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Hello from Bernie in Aus. I came across your web site during a search this morning. Issue 4 of my magazine is being compiled and I’m wondering if you would like to contribute an article? To my surprise 24% of my readership comes from the USA, as well as a few from Britian.
It’s still a young publication but having just retired I can now put more effort in to it.
hmsmea is the title. Home machine shop and model engineering Australia. Not just for model trains, we try to include small machine shop news and build articles.
Regards
Bernie Clark steamloco1954@outlook.com If you Google the mag and click on the link, have a read.
Hi All,
Due to popular demand I changed the order of articles.
Next one will be how to use your Android phone and an Arduino to control your model .
If anyone would like to see specific topics please let me know happy to help wherever I can.
Yes, I have a separate resource list offline which I’ll update and upload. It comprises mainly of UK suppliers of materials and kits and parts for model trains.
Hi Alan,
I’d use a piercing saw and a die-filer. Then draw file to get a good edge.
But if the dimensions were critical you could use a rotary table on the mill for the curves.
Many thanks Andrew, yes that’s a good suggestion – if you have a die filer. Even then the die filer must accept small enough files and making those sharp corners accurately wouldn’t be easy.
Fortunately I do have a die filer. Yes you can put in small files – a 3-square would be useful for sharp corners. Just grind a safe edges on 2 of the 3 sides so you can get into the corners.
First, your machining method is far more creative than what I would do.
The trickiest machining aspect I see is the 0.031” material thickness. I would sandwich the metal stock between two sheets of 1/8” plastic sheet. Clamp the sandwich flat on the milling table. Using a 1mm or 1.5mm diameter end mill, CNC cut the entire part, including the 1.7mm hole, milling through the top plastic sheet and 0.020” into the bottom plastic sheet. This method will leave a small radius on both corners, which can be milled away as you did on your parts, or hand filed if the dimensions are not critical. Using a small diameter end mill to cut the hole won’t tear or deform the thin metal as would a typical drill bit..
I used this procedure to machine the reed valves for my wobble-plate air compressor I made 2 years ago. The valve material is 0.010” thick stainless. The size of each reed valve is similar to your part. All the holes in the reed valve plate are milled, not drilled.
Congratulations on successfully completing the trunnions.
And very well documented. The write up was a good read. The only change I would suggest is to clamp the sandwich to the milling table. with a thick bit of perspex under it to lift it clear of the table. I say perspex become I have a lot and it makes a good spacer. But any scrap material would do. By clamping to the table you would avoid the distortion and separation of the parts.
At least you now have a well swept floor.
I too have just brought a heat gun and will give it a try for soft soldering parts. But most of the time I use silver solder.
Hello Minesh and a warm welcome to the Model Engineering In Thailand community.
There are currently 66 members registered on the mailing list which is quite surprising given the rather ‘off-beat’ subject and the location. (i.e. Model Engineering In Thailand)
I know one member, Michael, who likes to build and fly those helicopter-type drones (Quadcopters? Apologies for not knowing the correct terminology). He adds all kinds of sensing devices to them to monitor the atmosphere, take movies etc.
I’ll send you Michael’s contract details so that you can contact him if you wish.
Once again, welcome to the community and I do hope you’ll find the content we provide interesting.
Good evening the
What can you say when you see something like that.
Other than it is on a par with the diorama that Andrew made using his steam loco.
Both put my attempts to shame.
But it does give one a target to aim for.
As for the ring on the line shaft as a young boy I would put a rings of leather on the hubs of our bicycle wheels.
George
Thanks very much for that. What an incredible effort to make it all up and running. As with my late friend Keith, the talent, genius and perseverance to do this is fast becoming a lost art.
You are correct about the rings on the overhead shafting. I grew up on a farm in the early 1950,s and we had an overhead shafting driven by a 5hp single cylinder diesel engine. If I recall correctly the rings were made up out of small pieces of leather belting soaked in oil. The plummer blocks for the shafting also had a small steel ring inside them to pick up the oil from the reservoir
All of the drives were via flat leather belting, to such things as water pumps, the vacuum pump for the milking machine, and at one stage a 32 Volt generator. We also had a bench grinder similar to the one in the video, which was later converted to an electric motor drive by replacing the flat pulley with a vee pulley.
There was also a steam boiler! It was upright, about 4 or 5 feet in diameter and maybe 8 feet high. It had a wood or coal firebox, but I do not know if it was water or fire tube. My Father spent years trying to find some identification stamps on it and removed some of the lagging in the process. I doubt that it was ever fired up from new, but it was there when he took over the farm. There was also a wash up trough that belonged to it that had a valve and jets on it for use with steam.
Hello Kevin and many thanks for your interesting and detailed history lesson!
In my teens I worked in an agricultural engineering manufacturing company (Bamfords of Uttoxeter) where there were still one or two machine tools driven by the remnants of overhead line shafting. I well remember the ‘clickity-clack’ sound when they were in use.
When you say “You are correct about the rings on the overhead shafting” I think your are referring to my suggestion that they were used to keep the shafts clean, which in turn was a response to a query by Fergal.
It looks good – maybe an idea for a future project for me, but the Stuart castings can be quite expensive. I’ve been looking at stationary steam engines for a while but could never select one. Always fancied the beam engines myself, but would need to do some research into the functions/factories they were put to use.
You would also need somewhere to display it. My workshop is full and home now too full already!
I know the Stuart Models castings sets are expensive but the sets from PM Research are cheaper and far more detailed.
If I was building a diorama like that my big concern (apart from the time involved which in my case would be prohibitive) would be dirt, dust and corrosion. I’d have to keep it in and air-conditioned cabinet fitted with HEPA filters!
Amazing craftsmanship!! It’s hard to believe that it’s only a scale model. I’ve seen a few real, full scale shops similar to this one scattered around the eastern US, but they were all powered by a water wheels, not steam.
Always enjoyable to look back at how far we’ve progressed; thanks for posting the video.
Good morning Rod
Fantastic to see and hear about your achievement.
Well done.
Good to find we are not alone as they say
It puts my efforts to shame.
But it gives us mortals some thing to look up to
If you are ever in pattaya please look me up and pop in for a chat and a beer.
Keep us informed of your progress
George hill
I too had never personally met Keith Patten, but reading through his comments on this website, leads me to believe that he was a true gentleman. He will be missed.
Hi Keith,
I live in Hua Hin and have been searching for someone with a lathe to turn some small parts for me in mild steel, if you can help please get in touch with me.
What is the cost for a set of bogies? do they have brakes and what would the cost be for multiple sets if ordered. are they assembled or knock down or can cnc files be bought to have them machined here in South Africa
they have some small manual stuff in stock, lots of places to shop, he just has to do his homework.
cheers
Glen
PS
There is always our PRC friends, happy to sell you crap at knock down prices (import duties not included, usually about 10g’s if you pick the right “agent”.
Hi, Alan
Greetings
Sieg machines, I know – it is from New Zealand
Please request Mr. Bruce to advice Sieg Lathe SC4 — is it Center distance 410 mm OR 510 mm ?
I can supply equivalent other brand… may be from India – US – OR Europe
Sieg make also can supply – OR – can supply New OR Used
Please request him to advice the following as his requirement :
1. For Small Lathe — required Lathe Specifications:
a) Manual OR CNC ————
b) Swing ( what biggest diameter to be machined ? ) ———–
c) Distance Between Centers ( What biggest Length to be machined ?) ———
2. For Small Milling — required Milling machine Specifications:
a) Maximum End-mill tool size to be used ( may be 16 mm OR 20mm OR 25 mm) ————-
b) If Drilling / Tapping Required — Maximum Drilling Size ———— Maximum Tapping Size ————
c) Required X-Travel ————mm Y-Travel ———— Z- Travel ————
d) Spindle Taper ————- may be MT3 — MT4
After knowing these information advices, I can suggest the proper and economical both equipment.
About his old-used SC4 Lathe and Milling what happened ? Want to sale ?? What Prices ??
** Please advice proper problem in both machines
regards
Thakor – Bangkok – Mech. & Elect. Engineer with 40-years experience
Hi
I have had the same problem with the same company the best company I have dealt with for Sieg machines are POSH ENTERPRISE sales@posh.co.th
Telephone: +662 746 5148, +662 746 6756
Fax: +662 746 5183
Mobile Phone Number: +668 1908 8807, +668 1565 5678 http://www.posh.co.th
I purchased three machines from them great backup service they can also supply many other machines cnc
and manual …. good luck and keep up the good work
As you know, I built both my mill and lathe (full CNC) and would be willing to share my drawings with Bruce, (and any other interested members). The DIY route is certainly not for everyone, but as both myself and Philip have shown, it is an option here in Thailand.
I bought my lathe and mill from Smart CNC. Below is the contact info for the owner. I had to get my wife to call him and ask him to answer my e-mails. After that he answered very well in good English. I have been pretty happy with them.
Pongthep Puentain
We Drive Your Dream
******************************************
Smart Tric Technology Co.,Ltd.
31/24 Moo13. Klongsong, Klongluang
Pathumthani 12120 THAILAND
Tel:+66 2 159 8691
Fax:+66 2 159 8692
MP:+66 8 9058 8693
E-Mail :info@smartcncs.com
Skype: smartcncs.minicnc
Line ID: smartcnc http://www.facebook.com/SmartCNCs
GPS: 14.120975468373507,100.63696503639221 http://www.SmartCNCs.com
>> High quality benchtop machine and tools for inventor <<
************************************************************
Hi Alan we have a small lathe and a milling machine in stock in Bangkok drop me a line at burkes@cromwell.co.uk and I will send you a catalogue and will email some pictures and the prices
sold a few of these and they are good quality
Just sent you an email with some attachments. The quotation is for a small lathe but ordered from China. I met the company at Metalex 2016.
They have various lathes and small milling machines – maybe suitable for Bruce.
The TNT option on the attachment – if you can upload it for me – includes delivery inside Thailand so you don’t need to bother with shipping clearance, etc.
Morning Andrew
I see you attended the last Metalex exhibition.
I have been to the last five.
If you are going to the next one let me know and I could meet you.
How is the latest clock project going.
I would still like to see the diorama of the lack you made from the photographs it looked superb
George
Yes I have been going to Metalex every year for 5 years now. For the past two years I went on the Saturday when they let the punters in! Can get some discounts there as well.
However, I can’t afford the large machines at THB 20 million – just outside my budget. So lets try and meet up in November 2017.
I have sent some photos up to Alan for putting onto the web, including a couple of machines I made (filing machine and a pinion cutter). There is also an update on my grandfather clock, where I have now got to the difficult bit – engraving the chapter ring then making a wooden clock case!
The railway diorama was fun to make. I have previously done something similar when I made a dolls house for my daughter (many years ago).
Andrew
For the benefit on new visitors to the website George is referring to the offer of workshop equipment for sale by a model engineer in Chiang Mai, being handled by his wife, Deena.
Thanks for the update Phil, and again, congratulations on a very well thought-out & clean build. Not that you seem like you need the help, but there’s a wealth of information on all manner of CNC machines at http://www.cnczone.com/, including a forum on plasm-EDM-Water Jet machines, http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc-plasma-edm-waterjet-machines/
BTW, You didn’t mention what voltage those NEMA steppers are rated for, I trust it’s somewhere around 3 to 6 volts max.
Anxiously waiting to see your beast in action,
Mike (now living in Rayong)
Contrary to popular belief Thailand is not a manual labor country, there are many CNC shops big and small. One central Bangna one is http://www.cncbro.com/catalog/ there are dozens on the road to Ayutthaya, Rama 2 and on the Bangkok-Chonburi Road.
Good afternoon Mike.
The problem I think with the term one tenth scale is a linear term. But the real scaling should be on the cube root of the volume.
As a one tenth volume of a fire box is not the same as a one tenth linear one.
As for draught the boiler I made uses the exhaust steam from the engine. It also has a separate blast nozzle.
I have also a connection that allows compress air to be used to allow the fire to be started.
The natural draught is of no use at all as the stack is only domestic inches long.
Hope that helps.
George hill.
Thanks for confirming my suspicions about the limited function of the short stack on a scale model.
As for linear scaling resulting in a cubic volumetric downsizing, I understand how that affects the combustion chamber volume,…however, since a lump of coal can burn (oxidize) only on it’s outermost surface, and not it’s entire volume, it seems that the burn-time scaling would be a linear function, yes? In other words, lets assume your lump of coal is a perfect sphere with the entire surface of the sphere being oxidized at an equal rate,…would not the oxidation process proceed along radial lines towards the center of the sphere,… at a linear rate? Further assume a 10″ radius sphere of coal burning in a full sized burner vs a 1″ radius sphere of coal burning in a 1/10 scale model burner; seems likely that the full scale “lump” of coal would last about 10 times longer than the much smaller scale model lump of coal.
But, this is all just my best guess as I have no practical experience to draw upon, so in practice, do you need to feed your burner a fresh supply of coal more frequently than a full size burner?
Watching a video on the old steam Tran firing it was little and often. About one good shovel full every two minutes.
It also stated that thirty percent of flammable components were volatile gasses that were driven off by the furnace heat. And burnt with the top air.
You mention the rate of ten inch to one inch surface area. A ten inch cube has a surface area of six hundred square inches and a one inch cube of only six square inches. And the overall temperature in a full size fire box would be constantly higher due to its size.
