Abstract

Of the many different machines used in the conversion of hides and skins to leather and the equipment employed in imparting the properties and the finish required to make it suitable for the required application, the splitting machine stands out as the most interesting one. Its engineering has developed through some 250 years from the mid seventeen hundreds into a computer controlled precisely engineered tool. This story endeavours to trace its progress from early attempts to mechanise manual splitting to an industrial machine tool.