Steam Engine
Snapshot Update – Alan’s Model Engineering In Thailand Projects
New Big Lathe And Milling Machine Installed In The Workshop
Below is a photo of the KINWA CH 430 1100 Lathe and the ARGO Vertical Turret Milling Machine 3VH installed in my model engineering workshop in our retirement house here in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand.
The walls of the workshop are now complete awaiting painting. To the right that big opening is a roller-shutter door doing what it was intended to – to let the light in.
New KINWA CH 430 1100 Lathe In Pakchong Workshop
The workshop looks a bit cluttered and it is as the single and three phase power distribution is being installed. That coil of black cable is the three phase power cable for the lathe and mill. Here are a couple of exteriors photos showing the walls:-
Workshop Walls 01
Above, the opening at the end is a roller-shutter door to allow access for machine tools, benches and eventually a half-size model steam traction engine to pass through!
Workshop Walls 02
The photo above is at the other end of the workshop and is simply a window to match the other two on this elevation. You can only see the window frame – the shutters and security bars yet to be fitted.
The Stuart Turner Victoria Steam Engine Model
I had been struggling to make some silly little parts – the guidebar supports and spacers, on my other lathe – a combined lathe and milling machine actually.. They are only 1/4″ dia and 1/4″ and 3/8″ long respectively but they all have to be exactly the same length.
I’m on trial 3 now and have used up all the Stuart Turner supplied 1/4″ round BMS stock and most of a 12″ piece I happened to have.
Eventually I found out how to do it and they are all exactly the same length withing half a thou:-
Here are the finished spacers (two types):-
Finished Spacers Victoria Steam Engine
Buying Steel Bar
I mentioned above that I was fast running out of 1/4″ bright steel bar. I needed some angle steel to fill in some gaps around one of the roller-shutter doors so off I went to get some from the local steel merchant Ying Jaleaum. Whilst buying the angle iron I bought a selection of round steel rod. I didn’t really know what I was buying I just pointed to each of the smaller size rods and asked for 2 m of it.
Here are some photos of my haul back home:-
BMS Bright Mild Steel Angle Iron Bought Pakchong Thailand
The next photo is a close-up of the round steel bar. it is all bright mild steel (BMS) as we call it and on the receipt it is called “plao kaao” in Thai which translates to ‘axle shaft white’. So now you know what to ask for.
BMS Bright Mild Steel Bar Bought Pakchong
Above the round bright steel I bought in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand.
The sizes are interesting. I was wondering whether they would be metric or imperial. top-to-bottom, the sizes as declared on the receipt and as I measured them are:-
| Receipt Size | Measured Size |
| 1/2″ | 1/2″ exactly |
| 3/8″ | 3/8″ exactly |
| 11 mm | 10.97 mm |
| 5/16″ | 0.314″ = oversize by 0.0015″ |
| 1/4″ | 1/4″ exactly |
The 11 mm bar although it looks like black bar is in fact bright steel.
What else is interesting is how many of the bars were exactly to the imperial diameter. In the UK BMS is traditionally undersize so that a BMS rod will never be a close fit in a reamed hole.
The next photo is a close up of the steel angle. I have included this because the steel is so precise and clean with sharp corners and the marking is very clear. Not at all the rough angle iron I am used to back in the UK.
Angle Steel Bought Pakchong Thailand
Progress on Building the Stuart Turner Victoria Horizontal Steam Engine And Designing The Frame For The Makita 2107F Bandsaw
The Stuart Turner Victoria Horizontal Steam Engine
I’m still working on the base for this engine. Actually this is the second base – the Stuart Turner casting kit has the real base but it needs a sub base to sit on. The sub-base was, in the real engine, made from wood, but I had a piece of steel channel that I decided to use at least as a temporary base. I may change it for wood in the future.
The holding-down lugs have been brazed on to the channel steel base and the ends closed with plates sawn from a 1 m square sheet of 2.83 mm black steel using the Bosch GST 25M Professional jigsaw.
Now I have milled and filed down the lugd and end plates to match the steel channel and covered the whole baseplate with car body filler.
Sanding flat is in hand at the moment.