As they say you can’t scale nature.
I would think if I used coal sized to match the scaling I would end up using dust. That would fall through the fire bars. And At that size would not allow any draught to pass through.
I have very little experience of firing using coal but I am sure any one in a club. Back in uk could explain their experience doing so
But interesting questions raised and thought provoking.
George
You make an interesting observation in stating that as the coal heats up, various combustible gases will be driven out,…I hadn’t considered that. I’m sure that while these gases are being generated the overall BTU output will increase, but I have no knowledge as to how long the out-gassing process continues, nor what impact it has on the size & permeability of the “solid” coal lumps.
I agree with your conclusions that larger lumps of coal have larger surface areas than smaller lumps of coal, however, while the combustion of a larger surface area clearly generates more BTUs,…having a larger surface area says nothing about HOW FAST each lump is being consumed; a process which I still suspect is a linear one, as the coal is consumed from it’s outermost surface and progresses linearly towards the center.
I’m curious, is the burn-time of the coal also scaled down to a similar fraction as the scaling of the entire engine,…ie 1/10th scale engine results in fuel being consumed in roughly 1/10th the time of the full scale engine? I’m also curious as to how much “drafting” is produced by a scaled down smoke stack; is the induced air flow through the burner (generated by hot air rising up through the smoke stack) adequate for proper & complete combustion or do you need to force air into the burner with a fan?
Good morning Mike
The boiler is finished and runs well on Welsh steam coal.
Alan kindly sent me some down to see the boiler would perform.
Initially I tested it on charcoal. It will steam ok. But you have to keep on feeding the fire all the time.
Which can lead to a reduced steaming rate.
You can buy a gas burner for it from GLR.
I have since had coal delivered from UK.
Cost fifteen pounds to buy about one hundred and thirty to get it here.
But worth it.
I will send Alan some pictures of the boiler build.
He might post them on the web site.
Happy New Year to all
George
Lookin’ good so far George. It always amazes me at how nicely most engines and their respective parts scale down in size so easily. I’m quite interested to see the boiler parts and learn what fuel(s) you plan to burn. It’s my understanding that many of these original steam engines burned either coal or wood, which doesn’t seem like it would scale down very well ? Do modelers switch to a liquid fuel instead,…or perhaps propane??
Yes I had seen Cromwell, but on every page if their catalog it says they are wholesaler and only distribute to distributors. That one cannot buy direct from them.
If this is wrong, please do let me know! I will be in BKK around the 15th of January I am thinking about would like to start sourcing goods and materials! Thank you!
“I will appoint one dealer to handle (the Model Engineers’ orders) but I will send all the goods from Cromwell and the dealer will just issue the invoice. I will handle this personally it’s not problem and I know it will be done . The Model Engineers can email me and I will deal with all the quotes and orders.”
So there we are. It’s dead easy.
By the way the invoices I get are from a company on Bangkok called Kranes Tools and they have a website at http://www.kranes-tools.com/
You could probably buy directly from them.
[Note: I just checked their website and it’s been hacked by “Kosova Anonymous Hackers”. I have advised Kranes by email.
Hello! I am an expat living in Cambodia that frequents Bangkok for work. That being said, I am trying to gather tig welding supplies, disposables, and tooling for personal projects. I am struggling to find information on good quality companies that can provide high quality goods. Hoods, gloves, wire, cups, etc. etc. Any idea where to find them?
You can download their catalogue and order from it. I suggest you contact the manager Shaun (British) and I am sure he will help you.
By the way, Cromwell sell not only welding supplies but all manner of engineering tools. All their stuff is good quality and they have supplied myself and other ModelEngineeringInThailand.com community members also.
Yes I had seen Cromwell, but on every page if their catalog it says they are wholesaler and only distribute to distributors. That one cannot buy direct from them. If this is wrong, please do let me know! I will be in BKK around the 15th of January I am thinking about would like to start sourcing goods and materials! Thank you!
There are plenty more videos coming – more on old fashioned engineering – like how they built steam trains – to modern cutting edge CNC and metal 3D printers.
That’s truly some great work Philip,… congratulations on a superb build !! I especially like your use of casters, as they greatly simplify moving the machine about the shop, or even to an outside location.
I am curious as to why you chose to use cogged belts instead of ball-screws on the X & Y axis,…costs? weight? Greater level of accuracy & rigidity of ball-screws vs belts simply not needed on a plasma torch?
What stepper controllers are you using?
Were you able to purchase the automation parts locally or did you buy them via eBay as I did?
I’m looking forward to seeing your machine in action 🙂
Oh my,…these out-takes bring back lots of memories of my own failings. I think I’ve made every mistake shown on his videos, plus a few more. But I don’t have nearly the extensive vocabulary of “special” words that John so freely uses at those troublesome moments,…being an American myself, a few of his expletives were simply new to me. Must remember to NOT use them around the house or my wife will have my head !!!
Anyhow, thanks for posting this Alan,…it’s a great laugh 🙂
I posted another short lathe video to YouTube a few weeks ago, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzGvSykLnec showing the lathe cutting a small mild-steel spindle and using the newly working coolant system. My little DIY lathe is now 98% complete and I’ve begun using it to make parts for my next project. I doubt that my lathe will ever be 100% finished, as there always seems to be something else I want to add or modify.
Now I need to finish the CNC Rotary “Table” I started building last year but needed a lathe to make the R-8 spindle to complete the project.
As always, feel free to share the above YouTube link with your readers.
I look forward to seeing more pics of your “toys” J
I wonder if you could give me a bit of advice. I am looking for a machine shop preferably in the north Bangkok area that will take on small projects. Mainly making one of stainless steel parts (small bearing housings, small axils, brackets etc) for a couple of hobby projects. Basically small milling and Turning jobs.
I have found a couple of small fabricators locally but the language barrier has become a problem. Any advice is welcome.
I’m another who found this article via a Google search. I happen also to live in Thailand and, as I approach retirement, want to get back into my schoolboy model engineering, although at the current rate my darling Wifey is constructing palaces for her chickens, geese, guinea fowl and other assorted ‘pets’ I may never actually be able to retire. At least the eggs are good and our 1.5 Rai (1/2 acre) garden produces wonderful tropical fruit 😛
My real job is as a Consultant Engineer (a fancy name for “Person to blame when it goes wrong”) on major transport infrastructure projects (BTS and MRT lines for those in Bangkok).
We live in Chiang Rak Yai, about 40km north of Bangkok, been in Thailand since 2004, met the lovely lady in a Thai restaurant in Rome (yes Italy).
I am into scale model aircraft and mainly these days 00 model railways, especially Hornby. I am completely amazed that despite the maufacturing centre of Hornby being just across the way in China, there is absolutely nothing in Thailand for the enthusiast.
I am living in Udon Thani, which is six hours drive from Bangkok. For those in Udon, there is one model shop near the Udon Pit School dealing in ARTF kits, helicopters, and speed boats. Has a decent range of materials, but principally for the ARTF enthusiast.
Scratch built, and detailed scale builders looking for choice woods of various sizes and covering materials for example will find it lacking, and fuel? I have seen one other shop in the town dealing in mainly radio controlled cars.
Robinsons in Central Plaza used to have a large range of plastic kits, glues, varnishes, paints, air brushes, and general building tools. Note the word ‘used’ because Robinsons in their infinite wisdom have removed all of this in its entirety from their store! All i could get from their staff was that the company had ‘taken it back.’
Anyone else have any further details of well stocked model engineering outlets around Udon Thani, or must we go to BKK or import from the UK to get any decent building materials around Udon Thani?
Good question! Hornby? You either import it in or go without!! I have seen nothing in Thailand. Can anyone enlighten me as to an outlet anywhere in Thailand?
This shop carries more surplus steel than new stuff. They have quite a selection of steel pipe; from less than 1/2″ OD to what appears to be about 2 meter OD.
Hi Andrew – Lovely set of bogies! I am trying to get some of these done for my South African Railways Stock but no one has any drawings and no one else seems to sell them. Would you perhaps have any drawings for your bogies that I could purchase?
For the bogie I haven’t prepared the proper drawings yet. They are all bits of paper at the moment. I have prepare another book and am planning to include the drawings. I have started preparing them but only one or two finished – still looking for those pieces of paper!! Maybe early next year.
Sorry but didn’t see your posting until Alan mentioned it to me.
I used drawings from Doug Hewson and adapted them to make from bar stock. His drawings are based on using his aluminium castings. I didn’t want to go that route so made some sketches of how to convert them for my own use.
I am preparing a small book describing the bogie construction and the various parts – there are over 300 pieces to the pair of bogies.
If you send me your email I’ll send you an advance copy of the book. You can purchase the bogie drawings from Doug (3 drawings @£11/each) and either wait a bit for mine or adapt them by yourself. They can be time consuming.
I also built a 5″ gauge British Rail Mark I coach which is about 1.7 m long. Done in “Blood and Custard” livery.
My appologies for the late reply Andrew! The email that was sent mentioning your reply was lost in one of my email folders!
I would very much love to get an advance copy of that build booklet describing the bogie construction! What a fantastic job you have done! I am extremely grateful! My email is: south-african-steam (remove the hyphens as all one word)@googlemail.com
I am sure your blood & custard coach is just as good as your bogies! 😉
Yesterday I sent the booklet and a photo of the BR Mark I coach.by email. Hope I got the email address correct. If you didn’t recieve please let me klnow.
I found the best source for materials today. It is called Sricharoen in Chon Buri. it is on the bypass road at the north end of Chon Buri. The GPS numbers for the place are 101.00082, 13.40999. The road from Motorway 7 t the shop is very good.
They have all the materials you could want in loads of different shapes and sizes. There is also a table at the back where they put the scraps and you can buy those by the kilo.
They are pretty slow about making up your bin and getting you out the door, but this is best selection I have seen.
Thanks Matt for posting the info on Sricharoen, I live in the Chon Buri area and will definitely pay them a visit.
If you need any Nuts & Bolts or other fasteners in the Chon Buri area I found a little store just past the Big C Extra on 3 (Sukhumvit Rd): GPS 13.323333, 100.963345 (13°19’24.0″N 100°57’48.0″E)
theres a lad down the road from here builds and races these buggys he has one with two suzuki hayabusa 1400cc engines inside it have never seen it go must be some buzz with all that power
Hi all, great plans. Need to build a bench for my shed. Your bench was no.1 result in a google image search for “steel work bench designs”. (picture says 1000 words!) Didn’t have to look further! Design is super combines all elements any keen hobbyist would require! many thanks from a wee shed in Northern Ireland- keep up the good work!
That steel bench design was not mine by the way but was designed and built by Mike in Nong Khae, Saraburi Thailand.
My own first steel bench I built in Thailand fell apart when I tried to move it!
I had ‘welded’ it together using a small oxy-propane brazing torch. I didn’t have an electric welder at the time. When I re-built it I used manual metal arc welding (MMA) – AKA “stick welding”.
I have made a few small purchases (2 different lathe chucks, drill chuck, MT#5 center) from “Everlasting”, a Chinese company with an office and several warehouses in Bangkok, and have been quite satisfied with the quality and price. They have a fair website showing & describing all their products, but they dont show prices, for that you need to call; they have one or two sales people that speak English, but I find it easier to have my Thai wife make the call. Here’s the link: http://www.everlastingmachinetools.com/index.php?route=common/home
If you’re looking for a used lathe, you can try the shop Gordon mentioned, or there’s also a shop on route 361 in Chon Buri that sells used equipment; (I need to visit the shop again to provide better directions).
Particularly interesting for me was the availability of old fashioned machine tools like shapers, slotters, and horizontal boring machine.
And the selection of lathes available is quite amazing from small to massive. Must be something there to suit everyone looking to buy a lathe in Thailand.
And of course your link to the forum where you describe you own home designed and made CNC lathe is well worth a visit.
Hello Alan,
I ran across your site looking for lathe and mill accessories on the web, and found it interesting.
I am American, also retired in Thailand and set up my garage with my woodworking equipment, but recently bought a Sieg Mini Lathe and Mini Mill. I am an Electrical Engineer but I love to dabble in Mechanical Engineering also.
Do you have a favorite place to acquire Lathe or Mill accessories?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Mike
Ban Chang, Rayong
Thailand
I will keep my ears open and ask some of my contacts but there are not many Thais into hobbies in the same way as the English/British.
Last year I was looking for a wood lathe but no luck and didn’t want to start my new hobby off with something expensive in case I didn’t like it so I ended up making my own.
Just a thought about a lathe. Before I bought a lathe, considered buying in UK and then to ship over, that I did do but never again. Because from a lad a Myford ML7 was the only one I wanted. So buying one on e,bay was what was done, it is an old machine built in 1947 and cost me 410 pounds, had it airfreight over at a cost of 565 pounds. Because as a lad a Myford lathe was the only one that I had dreamed of to do model engineering, That cost was silly as 4 or 5 years ago a New Taiwanese lathe of similar size could be had in Klong Thom for 1000 pounds.
There is a used machine dealer on the way out of Bangkok close to Nakom Patom and has a lot of lathes and other engineering machines. Going to BKK in 10 days and may call in and have a look at what he has. A good place is Klong Tom in Bangkok and if you were to ask me what should I do, the answer would be, have a day or more in Klong Thom with Eng;ish and Thai speaking friend.
