for the input Bob. I was trying to thin down the leather I was using to make the pouches for the shotgun belt project you posted not long ago. I didn't have anything less that about 8 oz, except some 3/4, which looks too thin. I thought I could thin the leather I had down a little bit for the pouches, but it's not working too hot. I looked at Tandy's leather last friday, but their "So called" 6/7 in stock is really 8 when I checked it, and 8 is too heavy for these pouches, at least it seems so to me. 

[Freedom]

Hi JD, Mine looks a lot like that.   If I am right..the large black knobs are for moving the roller forward and back?? If so you want the very toop of the roller just even with the blade edge or just a few .000's ahead of the cutting edge.

The wheel on the bootm is for riasing or lowering the roller/ thickness.

If things aren't just "Perfect" it will drift or lift your leather and cut it in half.. It took me a while to get mine sharp enough and adjusted right but now I really like it for what I use it for.... thinning heavy leather for cartridge loops mostly.

If I want a 3/4 inch wide piece. I start with a 1 1/4 cause it will stretch and be too narrow if you don't start big.

Second thing is ...Case the leather in a plastic bag overnight...this will really help.....Don't take too much off with each pass if it is  hard to pull.   It is very hard to pull a 1 1/2 strip through mine... I have my wife put her back against the wall and her legs up on the table....then I put one leg on the table too. I then use most of my strength to pull the leather through in one big even pull.

[JD Alan]

Thanks very much Freedom, I really appreciate the info. I have experienced the leather being cut it half, and I never thought about casing it, but that is something I will sure try. Getting the thickness adjusted correctly is a bear! I will recheck the roller distance to see if it's set correctly. I think it might be too far away from the blade, considering what you've had to say here.

The blade looks to be in great shape, so I do believe it's sharp enough. I've got the machine bolted to a bench, then I brace myself with one foot on the bench and pull like the dickens!

Thanks again Freedom, you've been a big help. JD 

[Slowhand Bob]

JD, I would need to check it but the leather was purchased as 8/9oz dbl shoulders.  The longer of the two included rivets was just long enough to go through what you see.  I envision this as being good for club loaners, since it would be modular with a plug in center connector.

[Judge Lead]

JD, it is called a Hi Tech splitter and should be available through Tandy.
If the blade looks sharp, take it off and sharpen some more. You need to sharpen it in a similar fashion to a woodworking chisel with 2 angles applied. Also strop it as there WILL be a burr on it. The sharper angle does not need to be great, just sufficient to refine the sharp edge.
Adjusting can be a pain, but as previously stated, the roller is adjusted for square to the blade and positioning by the 2 bolts attached to the knobs. If the roller is too far forward, you will cut the leather shorter than you want and effectively skive it (cause a taper to be cut). If it is too far back, you will split nothing. It needs to be just right and that would be with the very apex of the roller being dead in line, or just a fraction in front, of the blade.

When adjusted correctly and the blade sharp, it works extremely well.

To get an extremely sharp edge, use a very fine grit Arkansas stone with high grade oil or if you have diamond laps available, get the finest you can and use it with water. I have an Ezylap (brand name) with 400 grit one side and 1200 grit the other. If you can get finer, I would suggest it as the cutting edge should be sharper than your hand held skivers.

Hope this helps.

Regards

[FEATHERS]

G'Day Parson,Just a thought! has your splitter got a brand name any where on it? If it has you may be able to hunt up the how to use it on the internet.Feathers

[JD Alan]

I do not see a brand name on the splitter, but it is the same one Tandy sells now, and has in their catalog. I took the blade to a local guy who sharpens chisels, and he put a nice edge on it. I compared it with a new blade at Tandy, and mine is sharper.

I will give some of your guys' suggestions a try soon. At the moment I'm running a fever along with a sinus and ear infection. My energy level is on the low side. This is a gift from my grandkids; they've recently gone down this road.     

[Dr. Bob]

JD,

Get yourself to bed and get well!

[JD Alan]

Hey Doc, I lie in bed until my back starts screaming, then I get up a while and sit in front of my computer. That's been my life since Monday morning. My son walked into the kitchen this morning and said "Gee dad, you look terrible" Always good to get a second opinion  

[TexasToby]

I really think you need to send it to me. I can usually figure out how to make things work properly. Some times it takes a while. But if I can't figure it out in about 10 years I'll send it back. Thanks, Texas Toby

[Slowhand Bob]

JD, sounds like you do have it much worse than me my friend.  It has made me miserable for the better part of a week but today I really felt some better.  I could not believe that every thermometer we had was busted but all three would only read 98.5 or 98.6!!!!  The wife says I am a big old wuss and just wanted to lay around and sleep all day fer a few days!  I do not know about you guys but we now refer to the aftermath of colds and flue as being the Crud, it just hangs around as an upper respiratory issue for weeks after you are supposedly well.  If tomorrow is good I hope to blast off for Georgia on Friday and will contact you when I return.

[JD Alan]

Toby, that's a right kind offer; I may eventually take you up on it

Bob, in another thread you mentioned living in a closet between wives. Now I know divorce is not a laughing matter, but I got a mental picture of you in a small closet, stuck between two women, neither of which was happy with you at all. Ouch! I hope you have a good time in "The Peach State"   

[Judge Lead]

JD. How has the splitter issue panned out.
Any success ?.
Regards

[JD Alan]

Judge Lead, the truth is I haven't been able to get close to it to work on it. I did find a nice piece of leahter of the weight I needed, so I haven't needed to mess with it.

I took a look at one set up at my local Tandy store, and I think I have some more questionjs. I got it at a real good price

Thanks for asking, JD   

[GunClick Rick]

sssppppppphhhhh pph phh phh YUUUUCK! I just reread this,i thought it said spitter and i was practacin fer the contest! spphtooey,tphh tphh..................,