I’m sanding the base outside to keep the dust out of the workshop but because it’s a boring and slow job and it’s cold outside (16 Deg C – freezing for Thailand) I do a few rubs on the sandpaper then go do something else. Like writing this Post. Then go do another rub on the sandpaper.
Designing The Frame For The Makita 2107F Bandsaw
I’m still working on this using AutoCAD to make the drawings.
The (updated) prototype has been such a success and so useful that it’s a permanent (temporary) attachment to the work bench. It will remain so until the real one is built.
The prototype Makita 2107F Bandsaw frame on the workbench has also proven vital to obtaining some vital dimensions to use in the actuel CAD design. Centre-line of fixing screws to centre-line of cutting blade, just for one example.
What I’m Up To And General Update Of The Model Engineering In Thailand Website And What I’m Up To
Victoria Steam Engine
I have been slowly building the Stuart Turner Victoria mill engine for many months.
Progress is slow because:-
- I don’t have all the small tools I need. This will be improved when I get my imported tools (see below).
- Because I don’t have these tools I get diverted into making them. Like the Makita 2107F cut-off bandsaw frame to name just one example.
- Other things interfere. Can’t say much about this but I’m always busy with other things.
Assembly Of The Part-Built Stuart Turner Victoria
I decided to give myself a boost and instead of making more of the small parts for the Victoria instead I decided to assemble the parts I had already made. These are the baseplate, the flywheel, main shaft, cylinder and main bearings.
I thought that if these are assembled it woud look like I’m making progress rather than looking at just a growing pile of parts.
The Stuart Turner baseplate itself needs another baseplate under it which is not supplied as part of the kit. It should be made from wood but to cut corners and to ensure accurate alignment of the main shaft bearings, I’m using a piece of steel channel. (I may change to wood later)
I need to add some bolting-down lugs to the steel channel and to fill in the ends with steel plate.
So I made up the bar material blanks for the lugs, a laborious process of cutting from black steel and milling to size, and I made a few spare blanks to practice… arc welding.
My intention was to weld the lugs to the steel channel base.
Yesterday I purchased an Electric Arc Welder primarily for the purpose of welding up the frame for the Makita 2107F bandsaw frames.
So I decided to practice my arc welding skills using scrap steel typical of those I will use to build the Makita 2107F bandsaw frames and also the lugs for the Victoria bedplate.
The SESE MMA 200 Amp DC Inverter Arc Welder
This cost me 5,500 Baht at Ying Jaleaum and included the cables, electrode holder and welding mask.
I don’t know if that is a good price or not compared to U.K. It sounds reasonable to me but the most important this is not the price it is will it do the job?
The Results Of My Arc Welding Practice
Before I get into this subject let just mention two issues I immediately had with the SESE MMA 200 Amp DC Inverter Arc Welder:-
The Polarity Of The Cables
The instructions cleary said negative to the electrode and positive to the work.
The outlets and the connections on the machine are colour coded as are the cables:-
Negative:- Red
Positive:- Black
I would have expected it to be the other way round so I connected red to red and black to black.
Results on trial not very good.
On investigation, the red is connected to the work clamp. i.e. the opposite of what it should be.
I swapped the cables over and it worked better. Not good, but better.
Welding Glass Colour
There is probably a technical name for this but I found it very dark indeed. In fact all I could see was the arc and that was just a green coloured light.
I couldn’t see the work at all.
Results Of Practice Arc Welding Using The SESE MMA 200 Amp DC Inverter Arc Welder
Lousy.
I have done miles of arc welding in my past including welding widening rims and roll cages on racing cars that got past the scrutineers so I cant be that bad a welder.
But the results from today’s practice session were atrocious.
I have some photos but I’ll make a page devoted to Arc Welding Using The SESE MMA 200 Amp DC Inverter Arc Welder and post them there.
Needless to say I won’t be welding the lugs to the Victoria steam engine base and I won’t be welding the Makita 2107F bandsaw frames until I have this sorted out.
My next action it to go back to Ying Jaleaum ad get a lighter welding glass. Then more practice.
Updates On The Website
New Pages added:-
Importing Tools From UK
Some Examples Of Tools And Equipment I Imported (/Am Importing) From The U.K.
RDG Tools Order
An Order For Tools From RDG Tools In The UK Shipped Directly To My House In Thailand
Pages Updated:-
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