Nice to see you have found established a small Model Engineer community in Thailand. I too am an expat living and settled in Malaysia for the last 10 years or so and have similar interests although I am more focused towards the general projects I am doing such as making tools or parts for tools I use for my various DIY stuff.
I am still on a quest to connect to other fellow machining hobbyists in Malaysia but have not found anyone yet.
I have a Sieg SX2P mill and a SC2 lathe that I purchased and imported from China via a seller on AliExpress.
I am not a regular blogger but recently I decided to compile and post my observations into getting into the hobby with a focus on finding the machines, tools and materials in Malaysia so others may benefit from it. I have focused my search around Kuala Lumpur and Miri (Sarawak).
My preferred raw materials are aluminium, brass and delrin as my machines lack much rigidity to work with steel.
I have not intentions to market my blog here or else where but perhaps you can have a quick look and see if some of those sources for machines, tools and raw materials are beneficial to be included in your Thaland based Model Engineering website.
The small model engineering community in Thailand is not so small. There are around 40 of us at the moment. Quite a few when I thought I would be the only one!
There is another would-be hobbyist in Malaysia. I can put you in touch if you wish. Chris’s comment and my reply can be found here:-
I have been to your blog at http://kafie1980.blogspot.my/ and I love it! Until I read your blog I had no idea that my affliction with TES and GAS was an actual medical condition!
Dear Allan,
I too am heading towards retirement in a couple of years or so and am an academic in Univ Malaya in Science (theoretical and computational chemistry) holding a Malaysian passport. I think that before science can be practiced there are a host of other related conditions pertaining to time, the past and the passing on of learning experiences to the next generation and the community and all these ingrained cultural predilections are absent in the colonies , necolonies and other Third World countries. Here in UM they have closed down the workshops and glassblowing shops; how do you practise science without being able to make apparatus?
We have a very high global academic ranking despite the above scam.
In any case, in order to atone for the crimes of natives and to be free of complicity, I wish to learning the following:
1) basic machining (lathe and milling)
2) basic machine casting
3) lastly, some electronics and interfacing with computers for data acquisition with sensors.
Could you help me in various ways ; could I visit you from time to time and perhaps contribute to the work in your projects in exchange for the skills attained through your instructions?
I would like to recondition some old model aero diesel engines that have lost their compression, and perhaps make one glow and one diesel. By carrying out these activities, I would be in a better condition to understand how scientific thinking can be applied to solve real problems; not problems of an alien kind that does not require a skilled pair of hands coupled to a sensitive mind which our academics excell in.
Sincerely, Chris
ps: Sorry about your back. Due to an accident and the incompetence of our doctors, I have lost full mobility of my left hand at the shoulder.
I can’t really comment further on your reason for wanting to learn the engineering skills, I was simply born an engineer and have been doing it since I was a child.
I am ready to help you where I can and you are welcome to visit occasionally. Would you be visiting from Thailand or from Malaysia?
(I have been to Malaysia by the way. Strange place – so many cultures mixed together)
Reconditioning and making model aero engines is easy. The process is well documented in many construction articles. With only one arm though I can understand you would have some additional challenges.
Perhaps I can put you in touch with a magazine called Model Engineer if you don’t know it.
Hi, such a pleasant surprise this morning to find this site.
I am a brit retired here for some time now. Ex UK Merchant Navy. I am interested in live steam mainly.
Funds permitting in the near future I shall be upgrading my lathe and milling machine.
Presently using a Unimat 3, good for what I need at present but limited size wise. A Proxxon excuse for a milling machine, again limited but small cuts and a lot of fiddling and I can generally achieve what I want.
Looking forward to future exchanges
Pete
I buy a grinder like the one you have in the picture.
do you have a complete manual that explains how to use it? or something to help me use it properly?
I’ll be very grateful if you can give me a hand …
Im looking for a boiler for my miniature steam bulldozer project with a case traction engine I want to make something very very rare and unique because I have seen a full-size steam case bulldozer once it was at a tractor show here in Indiana once many years ago but I never once seen the bulldozer again so I thought id have 4inch scale model made if I can purchase a new boiler if someone can build a boiler for me if so please feel free to contact me 5749306228 if any one can help
So yes, you have a good idea for as you say an interesting and unique model.
There are quite a few boiler makers in the U.K. but there is generally a long (e.g. waiting list). I had to wait 9 months for the boiler for my 6″ scale Little Samson Traction Engine model.
I can give you the names of a couple of UK boiler makers if you email me, or better, if you reply to this comment.
At 4″ scale you’ll probably need a steel boiler – particularly if it is to form the chassis for your engine as in a normal traction engine.
But before contacting a boiler maker you will need a design. It seems you are from USA (you mention Indiana) and I have no idea what the legal and insurance company requirements over there.
If you are not looking for a close scale model of the steam Case bulldozer you could maybe find an existing design that you could use.
Again I can give you a list of UK websites showing boiler designs. Please email me, or better, reply to this comment.
I have been looking into a decent priced mini lathe and ran across your site. I have also found http://www.smartcncs.com/?lang=en which have quite a few models of lathes and hadn’t seen them mentioned here. Prices are quite high in my eyes but I figured I should at least let you all know of them.
I have seen the smartcncs website before but looking at it again today they have improved their range of machines including ones from Germany and Taiwan. They are showing many machines I have never seen before.
I don’t know of anyone who has made a purchase from this company though.
If within budget I’d suggest that German made followed by Taiwan are better quality than Chinese.
It’s a very handy website and since I’m looking for a replacement motor and/or controller for my Sieg C4 I’ll see if they can provide one.
You say the prices are high but it depends what you are comparing with. If you import from say USA or UK you’ll have shipping charges, Thai VAT and customs duty to pay. From my experience this can almost double the original purchase price.
Plus. And this is VERY important. If you buy in Thailand and have problems with it or need spare parts or upgrades you can always go back to the shop.
Much more difficult if you imported your machine.
One last point. If at all possible go to the shop rather than buying online. Not only can you see what you are getting but you will build a relationship with the supplier and that could be very important in future.
Once again thanks for sharing your information with us.
I noticed that many of the lathes sold by smartcnc use the D1-4 spindle, but when I emailed them with the hope that they would also carry, or could at least order, various chucks with the D1-4 mating connector, I was disappointed by the return email stating that do not carry D1-4 chucks.
Does anyone know of a good lathe chuck supplier here in Thailand?? I recently purchased a 6″ 3-Jaw with a plain back and I’m having a local machine shop custom make a D1-4 backplate; I’ve also ordered the three cam-studs from a supplier in the USA. I’m still looking to purchase a 6″ 4-jaw and I’ld love to buy one with a D1-4 back side.
Alan, thanks for the link to the machine shop supplies dealer, I will drop by with my new plain-back 4-jaw chuck and see if they can sell me a D1-4 backplate for it. The same machine shop that made my lathe spindle also made a D1-4 backplate for my 3-jaw scroll chuck, but I gave the shop the 3 cam studs (which I had bought from a US supplier via the internet) , so they didn’t need to make them. It will make my life much easier if the shop you bought from can also help me.
BTW, I no longer live in Nong Khae,…my wife & I moved down to Bang Saen a few months ago and we both love it down here.
Just a couple of links. I have bought some good quality second hand tooling, but unfortunately the companies do not have web sites.
So the question is can I post google maps of the location of the machinery shops?
That JUTHA WAN METAL LTD website is very interesting and they should be a useful resource to anyone looking for stainless steel or special tool steels metals in Thailand. They are based in Bangkok (of course).
I have no intention of finishing the Black Five engine. It’s all history now.
But I do have here a modern ‘kit’ of laser-cut parts for a Fowler Dock Tank in Gauge 1. If I can find someone with a TIG welder to weld up the frame tabs then it’s a goer.
Very Impressive & detailed workmanship. You must have been a tool maker or clock maker in a past life; getting all those tiny parts to line up is no simple task,…but you’ve made it look easy. Bravo!!!
Good morning Alan
A nice start Alan. Just goes to show the rust bug is every where.
I hope you get to finish the engine to the same standard. But I think you have set a very high goal. Given the size and redesign of the valve gear you intend to work to.
Best of luck
George
Not sure if you managed to find a lathe, there are as you probably know many places selling new and used equipment in Thailand, but it is always difficult to find them.
There is a large shop for the want of a better word selling a huge range of used equipment both large and small in Chonburi, much of the equipment in imported from Japan.
As for steel, if I require anything special I contact a supplier who has a supply base on the highway towards Chonburi from Pattaya. They are always happy to supply the lengths and quantities I need.
If you are interested, I will provide the contact details, I should be in Thailand in a week or so.
It’s Alan here from ModelEngineeringInThailand.com and I just saw your comment addressed to George.
I’m not sure what George that is but I for one would be extremely intersted to hvae the addresses of the second-hand equipment and steel suppliers in Chonburi.
Many of the visitors to the website would also be interested, I’m sure.
If you could kindly let me have that info I’ll make sure it gets posted on the website under the resources section.
I had forgotten that I had sent the photos to you without any narrative.
First of all the photo shows parts supplied by Cotswold Heritage. But I am thinking of changing much if not all of the bright mild steel components to stainless steel. Or cast iron. Which is the reason there is so much bar stock in the photograph.
As you have mentioned in past posts the rust bug is alive and well in Thailand.
I have read a few reports about the casting being undersize. I am sure when I get time to start the project I will find out.
It is a good looking engine but will try my skills. Most of the screw fixings are in the 8 and 10 BA range. And the size of some of the castings are very small. The cranks are cut from mild steel but I hope to use the cast iron bar to replace them.
The research you have completed on the engine and its designer was very impressive.
A model of the big gun would look very impressive.
Not sending the narrative was a good thing. It made me do the research into the model and Sir William Armstrong which I found both enjoyable and fascinating.
As to the rust bug I have just painted some bright mild steel parts with ‘clear paint’. It’s readily available here in Thailand and it looks really good as in you can’t see it! I’ll write an article about it but I intend to paint all the non-contact surfaces on my tools and models with it. Contact surfaces will get the ACF50 treatment.
I gave up on small models as you know – I just can’t see those small parts let alone trying to make/manipulate them. I did make a Gauge 1 Bogie for a Black Five Loco based on LBSC’s 3 1/4″ gauge Doris many years ago. I still have it here and when I look at it’s quite exquisite in it’s tiny detail even if I say so myself. I have some good photos of and will upload it to the website sometime.
My thoughts about a model of the gun are the same as yours. The picture of the gun really captures the atmosphere, doesn’t it?
I also thought about some model cranes and etc driven by the hydraulic pumps from the horizontal twin cylinder horizontal steam engine steam engine. I have seen a photo of a model William Armstrong hydraulic crane and can post it if anyone is interested. But I have so many other models to make and finish off that will be just a ‘dreaming about it’ project.
I can well understand Georges comment. When I went to visit him and his model engineering workshop one thing that stood out was how clean and tidy it was and I remarked to George on this point.
Not only were the work benches clean and clear, the lathe and milling machines were cleaned down with not a trace of swarf anywhere.
This neatness and cleanliness is reflected in Georges models too. Also in his photo presentations where everything is neatly arranged and there are no items in the photo that shouldn’t be there.
I’m afraid I’m in the must do better category when it comes to tidiness and clutter. But at least the clutter on my benches is arranged in logical piles. There’s an order to my clutter.
Good morning Mike and fellow metal men.
From the photographs the bench and the surrounding area looks clean neat and tidy. It makes working a pleasure if the work area is light and clean. I always found when I ran a workshop in the middle- east the men turned out a better job if the area and tools were tidy and in good working order. The right tools are easier to locate and use. Congratulations on a very professional job.
George
Good morning fellow metal benders.
I just wanted to confirm all of the preceding comments about Cromwell tools. I had the pleasure of meeting Shaun yesterday when he dropped by to deliver a parcel of silver steel. I contacted Shaun with the order and almost immediately it had been sent to the U.K. Bank transfer and that was it. Material now in the workshop ready for use. Fantastic service. I only wish the plumbers I had working in the house were as professional. But that is as they say another story.
Once again thanks Shaun.
An email contact list would be great, or some other means of providing members to communicate with fellow members. Perhaps you could set up some way of auto-notifying all members that someone has made a comment, original or follow-up, that might work too; you could even allow members to opt-in or opt-out of these notifications. As it is now, when a member makes a comment, or follows up with an answer to a question, I believe that “admin” is the only one who knows. A forum might also fill this need, and until your membership grows to many, many folks, you likely wont need to moderate the forum as I believe that everyone here will remain civil with their posts.
I know that you’ve already invested a great deal of time and effort into creating this webpage, but I wonder if one of the “Facebook” or “MySpace” type sites might already have many of the features you want to incorporate?
A user corner would be good, but again, if a member reading the tip or shortcut has a question, it would be nice if the original poster were auto-notified via email,…sort of like Facebook sends me an email whenever someone makes a comment on one of my pics or posts.
A members corner would also be a nice addition; even with the small membership you have, once a few members post their projects, others will be encouraged to join in,….you have to start somewhere. But, you must provide for the up-loading of pictures; I doubt that a “text-only” members page would encourage much participation.
Whatever course you choose, and changes you elect to make,…Thank You for setting up this site!!! It’s a great way to bring like-minded folks together.
Hi Mike and thanks for your ideas – all good ones. You really have ‘hit the nail on the head’ with your suggestions by which I mean that they are exactly what the site needs.
I’ll see what can be done to accommodate your ideas. Any new feature must take account of:-
– Privacy and security of users’ personal details. (email address),
– Prevention of Spam postings which must be automatic.
– Minimum monitoring/action by myself.
I think that there are sufficient applications to freely available to incorporate most of your ideas.
My precious wife & I drove down to BITEC on the 19th and spent most of the day examining the many, many exhibits. The place is HUGE, I could easily have gone back to see more exhibits in greater detail on Thursday or Friday, but simply laked the will to fight the traffic. We left our house at 8am and it took only a bit over an hour to drive the expressway part from Nong Khae, but once we exited onto the road in front of BITEC, the traffic nearly stopped….it took another 45 minuets to traverse the few kilometers to the BITEC parking lot. Once inside, I was “greeted” by a dynamic Yaskawa robotic welding display with 2 robotic welders going through the motions of spot welding a auto part.
I found a few general tool suppliers based here in Thailand that reminded me of a Harbor Freight store; I picked up their products catalog and was pleasantly surprised to find prices listed for all the products,…and they mentioned that they would mail out their products once you placed an order….no need to drive to their store.
Lots of large lathes (430mm swing over bed & up) on display, but only one in the 300mm swing category, and it was from China (Toptech) with no Thai storefront; however, I could order through IDDA (www.idda.co.th). There’s an english language web page at http://www.toptechmachine.cn The salesman at Toptech quoted me a very reasonable price if I purchased it at their store in China,…but he didn’t know (or didn’t want to say) the shipping, VAT, and import fees to get into Thailand.
OK, that’s my report,…It was nice going as a retiree and not as a business rep.
I have the same boiler kit that George has, and like George I keep putting off building it. Not because I don’t have a big enough heating torch but because I’m scared of wrecking it with too much heat/not enough heat and silver soldering all the parts in the wrong place.
Also I want to finish the Victoria steam mill engine before I make the boiler.
Properly planned it shouldn’t actually be difficult but building the half sized Little Samson traction engine and finishing off Victoria is enough for me at the moment.
Thanks for this message, I’m a newby and always wondering to find this kind of shops.
Also, is there maybe anybody who knows a latheshop in the surrounding of Thayang (changwat petchaburi)
I need some small device from 7cm diameter and 4cm high made from brass.
Thanks.
Peter
Hi Mike, George is in a better position to answer rather than myself.
I would suspect that the engine will run on very low pressure, say 15 to 20 psi.
As to a boiler I don’t know if George has any plans for that but I do know that he is weighing up his next project which is a twin cylinder horizontal mill engine, not a steam boiler.
On the subject of the quality of George’s Stuart Turner Beam Engine model I agree with you totally. The craftsmanship is something to aspire to. The fine finish on the cast iron parts (e.g. flywheel) is outstanding in my humble opinion.
Good afternoon Mike
As Alan states it is free to get in but before they issue a pass badge there is a long form to fill in. No problem but does take a bit of time. If you pre-register you will receive an e-mail with a pass number. You just show this at the desk and your badge is already for you. That was the way last time I went.
This year I registered a couple of months ago and yesterday they sent me an invitation to the VIP lounge. Not too sure just what that gets me but a cold beer would be nice!!!!!
I hope to be there on the 22nd if I get back from Baku in time.
Mike,
Actually I bought the music rolls from Mervyn Wright off the internet. He makes the music and puts about 3 tunes onto each scroll. If the music is long you may only get one tune on it.
You can puck your tunes for each roll and hecwill prepare them for you and puts them in a nice box.
I have posted Alan a DVD of me playing the organ, but now relying on Thai Post to deliver it in one piece!
The beam engine looks fabulous to me; very detailed craftsmanship. What steam pressure will it run on? I look forward to seeing pics of the boiler/burner assembly.
Good morning Mike and fellow metal benders.
Thanks for the comments.
At the moment I still have to do some work on the cylinder and the parallel motion, mostly cosmetic.
It turns over smoothly at about 10 PSI. I do have the parts to make the vertical boiler sold by the now defunct GLR they also supplied the castings for the mill engine (Tina) Which I am also building. I need to buy a large cyclone heating torch before I start work on the boiler. Making the boiler for my Rob Roy was an eye opening experience.
A few days ago I had to re-build one of my own home-made benches. It was located out in the garden in a very sunny place ie very hot!
My wife asked why I didn’t move the bench to a cooler place under the shade. When I said because it’s too heavy and she replied that would help me move it I couldn’t refuse.
We tried lifting the bench but we could only manage to move a foot because of the weight. So I decided to ‘over-end’ it. Over it went and fell to pieces!
All those ugly gas ‘welds’ were not as strong as I thought.
Good morning Mike
Looks to me you have found a new profession and business opportunity. The finished bench looks very well designed and well made. Will you be making a matching high stool to complement the bench? I have found that some of the small fine work I have to file and polish is best done while seated. Might have something to do with my old age!
Are you going to fit a heavy duty vice to the bench? I have drilled holes in my bench top for the bending and other tools that need to be fixed down. But I do not want on the bench all of the time. As I find a clear bench is easier to work on and keep clean.
Once again well done
Regards George Hill
Hello George,
I had not considered making my own high stool,…I’m hoping that I can find something suitable in one those little wood furniture stores that seem to be all over Thailand. For the moment, I’m using an office chair I brought with me during my move from the US,…it’s just high enough on it’s highest setting.
I completely agree with your “clear table” philosophy and to that end I will cut several pieces of wood boards from the same size board I made the table top from (8″ x 10″ x 1″). Each board will be used to mount things like a heavy 5″ vise and a grinder. Each board will be the same size and have matching holes pre-drilled that match up to holes in the table. The holes in the table will have metal threaded inserts which will make changing out the vise for the grinder quick, easy, and repeatable without damaging the table top. I’ll send Alan an update of this when I complete it.
Good afternoon Mike
One comment on the note book added design. No use of CAD or other high tech just paper and a pencil. I assumed I was the only guy still doing things that way. For the more accurate stuff I still use the old Tee square my farther used at night school over eighty years ago.
George
Hi Andrew
It looks superb I have always liked nice wood work and only wish I could work wood as well as you can. It is far more tactile than the cold steel and brass we normally work with So far none of the models I have made have wood bases as I have still to work out how to stain, seal and polish them. Any chance of a video with sound?
How is the coach coming along?
All the best George
Hello George,
I have a DVD of me playing it and the kids dancing to the music. They have now grown out of that phase!! It is too large a file to upload, but I could make a copy and post it to Alan if he likes.
The pipes are meant to be made from Balsa wood, but I faced some of mine with some hardwood. The three large bass pipes (hidden behind the back panel) are all balsa. There is not a lot of skill required in the woodwork front – lots of rectangular panels fitted together.
I stained the balsa wood parts but not the hardwood. The case is all cheap plywood off-cuts from B&Q and I used a stained on that, but not a very Goidelic one – a bit too shiny for me.
I am now working on the underframe for my coach. Just finished making the brackets for the battery boxes, the regulator, etc. I also finished the dynamo and support frame. I made the brake cylinders and have fixed the V-frames in place. So all going well, but I sometimes have to work at my office in order to get my salary!! I finished the buffers and draw hooks too but not yet fixed in place.
I just thought of one snag with your Lumphini Park retirement job – you aren’t allowed to work in Thailand. I don’t think that the “I’m not working, the monkey is” excuse would be accepted!
Great to see there are others interested in engineering in Thailand.
I had a small workshop back in the UK and now live near Phuket and have workshop once again.
I purchased a manual mill from (Sieg) POSH ENTERPRISE in Bangkok also a mini lathe (Sieg) two years ago.
I purchased a big manual lathe from Sumore SP2110/750 also a copy (Sieg) KX3 cnc Mill SP2215 had them shipped into Bangkok and delivered here to Phuket with a few problems but now have most equipment I need, Tig welder Plasma Torch etc all of which I purchased from Bangkok Hardware in Phuket.
There are plenty of suppliers of most steel and I have found one that stock most every thing and will cut to length, but like you say you have to make the best of it the same as most things bought here!!.
Will leave it for now but any one interested in Machining metal I would be pleased to help.
Hi Vince and thank you for your contribution to the website.
Your comments are timely because there is another person (Lieven) in Phuket looking to but a lathe and milling machine but is having problems finding reliable suppliers.
We had a long discussion on this most of which is recorded on the website starting here:-
The SP2110 lathe you have appears to be just what I’ve been looking for, and at a reasonable price too (listed price on their web page is $2000 FOB). Can you tell us what shipping costs were? What shipper did you use? Import duty fees??
Actually the CQ6125 lathe has been on my mind for a while, but not currently stocked. So the other alternative I had in mind is the CJ0623L. http://www.cnc-kit.net/584799/เครื่องกลึงเล็ก-cj0623l. Any thoughts? Lathe is definitely required: e.g. thinning out the wall of sockets, piston bullets… Below some pictures of tools that could be made up to give you a better idea.
As for the mill, the XJ9512L has been on my mind, opinions on the machine differ and quite a bit of negative feedback for the gears. A little worried as well that for some machining operations it might be a little light: eg: milling a 1 ½” crowfoot out of ½” steel, or lack of space on the table to fit a rotary table enabling to mill out (enlarge) sockets to custom sizes. Below some pictures of tools that could be made up to give you a better idea.
Specification isn’t well detailed, so most comments based on the photos.
It looks very similar to my Sieg C4 except that it has a screwcutting gearbox which is an improvement and it’s a bit bigger.
The cross slide has T slots which is good – allows fitting a rear toolpost for example and allows sliding the topslide across which is a handy feature.
Cross slide slideway dovetails look very narrow.
The top slide gib adjusting screws are on the correct side. Mine are on the opposite side which is completely wrong.
Seems to have powered cross slide (for facing) which is useful if facing large plates but otherwise rarely used.
Has a screwcutting dial which is good.
No feedscrew handwheel which is very bad. See my article – link below.
Doesn’t seem to have either auto trip on the leadscrew or a dead stop.
Both essential as is the (non existent) leadscrew handwheel.
Doesn’t seem to have easy-reverse leadscrew but I could be wrong.
Electronic motor speed down to 100 rpm is not slow enough – not enough torque for intermediate cutting on large diameters.
Spindle accuracy of 0.01 mm typical workhorse but not precision.
Not many accessories. Check what you need and what the spindle fitting is. Can you fit an ER Collet chuck for example?
You need to check if the range of threads cut covers what you want.
The CQ6230BX910 is a much better spec. See the other two spindles below the leadscrew. One will be for standard sliding so that you don’t wear the leadscrew out (keep it for screwcutting) and the other may be an auto stop or dead stop.
119,000 Baht (three times the price of the CJ0623L)
PREVIOUS COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ON STANDARD SIEG TYPE LATHES
The head is not constrained from twisting when it is lowered and raised using that rack you can see. If you need to raise the head say to fit a tool and then lower it to use the tool you will lose your XY coordinates. Vat bad.
It is probably thin wall steel tubing and lightweight.
In short it looks like a bench drill pretending to be a milling machine.
It will be useless for any serious and accurate work.
That XJ9512L milling machine is better in the above respects but again it is a lightweight machine.
This is the milling machine I bought from the UK that I mentioned earlier:-
In fact Vince bought a big manual lathe from Sumore SP2110/750 also a copy (Sieg) KX3 CNC Mill SP2215 and had them shipped into Bangkok and delivered to Phuket.
You might want to ask Vince about his experiences.
Just making the decisions as what machine to purchase is always the difficult bit. Add to that the language barrier… talked to CNC-kit.net, but they appeared very unhelpful even if someone fluently in Thai (Thai national) spoke to them.
The choice is rather limited if one would like small machines.
I have a milling machine (bought in the UK) very similar to the XJ9512L milling machine on the cnc-kit website and it’s very good.
As for a lathe I would go for something like the CQ6128 or if you don’t want to stretch that far the CQ6125.
For the mill I would definitely recommend a DRO (Digital Read Out). I consider this essential for a milling machine. Nice to have on the lathe, too but not so essential as on the milling machine.
When researching mills/lathes in Thailand, often get links to your site.
My company is a small workshop down here in Phuket. Often I need custom made tools, but the quality the local shops deliver is of poor quality: hand filed/shaped, plasma cut, out of tolerance and no 2 pieces are the same 🙁
Anyways, could you be so kind to let me have some details of trusted supplies for a small sized lathe and mill able to fabricate smaller tools and high pressure fittings.
The following supplier, Cromwell tools, is well proven and trusted. Many of the ModelEngineeringInThailand.com website’s visitors are repeat customers – myself included. They do supply small lathes and milling machines but the range is limited:-
When you get to the Cromwell Website (link is on that page above) be sure to download the catalogue.
I am copying this email to the Manager, Shaun Burke, who gives a personal service.
If you want large tools this is the company I use and the service is excellent, in fact they were here yesterday installing a taper-turning attachment to my big lathe:-
An Alternative is to have your things made by a well proven and trusted huge machine shop here in Pakchong called Teera Borigaan. I am having some parts made there now.
In addition to a vast array of manual machinery they have CNC Wire Erosion, CNC Lathes and CNC Plasma cutting etc.
There’s a movie of the machine shop here, but to see the CNC machines do wait until near the end of the movie:-
Good morning Andrew
I can only hope that when or if I ever get my three and a half inch Rob Roy finished it looks half as goog as your model I would be vert happy.Well done at least we are not alone in our hobby.
George
The boiler was professionally made in the UK and came with a certificate. However, it does not have a steam certificate yet, and I don’t intend steaming the train regularly for another year yet. I have done my own pressure test on the boiler and fittings last year, so I’ll have to repeat that again next year.
I don’t think there are any boiler testers for model engineering stuff so it would be difficult to arrange that and the subsequent insurance if doing any public running.
I’m not sure if it will ever run on a track as I don’t have anywhere to run it, although I am hoping my company have some spare land at their construction plant yard.
Thank you for publishing a couple of pictures of my 5-inch gauge Commonwealth Bogie on your site. I also have some photos of my 5-inch gauge steam locomotive if you would like them too. In some (or many) months I may also have some of the British Rail coach body that I am building (which will fit on top of the bogies). I am making the underframe at the moment.
I have not had much luck in sourcing small steel or brass sections in Bangkok, and you mentioned that there is a shop in Pak Chong that has many sections. Can you remember if they have any small sections, say less than 10mm as I need some to complete my underframe to support all the (dummy) equipment that fits there (battery boxes, etc).
If you could give me their contact number I can ask my secretary to contact them to check on the sizes and if they have an outlet in Bangkok, or if one of the ‘friends’ has an outlet here.
Regards,
Andrew
PS – One unusual model project was building a 20-note busker organ that plays roll music. I’m not sure if your website would extend to that though. These side projects sometimes give us a bit of a break from grinding away at the nard metals though! Maybe I can use the organ in Lumphini Park to supplement my retirement funds – I just need a little monkey with a red hat!!
Hi Andrew and thanks for your email, good to hear from you.
Small Metal Sections
Small sections – less than 10 mm (small to model engineers is tiny in Thailand) of just about any metal seems to be unavailable but I did see some very small sections of stainless steel yesterday. Round and rectangular down to about 3 mm x 10mm or so it seemed.
There are four metal shops in Pakchong. Of the two big ones, one just sells steel and the other sells everything else.
This last shop is called Teera Borigaan. I’m enclosing a photo of the shop sign with their telephone number on it.
Pakchong Teera Borigaan Metal Shop Sign
Bright mild steel is available down to at least 1/2″ (yes in imperial sizes) and possibly small but I haven’t bought anything less than 1/2″.
The other shop (Teera Borigaan) selling everything else is amazing. I’m putting some photos and videos on the website but the page isn’t finished you so I am attaching just one photo of the smallest brass section I saw.
It seems to be about 15mm square. See photo:-
Brass Bar Square 15mm
The other two smaller shops sell small aluminium sections and the other small stainless steel sections.
I guess the aluminium is for making window frames and the stainless for making ornamental gates, railings and burglar bars.
Coming back to the brass it would be possible if there is enough interest from everyone to buy some sections, cut it up and deliver by mail. The main issue I see here is that it would bend when cutting.
I could buy a length eg of that 15 mm bar and send a length down to you for you to cut up. Please let me know if this is of interest.
Loco Photos
Yes please Andrew, please send the photos of the 5″ gauge model locomotive, I would love to see them as i am sure would others.
20 Note Busker Organ
I can’t get you a monkey with a red hat but if you send me the photos I’ll put them on the website together with a photo of a red-hatted monkey!
There aren’t that many model engineers in Thailand for the website to be too restrictive. Your busker organ project was a home hobby construction project and that’s close enough.
I just thought of one snag with your Lumphini Park retirement job – you aren’t allowed to work in Thailand. I don’t think that the “I’m not working, the monkey is” excuse would be accepted!
Hi Mike and many thanks for asking about buying workbenches for the home workshop in Thailand.
The first consideration when selecting a workbench is “what is it to be used for?”.
I have several workbenches for different purposes and they are all different construction, some purchased ready-made, some homemade.
The purchased ones are lightweight and suitable for light assembly work and marking out.
The heavier homemade benches are suitable for heavy metal cutting and filing (using a bench vice), metal bending and cutting etc.
The bench shown in your website link to A E Engineering shows a lightweight bench and I have a similar one. If you want to affix a bench vice for cutting using a hacksaw or anything other than light finish filing then you need to assess the type and strength of the working top of the bench.
In the case of my own lightweight bench which does have a bench vice fitted, both the bench top and the whole bench itself is far to flimsy for anything other than finish filing and occasional hacksawing. If I wanted to use it for serious hacksawing it would need first of all bolting to a wall, then the bench top would need fixing down (at the moment it just rests on the steel bench frame) followed up by general strengthening.
Even my robust homemade steel bench really needs fixing to the wall, something I must do one day.
As to A E Engineering this is the first time I have heard of them.
Another company in Thailand that supplies good quality workbenches is Cromwell Tools. If you go to their website you can download their catalogue in pdf format.
I and several other model engineers and metal working hobbyists in Thailand have bought products from Cromwell Tools and the tools and service have both been first class.
If you are interested in anything from Cromwell, then simply email the Manager Shaun Burke and mention ModelEngineeringInThailand.com.
To finish off here are a few photos of some of my workbenches (not all of them in Thailand).
First this is a bench I made myself and it sits out in the garden. The plastic bowl underneath is used to cover the vice when not in use.
You can see the vice has been removed temporarily to make way for my SBG-40 Universal Bender – a steel bar bending machine which is in use to bend 1/4″ x 1″ mild steel bar for my 6″ scale model traction engine. You wouldn’t be able to do this on a bench like the AE Engineering one.
Even though it’s a strong bench it moves a bit when hack sawing so it needs fixing to the wall, really.
You’ll also notice that I leave this bench in the garden and it’s completely unpainted! The millscale prevents it from rusting except in areas where the water ‘puddles’. That plastic bowl under the bench is what i use to put over the vice (or in this case the bender and the vice) at night or other times when it’s raining.
Here is a close-up of a couple of the welds and they aren’t pretty. Bench still works, though. I made the bench using oxy-propane gas welding but doing it again I would use electric arc welding.
Rust appears to be a major consideration here in Thailand (well, for me anyway).
We are in Udon Thani, and I am having to take extra precautions against the evils of air-borne moisture. Machines and tools I have had for fifty years (in some cases), which were still pristine on the days our containers arrived (March and December 2013) in Udon Thani, are needing a lot more TLC and oil to keep them that way.
I have noticed, however, that oiled vertical and soffit surfaces are not so prone to the onset of corrosion, so I figure that as the specific gravity of water is greater than that of oil, the water condensing on the upper metal surface oil is migrating through the oil film and continuing it’s evil work to reduce my pride and joys into iron oxide!
It is a bit of a pain to have to wipe off excess oil prior to using any tool / machine, however I am supposed to be retired and time is supposed to be no object.
Lathe, mill, drill press etc. and tooling are swamped in oil and get a refresher on a regular basis.
The onset of surFace corrosion has been worst in my woodworking machinery, and although accuracy is not that critical, everything runs smoother on clean, polished surfaces.
I have had to take the 3M stripping disc to the table-saw tables, the automatic planer table and to the buzzer tables. A few smooth plastic tablecloths placed on the oiled surfaces now “encapsulate” all critical metal surfaces on all machines.
For those who have not come across the 3M stripping discs, they are definitely the best thing since sliced Hovis, and I cannot recommend them highly enough.
If anyone has a foolproof method of protecting metal surfaces, I would like to hear from you.
In the meantime, it’ll be oil, plastic sheets, and trying to remember to put everything away at night!
Hi Laurie and many thanks for raising this subject of rust in the home workshop in Thailand.
It’s a subject I have discussed with a colleague and fellow model engineer (George) who lives on the coast in Pattaya. I image that his kind of airborne moisture is salt laden so very deadly to nice shiny steel parts. (Actually the really shiny parts are slower to be affected than not so shiny ones.)
There is a cure (or two) which I’ll explain about in a minute but whether these are available in Thailand I don’t know. Probably not. But first to respond to your other points.
I haven’t particularly noticed that vertical and soffit parts are less prone to corrosion but I have noticed that there are patches of severe rust in patches right next to pristine as-new surface finish, instead of a generally degrading rusty surface spread throughout.
I mentioned ‘type of airborne moisture’ and I’m sure there are different types. Where we live up here (as in vertically up, not geographically up) in the hills at Pakchong, we suffer from early morning mist and cloud in the daytime/evening. Because we are quite high it’s always damp and it feels like you are living in a cloud which is true some of the time.
Sadly I don’t have a special oiling regime in place – I don’t have time for that. If I cleaned and oiled all my machines before I went to be I’d be having some very late nights. But I do have a strategy and a secret weapon I said I would tell you about. Also, I suppose I do have a bit of a policy for mills and lathes and that is to use the soluble cutting oil a lot. (Built-in suds pump on most of the machines). The water evaporates if you just leave the suds in place when finished and leaves some oily residue on the machine and whatever tools (eg chucks) you have been using.
Another reason I don’t do prolific oiling is that I haven’t been able to find any light oil in sufficient quantities here in Pakchong. All I can see in the shops is motor car and motor bike oils.
My Secret And Guaranteed Stop-Corrosion Product
It’s called “ACF50” and comes in spray cans. Search for “ACF50 Anti Corrosion Formula Protectant Spray” in a search engine or on ebay and you’ll find it.
I sprayed all my shiny steel parts and electrical part before shipping them over from the UK and there wasn’t a sign of corrosion on anything, despite being at sea for over six weeks.
I also bought a dozen or so cans to bring to Thailand but was told (after I had packed them) that I couldn’t take aerosols in the container.
So I spent a happy two hours spraying the contents into a plastic container which I do have here in Thailand. but apart from brushing it on I have no easy (ie spraying) method to apply it.
Hence I haven’t used it much put keep looking out for a spray can that will spray oil. (I bought two but they wouldn’t work even on diluted soluble oil)
As to ACF50 itself it’s a fantastic product. The reports say (amongst other things) that motorcycles are sprayed with it before the onset of winter and it’s cleaned off in spring. All the road salt and rain water has no effect on electrics, aluminium, chrome or steel.
I haven’t seen any for sale in Thailand. perhaps I can persuade Shaun Burke of Cromwell Tools that it is a product he should consider stocking.
The only downside to it is that it ain’t exactly cheap!
Another possible solution is something mentioned to me by another colleague, Pete. This is his suggestion:-
“Clean and spray 2 coats of CRC Soft Seal. Soft seal leaves a brownish transparent dry but slightly tacky coating that is good for long term indoor storage. The parts are easy to handle. Your hands do not get oily and the parts are easy to grip.”
I haven’t tried this nor have I seen it for sale in Thailand.
Other Comments
I liked your quip “however I am supposed to be retired and time is supposed to be no object” because I too find that since retiring I have more to do and less time available in which to do it. To some extent that’s down to Parkinson’s law. (The work expands to fit the time available) And since retiring I do more of those ‘should do’ little projects that save time in the long run, but genuinely I do have a massive project agenda.
Looking after woodworking machinery must be doubly difficult because it can’t be oily when you want to use it, unlike metalworking machines.
My Big Corrosion Bugbear
This is not machinery or tools but models. I have spent hours putting on nice shiny finishes to parts on my steam engines such as crankshafts, flywheels, guidebars etc., and they all rust over.
I’ll clean them up again and for the bright steel I’ll try ACF50 and for the cast iron (e.g. flywheel rim) which can’t be oiled I am going to try a clear paint. The one I have in mind is called “Quick Drying Laquer Spray – ACRYLIC EPOXY” by Bosny.
3M Stripping Disc
If you have been using these to clean rust from those woodworking machine surfaces you mention then your rust bugs are much worse than mine! Shame on you for letting those surfaces reach that stage of corrosion.
Anyway, Laurie, many thanks for your contribution and I hope you can make further comments in future.
Thanks for the kind words Andrew. In my past “work-life” I was an electronics engineer, so putting in a few wires, circuit boards, and sensors is all very familiar ground for me. The new & challenging areas for me, are learning to make 3D CAD drawings, read those drawing files into a CAM program, which generates “G code”, and finally run the G code file on the “controller” software which controls the X Y Z axis on the mill.
Yes, there are days when I think I’m more than a little crazy,…then there are other days when I absolutely certain 🙂
+1. I use the EE tangential too, mostly for roughing. I have just made a fantastic new finishing tool from 5/8″ HSS
called a vertical shear tool. Google Gadgetbuilder who describes the tool and angles. It is also in the moltrecht books under shaper tooling where the idea comes from. Very easy to make (only 2 angles), and makes the most fantastic finish on steel or anything. Who needs cylindrical grinders? It is THAT good. Max DOC about 0.003″ but with this tool, half a thou is easy. Swarf is incredible.
Mike
Mike,
Thanks fir that website reference -eventually got round to looking at it!
I may try that tool first before indulging in the EE tool. Maybe save the EE for my Christmas prezzie!
I often have problems getting a good finishing cut, so hopefully this will be a welcome addition to the tool box.
Regards,
Andrew
Hi Keith,
very nice. I love old iron. I presume in American, a 12 x 36″ lathe is 6″ centre height and 36″ between centres. I have a 1969 Boxford VSL which is a top of the range vari-speed copy of the southbend 9″ model A. If you ever part with the Atlas, or upgrade to a heavier duty newer Chinese lathe to match your mill, let me know and give me first refusal.
All the best,
Mike (Udon).
Mike,
830cc wow. Probably a beast to kick over, but goes like hell and scares the neighbours..
Many modifications to that bike, clearly.
I had a ’78 Bonnie back in England in the seventies and loved it.
Here in Thailand now, I have a ’71 Tiger with a Morgo 750 top end and the bike has been ungoing a steady transformation to cafe racer in the 14 years I have owned it. Great fun to ride. I have a Morgo rotary oil pump, mini cartridge oil filter and oil cooler to fit next.
Oh, I just found out about a guy in Korat who makes aluminium petrol tanks. I saw a long Norton Manx tank he had made for someone, cost 11500 Baht, about 1/3 price of a tank made in England, although the quality isn’t quite the same, but looks pretty good. He does a range of styles, so I may get one for my Tiger later.
Pleased also that the website is not narrowly focussed on ‘model engineering’. All hobbyists, collectors, home workshop types etc are welcome.
The good mix of interests broadens all our experiences and knowledge as well as making new friends.
Any chance of some photos of your bikes? I’m sure Mike at least would be interested?
By the way I was never into bikes but I did have a 1960 Triumph 2 litre TR3A sportscar. I rebuilt the engine and overbored it and tuned it up. The most I had out of it was 115 mph and that was decidedly shaky!
Good work on the beam engine and glad that everything works fine. I think us model engineers will always be misunderstood by our other halves as they wonder why we continue to make these “toys”! I keep explaining that model engineering is a health benefit and will keep our minds and bodies active well into old age. I’m not sure if that was the answer she was seeking haha!
I have seen the eccentric engineering tools you mentioned and have often thought of investing in one. So as you have had some good results I will probably indulge myself. I tend to use HSS tooling quite a bit fit good finishes and detailed turning. I use the insert tools for roughing out.
The tangential type are as good or better than carbide inserts for roughing and unlike the inserts you can sharpen them. I have some amazing videos of them in use – I’ll dig one out and post it on the website.
I had two issues here although I did screw-cut all 24 bars in the end:-
I couldnt work out how to use the jig provided to grind the 55 deg angle so I did it free-hand – not ideal.
Being tangential and with a 55 deg included angle viewed meant that the tool was very fragile and it kept breaking.
Another drawback with the tangential toolholders is that there is a lot of overhang leading to tool spring. This isn’t so noticeable when the tool is in a toolpost on the cross-slide but It was a serious drawback when trying to machine the taper on the Stuart Turner Victoria Steam Engine connecting rod with the tool in the topslide. Just too much total overhang so I had to grind up two (right and left hand) traditional tools from 3/8″ HSS.
Don’t let the above put you off though but don’t expect them to be panacea.
By the way George used round section tools to get a neat generous radius on his StuartTurner Beam Engine and I have yet to tray round tools.
Mike,
I am really impressed that you took on such a project. CNC is terrifying enough if using a bought machine, never mind making one! I’ve never ventured near any projects with any wires attached as I am sure it would end up ripping my work to pieces!
I think I will continue fir some time with my manual machines, although CNC would come in handy for detailed work. Maybe one day ..
Alan,
Yes, I made the Commonwealth bogies here in Bangkok. There are over 350 components required, so it was fun making most of them, however I did buy the springs and the fixing screws.
I have now started on the 1.7m long under frame that will rest on the bogies. I hope I can keep them straight!!
Many thanks for the additional information about how you built the 5″ Scale Mk1 Commonwealth Bogies here in Thailand, I’m sure readers will appreciate it.
Such fine scale – if running on a ground-level track I would be worried about damaging them.
I have been looking at that 1224 as well. I think that may be the one I end up with, it is a nice looking machine.
I intend to ship a 20 ft container from the US as well. There is a provision in Thai customs about returning Thai citizens and household goods. We will put everything in my wife’s name. She has been outside of Thailand since 2004, so easy to prove her as a returning expat. I even have a Harley Davidson that is in her name. Rule used to be that a vehicle that has been in a Thai persons name for more than two years can be imported duty free.
It will be interesting for sure.
We will be making a trip next month to see friends and family and do some house hunting.
It’s a long way off before you buy your lathe in Thailand and by then I guess the LD-1224GH TAIWAN Gear Head Bench Lathe 610 will have been superceded by then.
Just a few observations based on my experience with my Sieg C4 Lathe:-
The topslide is lousy! I had to make quite a few mods to get it to work and it’s still too sloppy to give a good finish. The Gib strip is on the wrong side. It looks like it’s on the right side on the 1224.
The C4 (like the 1224) doesn’t have a leadscrew handwheel. When cutting up to a shoulder at least the last few mm (if using power feed) have to be cut using the saddle traverse handwheel which is very coarse. Min is graduated in 0.5 mm which is no where near fine enough.
The above issue could be circumvented if there was an automatic feed trip and a dead-stop carriage stop. but there isn’t.
Fitting a leadscrew handwheel is a top priority on my C4.
Another very annoying niggle that I MUST put right is that the saddle traverse handwheel has to be pushed in to engage the drive. (In hand feed mode). It can all to easily – and it does – drop out of engagement and then the feed-dial setting is lost. Crazy!
Some of the above points will probably apply to any similar lathe so watch out fro them please. And don’t buy blind! Go to see the machine before you buy.
About the returning Thai Expat rule I think you are on the right tracks with this. I couldn’t do that because Kanyah had been living in Thailand for around 3+ years before we imported the container.
I see you share interesting stuff here, you can earn some
extra money, your blog has big potential,
for the monetizing method, just search in google – K2 advices
how to monetize a website
I am very pleased to have discovered your website today. I have lived in Thailand for about a total of 7 years on a couple occasions. I am married to a Thai lady and we are planning to make our final relocation there in early 2016. I work in the middle east at the moment and need to continue until the finances support our move. Anyway, I love the small home machine shop stuff and plan to make a very nice shop there.
If you are looking for tools and material, there is a supplier called Ruam Charoen (sp?) in Ban Chang that is excellent. I spent a couple years as a Field Engineer working on Royal Thai Navy ships at the Chuksamet port in Sattahip. I went to RC at least 3 times a week to get materials for fixing the ships machinery, including the 1200 psi steam systems. They were great, if they didn’t have what I needed, they could always find it and have it the following day. Ban Chang is a little bit of a drive from where you are, but would make a nice day trip. Some good restaurants at the beach and a little bar area in Ban Chang that is quite unique.
When I was in China I learned about the mini machines that were available and saw that most of them were made by a company called Seig in Shanghai. Since I was there I arranged a visit to the factory. I bought a small mill and lathe and made an extra bedroom in the apartment into a mini machine shop. I had to sell everything when I left as the shipping costs were just too high and I didn’t really know where I was going.
Sieg’s website lists “http://www.smartcncs.com/?lang=en” as their distributor in Thailand. I was wondering if anyone has used them yet?
When we make the final move to Thailand I will be shipping quite a lot of tools from the US but buying machines there. It will be good to tap into some experience for some advice when that day comes.
Hi Matt and many thanks for your contribution to the website.
I looked up Ban Chang on Google maps and see that it’s in Rayong not so far from Pattaya. There is another Model Engineer down in Pattaya, George, and that area of Rayong according to Glen is the centre of industry in Thailand. So plenty of reasons to visit.
Looking at Ban Chang on Google images also shows the place has many delights apart from model engineering!
Not sure how I would find the Ruam Charoen shop, though.
I took a look at the website of the Sieg Mini-Lathe dealer in Thailand that you mentioned – http://www.smartcncs.com/?lang=en – and they do display many mini-lathes and mini-mills. Most seem CNC type and they also display CNC accessories such as stepper motors, stepper-motor drives and XY tables for example.
The shop is located tot he North of Bangkok at Pathum Thani. Their address and a map are on the website.
Also I noticed some larger geared head bench lathes like this one for example: “LD-1224GH TAIWAN Gear Head Bench Lathe 610 mm”. That’s a really neat machine and beats my own Sieg SC4 Lathe my a long shot.
By the way I imported my Sieg SC4 Lathe along with my complete model engineer’s workshop from the UK. It came along with household effects in a 20 foot container.
You used to be able to avoid paying import duty by coming to Thailand on a Retirement Visa but hat has stopped now. It’s probably cheaper buying your mini-lathe here in Thailand as you intend to do rather than importing then from USA.
Please feel free to ask for any advice as and when. If I can’t answer there are many people on the Announcement List whom I can call on for advice.
Once again Matt thank you for your contribution and welcome to the group.
I found the following address info for Ruam Charoen using Google:
83/50 Moo1, Pla, Banchang, Rayong 21130,Rayong,Thailand
Here’s the web link with a map: http://tha.soopage.com/company/RUAM_CHAROEN_GROUP_CO_LTD_4Ce.html
Please note that I have not visited this location to verify it’s correctness. Perhaps Matt or George could help verify this location is correct?
You will have to pick out the items you can’t or don’t want to make, create a drawing file either by hand and scan it or use the CAD program of your choice, make a DXF (drawing exchange file) and email it to me. If you want castings made, the foundries are in the Chonburi area or you can send the patterns up to china or taiwan, they all speak engrish.
Castings as well! I have looked for small foundries on the ‘net but found none, not surprisingly.
Chonburi eh? Well armed with this intelligence I made a quick search and found plenty of metal foundries in Chonburi. This is an example:-
Asahi Somboon Metals Co., Ltd.
Thung Su Khla, Moo 3, 205 Laemchabang Industrial Estate, Sri Racha, Chonburi, 20110, Thailand
They don’t have a website.
But how do I find a small one willing to make tiny castings? Drive around and ask, I guess.
Anyway, Glen, I can send dxf files of the parts I want the gear cutting done for. I have the blank castings already and will machine them so that the gear cutting company has reference planes. All I need then is the gear cutting.
This kind of information will be exciting to our fellow model engineers in Thailand.
Thank you once aging for sharing this information with us an for your offer to help.
In Rayong we have micro to monster machine shops on almost every corner. I can route your RFQ and you can pick or choose who you want to get your outsourced parts from. Message me with drawings.
Hi Glen and thanks for the info plus of course the offer to route my RFQ.
I have drawings but they need a bit of ‘tickling’ to identify just the outsources work, I’ll do that and send you a couple to gauge reaction.
I have been in that area twice to buy accessories for machine tools. The shop was SUN RISE TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY, 969 Moo 5 Preaksa Rd., Preaksa Mai, Muang Samuthprakarn, Samuthprakarn 10280.
I got the impression from driving around there that it was one huge manufacturing industrial estate and that they must be serving some Japanese car plants locally, like Toyota.
Having someone like you with local knowledge would be great timesaver.
Thanks again for the offer glen, I’ll be in touch.
Congratulations on the simple act of getting the project of the ground and all the bits into Thailand. I am sure that has been the hardest part. The rest is just fun from here on in.(maybe a little sweet and sleepless night thinking how to some of the bits) But that’s the fun!!!
I hope some time to get up to see you and the bits sometime in the future. In the meantime keep the story going as it helps keep me sane while I am at work.
Hi George and many thanks for your comment as usual.
It wasn’t easy at all to purchase those parts and get them delivered to Thailand.
It was easy physically, but not mentally.
The hardest part was making the commitment. I mean, before I even bought that big lathe and milling machine I had to weigh up the costs and the risks. The total capital investment in machine tools, the extension to the workshop, the castings and the boiler is enormous.
The concern about the Thai customs was another worry that actually came to nothing.
And following on are the additional materials costs and further tooling costs.
Also I had to weigh up my chances of actually completing the traction engine while I’m still alive and young enough to enjoy it!
As soon as I had bought those big machine tools there was no turning back.
I’m now privately and publicly committed to the project.
But first I have to finish the Stuart Turner Victoria steam mill engine and that’s presenting a few challenges at the moment.
This mail is simply to keep in touch and perhaps update you a little.
My workshop is gradually progressing and Shaun Burke has been a star in helping with a number of supply issues. Cromwell has done quite well out of me over the last few months having purchased a Kobe Pillar Drill, vice, vertical/disc sander / linisher and a rolling tool chest.
This week I have ordered a milling/drilling machine which you are probably familiar with ZX7550, complete with 3 axis DRO (this will be a first DRO for me). The machine should be installed at the end of the month, subject to the DRO arriving on time and being fitted before delivery.
Having taken note from your experience I first approached All Arm and they were initially very helpful by email. I arranged to take a day off work and made an appointment with “Sam” to view the machine and to view their proposed DRO. I arrived at the scheduled time only to be told in Thai that Sam would not be coming to work that day. Not very professional I thought, he could have phoned to let me know. The staff in the showroom had very little English so it made some of my technical questions quite difficult despite my Thai wife trying desperately to translate. However as you will know, engineering English is very different to normal conversational English and my wife struggled.
The next day I sent a mail to Sam detailing the questions I would have asked during my visit. One of these questions was which 2 axis DRO was he proposing to use. Promptly he sent a reply with picture and model number. It was blatantly obvious that this was a lathe DRO as it had none of the milling functions, I actually then researched (internet) and found that the same model was available in both lathe and milling versions. Armed with this information I replied to Sam saying that I was happy with the model he had selected but please be sure to fit the milling model and not the lathe model. He replied “If you are going to be picky then I don’t want to sell you this machine all DRO are the same and if you want it for anything but X & Y coordinates I definitely do not want to sell you a machine.
I replied and pointed out that there was obviously a misunderstanding or something lost in translation and that I was not being picky but simply selecting the type of DRO that I wanted to purchase from him. That was over 3 weeks ago and despite further mails from me there has been no reply.
To say the least I was a little miffed and decided to find another machine and another supplier. I think that I have found a gem and can thoroughly recommend them. Their company name is PCAM (Precision CNC & Machinery) their website http://www.cnc-kit.net/ which is unfortunately in Thai only but still pretty easy to navigate.
It’s a small company that both sell new machinery and also build their own special purpose CNC machines for companies with special positional requirements (not only machine tools) The company appears to be run by K’ Thanakorn and his nephew K’ Noppadol. You could not wish to deal with two more friendly and helpful people who also know their products very well. Both speak excellent English.
As is normal in machine tools they were really not prepared to offer a discount but did agree to deliver and install the machine in Hua Hin and supply 5,000 baht of HHS milling cutters. So hopefully the delivery and installation will go well, they will deliver on a tail lift truck and bring the necessary lifting equipment to move it to my workshop.
For your resources section I have two additions that may help hobby machinists in BKK
I bought their Cutting oil soluble in an 18L drum (smallest available but if you’re a big user you can buy it in 6,000L J) the price for 18L was 1,400 Baht +7% VAT the premium soluble was 1,600 Baht + 7% vat
Another item that was frustrating me was marking out blue or layout blue. Yes, I know that you can use a permanent marker but when you are marking a large area marking blue is the way to go. I looked everywhere and only came up with the American DYKEM marking out Blue or Red.
I found the Thai distributor who seemed shocked that I should want such a specialised item but I was much more shocked when they gave me the price!!! 4,500 Baht for a 236ml bottle or 7,500 Baht for a 930ml container. Needless to say I did not buy from them…….you can buy an awful lot of permanent markers for that kind of money.
Anyway by accident I stumbled across a Japanese brand, being sold here.
Many apologies for taking so long to reply (I only just saw your email) but there is so much going on here and so much to do I shall have to find a way to ‘manufacture time’.
I’m glad you didn’t buy from AllArm – not because I don’t want then to get some business but because I don’t want you to suffer the same poor service that I did.
Yes, Sam has a strange manner, customers are a nuisance to him, or even worse. he treat potential customers with complete contempt and in his office in Bangkok her was more interested in flirting with his girlfriend than he was in my needs.
But I see you have suffered the same contempt and lack of professionalism from Sam that I did I’m glad you found what you wanted elsewhere.
I hadn’t heard of http://www.cnc-kit.net before and do hope you are happy with their service. Getting them to install the machine is a great bonus – these big mills are very heavy. (Mine weighs a ton as does yours)
The machine you have chosen ZX7550 looks fine and is a good size. (ie massive!). I find the DRO on my machine indispensable so you have made a wise choice there too.
Thanks for the links to the other products – will go on the website in due course.
You are spot on with Shaun from Cromwell Tools. He is great at servicing the likes of us. I bought my cutting oils from Cromwell Tools, both tapping fluid and soluble oil. The latter is in a 20 container but with my two big machines I need a lot of it.
Other things I have bought from Cromwell include an electronically controlled welding helmet and a 10 ton hydraulic press. All delivered to my door by Shaun.
Marking out fluid (one that works) is something I have been seeking for years. I have tried several types and the one that works best (but only on clean bright steel) is to heat it to blue heat.
I came across the American DYKEM marking out Blue during ser chine online here and you did better than me in at least finding a distributor here in Thailand. but at those prices I’ll pass it by as you did.
Did you actually buy that Aotack? I’d be interested in how it performs. A lot of my marking out will be on cast iron (when I start building the half size traction engine) and I don’t think the blue marking-out fluid is suitable. Again I have tried several materials but nothing I have tried works well.
Again many thanks for the email and the resource URLs these will help quite a few people I’m sure.
Please keep in touch with an update on your milling machine installation.
We are looking for exactly that type of lathe at the moment and in the process of doing the house and workshop. Maybe it is cooler up there than down here in Rayong but air conditioning, or at least, dehumidification is a must for any workshop.
Looking good….Happy chip making
MIG is a great answer to welding but it’s expensive to buy and to run. That’s the reason I didn’t buy one.
My welding needs are infrequent and relatively undemanding so I couldn’t justify a MIG welder. Of course if you are making seriously stressed parts like boilers then you ought (must?) use MIG.
It must have been a very enjoyable day out. Not everyone’s idea of a good day out. But I think any model maker would jump at the chance. The photographs are inspiring. I only wish my welding was as good as that on the foundation ring of the boiler. I could spend many happy hours in that workshop. Do you have any idea about the weight of your completed boiler?
I like the idea of getting it made to European standards. But I suspect that by the time you have finished the build and see a magnificent engine standing in your drive way it will be hard to send it back to UK to sell it. As it must be the one and only half size engine in the whole of Thailand if not Asia.
Hope to meet up again when you come down to pick up your container.
Hi George and thanks again for your valuable comments and observations.
What amazed me most of all (as I said) was how many large traction engines there were either complete or under construction.
Yes welding of that quality is something to aspire to. My welding is atrocious which I put down to not being able to see through the welding mask (plus lack of experience and skill). I bought one of those auto darkening ones (quite cheap) and it’s good to see where to strike the arc but then it goes just as dark as a normal mask.
Like you did I guess I’ll have to buy one of those electronic adjustable ones. Cromwell tools sell them.
Of course I am using arc welding (sometimes called stick welding) and Tony uses MIG welding for the boilers. I find that with arc welding on thin gauge steel running at about 70 ~ 90 Amps the weld pool is obscured by the pool of slag from the flux. mostly the arc is submerged in the slag pool so that’s another reason I can’t see what I’m doing. You don’t have this problem with MIG welding.
I haven’t tried welding thicker steel yet when I hope to be able to see the weld pool at a higher current. But as a lad I did a lot of reasonable welding on my racing car and it passed the scrutineers so it can’t have been that bad.
I do need to be able to make good quality welds – not for the traction engine the only welding there is on the boiler – but to make various tools and jigs, benches etc for the workshop.
As to the engine being to only half sized model in traction in Thailand I rather suspect it will be the only working traction engine in Thailand – or do you know of another one?
Near to our house in Pak Chong I spotted a rusting hulk of what looks like a traction engine. Just wheels and a boiler basically. When I get back I’ll take some photos of it.
Whether I’ll want to bring my half-sized traction engine back to UK to sell it (or even sell it in Thailand) is something in the far distant future – three years is my estimate from when I start making it – so we will have to wait for that time.
Yes I do hope we can find the time to visit you when we go down to Laem Chabang port to show my passport to the customs officials. But I have learned as a principle in Thailand to only try do one job in one day.
It may all go smoothly but it may take hours and hours and Kanyah doesn’t like driving in the dark. (Neither do I) Also if I have to pay a lot of money I won’t be feeling too good about it – more importantly neither will Kanyah.
I’ll let you know when we plan to go down but until after the port visit I can’t say for sure whether we will come round or not.
Hi Alan
Just to let you know that I hope to be back in Thailand on the 4th of June for 26 days. Just let me know when you want to visit. When I shipped my stuff to Thailand I always used the wife’s name. So she could do all of the paper work. As soon as they see an Expat the tea money required tends to increase.
Best of luck.
George
Hi George the timing is good this time. You’ll be in Thailand until 30th June. Our container arrives on 15th June. Allow for a week for unloading and I expect to have to go down to customs on customs around 20th or 23rd so that should fit in nicely with your visit.
Hi Alan and all fellow model makers.
It looks like your dream is well under way.
The nine months waiting time should fly by as you will be very busy with machining the casting you have.
Keep the photos coming helps brighten up my time at work. Twenty days to go then back to Thailand and my workshop.
George
Thanks for the comment. I’ll keep the pictures coming as soon as I have them.
I visited AJB Engineering (Tony Baldwin) yesterday and saw plenty of large scale traction engine boilers being built. There are a lot of photos of large scale traction engine boilers under construction on the Boilers For 6 Inch Scale Little Samson” web page
Tony will be building the boiler for my Little Samson Traction Engine.
The nine months will fly by. I was in Thailand for eight months on my last visit and no where near completed the Stuart Turner Victoria mill engine I am building and that’s a miniscule project compared to the Little Samson traction engine.
According to my calendar you should be in Thailand around the 5th of June. We arrive on 8th June and our container arrives on the 15th. We have to go to the Laem Chabang container port to show my passport. I’m not exactly sure when that will be but the container arrives on 15th June.
Since Laem Chabang is close to Pattayah perhaps we can meet up again. I’d like to take some photos of your models and ypur model engineering workshop.
Alan,
It’s a good thing you are not building a full size traction engine then……
Fantastic project. Years of challenging fun ahead. When finished, I am sure it will be the only one in Thailand.
Good luck with Thai customs.
Best wishes
Ian.
Hi Alan
Very Interesting photos. It would be interesting to see all the castings laid out in one shot when you get back to Thailand. As you say a very committed act. You have my best wishes for a happy retirement. Have you had any ideas about the boiler construction? Or about lifting of large bits of metal safely on your own?
I am still slowly working away on the beam engine. But as always there is always some thing else to fix. To day it was burnt cables in the old house, Two trees to cut back and a load of new bushes to plant. And after all that the start capacitor on the milling machine decided to blow. Not the first time so I had a spare. Must be the high amb temp here.
As I mentioned in an earlier mail might be a good idea to ship a bucket full of steam oil over in the container if there are no safety problems. That is if the traction engine uses the stuff. I still have not found a supplier here.
Thanks for the comment George – always good to hear from you.
I do have some photos of the castings laid out in the garden at our house in Nottingham (UK). I’ll upload them to the website as soon as I get a minute. Getting that lot back to Thailand and past the Customs in BKK is not going to be easy to say the least.
As to commitment I was committed to building this half sized traction engine the moment I bought those big machine tools in Bangkok.
The boiler I’ll get made in UK. When I have built the 6 inch scale Little Samson Traction Engine and played with it enough I plan to ship it back to UK to sell. In order to sell an engine like that in the UK the boiler must have been built to the correct Standards and have the CE stamp. All the boiler steel has to be certified and welding undertaken by a coded welder. So it’s got to be built in the UK.
I’ll be getting quotations for that work soon. I expect the manufacture of the boiler to take about 9 months from commencement.
As you say something always gets in the way of our hobby of making model engines. For me at the moment is this damned packing and shipping the workshop over to Thailand. I have just put back the collection date by a week because we won’t be ready on time.
Good tip about the steam oil. Should ship a few sacks of steam coal too. How do I convince the Thai Customs that the steam coal is used – you are only allowed to import used items free of duty!
It’ll be a long time before I need steam oil for the Traction Engine but not quite so long before I need it for the Stuart Turner Victoria Mill engine.
I’m all too happy to share photos and descriptions of my diy CNC mill,…it’s not too often I get to present a show-n-tell to folks that actually know what an R8 quill is. I sent you a brief description with some attached photos to your modelengineering…@gmail.com.
If you don’t get them or you want me send somewhere else, just let me know. I see no way to upload or attach photos via the “comment” section I’m using to write this reply.
Because I’ve chosen to use an different working fluid than water for my steam engine, much of the design concerning “sizing” will be a lot of guess work for me. The expansion properties of water to steam are well known and documented, meaning a designer pretty much knows how many feet of 1/2″ tubing he needs to produce a given quantity of steam at known temps and pressures.
I’ve yet to find similar tables or formulas for the fluid I’ve chosen to use. I will use either a standard axial flow or a Ljungstrom design for the turbine itself, both have their pros and cons, but I favour the Ljungstrom (designed in the late 1800s and used on at lease one steam locomotive).
Somewhere in a box I’ve yet to unpack are my very rough sketches of some of the parts such as the forced air burner/boiler, and as soon as I find them, I’ll scan them into a pdf or jpg file and send it off to you,…I’d love to get your feedback.
Send me an email when you want to meet up,…Pan (my wife) & I are always eager to make new friends.
Hi Mike and thank you for your very interesting comment.
I have copied your comment and added mine in the text below.
I’m all too happy to share photos and descriptions of my diy CNC mill,… it’s not too often I get to present a show-n-tell to folks that actually know what an R8 quill is.
I sent you a brief discription with some attached photos to your email address. If you dont get them or you want me send somewhere else, just let me know. I see no way to upload or attach photos via the “comment” section I’m using to write this reply.
(Alan’s comments)
Mike, I have the description and write-up thank you. I’ll upload them as soon as I get a minute.
I must look into providing the facilities to allow uploading photos into comments.
(/comments)
Because I’ve chosen to use an differant working fluid than water for my steam engine, much of the design concerning “sizing” will be a lot of guess work for me.
The expansion properties of water to steam are well known and documented, meaning a designer pretty much knows how many feet of 1/2? tubing he needs to produce a given quantity of steam at known temps and pressures.
I’ve yet to find simular tables or formulas for the fluid I’ve chosen to use.
(Alan’s comments)
Calculation of flow of liquids and gases in pipes is a common engineering procedure – the equations are well known and there are many software solutions available. I regularly calculate pressure losses in pipes mainly for water, compressed air and natural gas.
Complex fluids ie mixtures of liquids/vapours/gases are much more complex to solve.
Now I use a software program called Pipeflow Wizard which is available from http://www.pipeflow.co.uk/. There is a free download to play with.
Whether it’s suitable or not for your probably depends on the kinnd of fluid you are using. If it’s a vapour/gas mix then probably not.
(/comments)
I will use either a standard axial flow or a Ljungstrom design for the turbine itself, both have their pros and cons, but I favour the Ljungstrom (designed in the late 1800s and used on at lease one steam locomotive).
(Alan’s comments)
Showing my ignorance this is the first time I have heard of the Ljungstrom turbine, but I am familiar with the Tesla turbine which would be easier to construct.
(/comments)
Somewhere in a box I’ve yet to unpack are my very rough sketchs of some of the parts such as the forced air burner/boiler, and as soon as I find them, I’ll scan them into a pdf or jpg file and send it off to you,… I’d love to get your feedback.
(Alan’s comments)
Many thanks, Mike, love to get this section of the website up and running.
Greetings all. I’ve been following Alan’s retirement saga for a bit over a year now,…very happy that he added this seperate machineshop site.
I’m a recently retired (January this year) electronics engineer who has always enjoyed playing in a machine shop. I’m not a dedicated model engineer but some of my toys may well be considered models as they are somtimes simply scaled down versions of existing devices; over the last few years I built a smallish CNC milling machine, which I’m still fine tuning and learning how to use.
I moved to Thailand from the U.S.A this past February, and I’m temporarily living between Saraburi and Nong Khae, which is near my wife’s family.
I brought many of my hand tools with me,…my CNC mill, rotory table, electric drills, multiple tool boxs, DMM, etc.
Like several here, I too have a keen interrest in “steam” power, but with a bit of a twist,… I dont want to use water as the working fluid,…I prefer using an organic working fluid,…which means my engines must be closed cycle.
I will also be using a turbine instead of pistons. I want to build at least two seperate systems,…one will use solar heat to boil the working fluid, while the other will use a more traditional forced air oil burner. Both systems will spin an electric generator to produce electricity.
Of course, most of my plans are on hold right now while my wife and I look for our perfect retirement location.
I’m very much looking forward to learning where and who, all the best suppliers are,…like Alan, one of my first builds, or purchases will be a nice heavy duty workbench….any suggestions?
I should firstly mention that I am presently in the UK packing my (UK) workshop and household belongings to send back to Thailand. It’s a massive task. I have ordered a dedicate 20 ft container and we (myself and my wife Kanyah) are busy packing.
The separate ModelEngineeringInThailand.com website I thought would bring more focus to the model engineering (machinist or workshop hobbyist) people in Thailand and indeed in the short time it has been running I have made many friends learnt a lot about where to get tools and materials we need for our model engineering hobby in Thailand – as indeed have many other people. From what you have written, Mike, you sound exactly like the kind of person this website is being built for.
You sound very competent to have built a CNC milling machine. Any photos of it you could let me have to post on the website? Many people would be interested to see the machine.
Your closed cycle engines sound very interesting. Are you designing them yourself? If you have any more information or sketches I’d love to put them on this website.
I see you are near Saraburi which is only an hours drive or less from our house in Pakchong. Maybe when we are back in Thailand we can meet up sometime?
Good luck with finding the ideal retirement location. Pakchong is picturesque and quiet but the place is booming – up-market houses being built everywhere and land prices rocketing. The cost of land has risen three or fourfold in as many years.
For materials and tool suppliers please see the Resources Section of the website. There is a lot more information to be added when I get the time.
As to a workbench as you know I made a steel one. It looks rough but does the job. I also have some nice folding tables with a white plastic surface – easy to keep clean.
The machines are now in place where I will be using them. I have some new photos of them and some movies showing how they were moved from Bangkok to our house. I’ll be posting them on the website when I get chance.
I recently had the pleasure of two visits here in Pakchong from Shaun Burke, manager of Cromwell Tools in Bangkok, Thailand.
On the second visit Shaun personally delivered my small order for 25 l of soluble cutting oil (So-Cool) and 500 ml of Sherwood STD cutting and tapping fluid. Both these products are very difficult to find in Thailand (even by other manufacturers) especially outside of Bangkok so I was grateful that Cromwell Tools (Shaun) was able to supply them.
Shaun is a great guy and he introduced me to some other nice ‘home workshop’ people and gave me address of a supplier of English Beer in Bangkok who can supply at very low prices. Thank you Shaun!
By the way I have not tried the soluble cutting oil yet – that is awaiting the proper commissioning of my Big Machine Tools but I have tried the Sherwood STD cutting and tapping fluid and it is superb. I put a 2BA thread on a ropey piece of re-bar I turned down to 5 mm dia. (2BA is supposed to be 4.7 mm OD so it was oversized)
Instead of the usual struggle with repeatedly backing off the die to clear the cut I just ploughed right on and cut a whole 40 mm of thread without backing off at all!
Can’t think why I would need a faster toilet but if you have any ideas on how to build a half size steam traction engine (Savages’ Little Samson) fast I would be interested.
Not only do I now have London Pride, I received a box of London porter yesterday! Courtesy of Shaun of Cromwell Tools.
Fantastic what you guys are doing, good luck with the projects.
I have lived in Thailand 30 years, 14 years in the north. My interest is classic Brit motorbikes (so far just Triumphs and BSAs); restoring, building, maintaining and riding them, for myself and friends.
I have a small workshop at my home in Chiang Rai. I found this website through Shaun at Cromwell Tools. Shaun has been most helpful over the last couple of years. I got a beautiful UK made spiral fluted reamer with pilot through him (specifically for line boring swinging arm bushes) and I also bought a mini lathe and mini milling machine from him together with many hand tools. I also buy old British made tools on ebay, often through this seller, 1412jas; http://www.ebay.com/sch/1412jas/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=
Just seems right having your own King Dick in your hand sometimes…. double ring end spanner of course.
I don’t know anything about large machines I’m afraid.
I recently found both a waterjet cutting shop in Chiang Mai, where I had a wheel embellisher made in aluminium 5083, for my Triumph Morgo cafe racer. He has a great variety of metal stock, in various forms. Stainless, bronze, aluminium, also nylon; flat, round, hex, hollow etc. I am going there in a week or so to get some hollow bronze to make some bushes. I have photos of his stock but can’t see how to post them here. There is also a laserjet cutting shop in Chiang Mai.
Great to hear from you and to make a new acquaintance in the field of home workshop.
Shaun of Cromwell Tools mentioned you when he was here yesterday delivering my order for cutting fluid and a crate of Fullers London Porter! (English beer) Great guy Shaun and their Cromwell Tools catalogue is amazing. I recommend everyone to get a copy.
As to the BIG Lathe and Mill, it’s not all about big machines. I have a tiny Emco Compact 5 Lathe and mill back in the UK which is smaller than your mini lathe and it’s just the ticket for small components.
If you have some photos to put on the website please email them to me and I’ll upload them.
I thought people could add photos when they post a comment but apparently not. I’ll look into adding that facility.
I once ‘rebuilt’ a Triumph TR3A sports car. ‘Rebuilt’ means i replaced a lot of rusty body panels with fibreglass ones (shame) but the pride of the restoration was the engine. I put a whole room aside for that project in the house, installed a lathe ans completely re-built and tuned up the engine. I had it up to 105 mph when the engine was run-in and boy that was scary! Slow by modern standards but not bad for a 1960’s car.
Anyway thanks again for posting and please send the photos and name of the shops if you have them.
Hi Alan
As you say the work shop looks very bright and airy.
Your thoughts on dies having a lead in are right but my old Dad told me that if you cut the thread first then revers the die you can cut up to a shoulder. I do it all the time and it works well.
Regards George
Hi Alan
It all looks very impressive. I like the idea of the roller door.
The civil work looks well done. By the time it is fitted out with all the other bit and pieces I imagine it will be a joy to work in.
Glad to hear you solved the problem of the spacers.
The BMS that is available sounds good. As you say in UK. The bar is always under size. You ream out a hole for half inch only to find the half inch BMS that has been supplied is a lose fit.
I will have a look round in Pattaya for some if not it will be on the shopping list for a visit to Pak Chong to see your new workshop.
The new lights are now powered up in the workshop and it’s nice and bright. With the RSDs open it’s very bright – unlike the other workshop which is best described as gloomy.
Why do drills and reamers always cut oversize?
And why do thread-cutting dies have a tapered lead on the front so that you can’t cut up to a shoulder?
Ronnie Lim Consultants are the Pacific Rim Representatives of York Portable Machine Tools, Canada.
York design and manufacture portable in-line boring machines and bore-welding machines for the convenient and speedy in-situ repairs of heavy equipment and certain applications in the Oil and Gas industries, and general engineering.
Let me know if you have any applications that York Portable Machine Tools Canada can offer you. Being in the same time zone in South East Asia makes real time communication that much more convenient, and I hope we can collaborate to mutual benefit.
Regards
Sincerely,
Ronnie Lim
Ronnie Lim Consultants
Pacific Rim Representative
York Portable Machine Tools, Canada
134 Edgedale Plains #07-70
Singapore 820134
Tel: +65-6241 2148 Mobile: +65-9671 9156
Hello Ronnie and thank you for the information about the supply of portable in-line boring machines.
I personally don’t have any immediate need for your portable in-line boring machines but I am posting your comment because someone else visiting the website may be interested there are many types of people who visit ModelEngineeringInThailand.com
Nice bits of kit. Still think the lathe is a bit pricey. My mate has sold out all machine tools except one humoungous long monster lathe. Even sold his own boring machine @1.2 mil baht. New order from China on the way.
regards,
Mike.
1. E-mail contact – no problem there, but please try to avoid the spams.
2. A forum would be good a bit later on once more model engineers have been ‘found’.
3. A users corner would also be welcome giving useful tips and shortcuts that work. Perhaps that could start before the forum.
4. For the Resources I will try to send you some more contacts later this month.
5. Member’s section – a bit optimistic at this early stage! 🙂
Hi Andrew and thanks for your suggestions.
Maybe I was being a bit enthusiastic but I have to know what people want and these things to take time to set up and fine-tune.
I’ll stat with the email feature that allows people to volunteer their email address to the community. There should not be any spam because only community members will be able to access each other’s email.
Having thought about the options for a while since I posted them I thing a Forum is the best place to start after the email feature.
I have another idea now and that is a Sale and Wanted section.
Thanks again for your valued comments.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Your “centre finder” is actually called a “co-axial indicator” or “co-ax indicator” for short. Very handy tool. I have just ordered one from the States for $68, (about £42) shipped free to a friend’s adress in San Fran. He’s bringing it over on his next visit in April for me in his suitcase.
The optical centre punch; wanted one for ages, retail anywhere between £37 to £50, easy to make, the only difficult bit is machining a suitable piece of perspex/acrylic rod and getting the domed convex end right, then polishing out any machining marks. Found some perspex rod, machined the convex end using my ball end turning fixture (home-made), machined the holder off centre from some brass, machined a centre point punch and ground the centre point on my Stent T&CG, jobs a good ‘un. Cost – zero, but about 10-12 hours work. Works very very well.
That ‘centre finder’ or ‘co-axial indicator’ is great. I use it on the milling machine to centre the rotary table which may have for example a piece of work in a three jaw chuck that has been machined on the lath and now need indexed milling. Typical item would be the slots in traction engine hubs to take the spokes. It only takes a couple of minutes to locate the exact centre under the mill spindle.
I have thought about using it in the lathe eg when trying to line up a centre mark on a piece of work held in the four jaw chuck. I haven’t tried this yet so I don’t know how successful it would be.
You made your own optical centre finder! Well done. The box on mine says Made in USA. Perhaps that’s why it was so expensive. They don’t seem to make these in China.
On the subject of making tools I avoid it at all costs. If it is available I will buy it. After all I am a model engineer and any time spent in the workshop not making models is lost time to me.
Actually that’s not quite true now. I do make jigs and fixtures that aid the model making, either to improve accuracy or to speed up production when more than one piece has to be made.
And I do understand that making tools can be very rewarding. They can form a little mini project where you have something useful made complete in a short space of time whereas making a model is a long process and you don’t see the end result for months or years. If I have to make a tool I’ll do it and be satisfied when it’s made. I have spent weeks making various backplates for chucks and collets chucks to fit the lathe and the rotary table for example.
Mind telling us what your quote was for the mill and lathe, My man up here (Udon) sells those for about 160k for the lathe and 200k for the mill. Both have hardened beds/slides etc, no DRO’s. Buys direct from the factories in China, no middle men. Obviously transport on top would be a big add on.
Mike.
Known and used Shaun a few years now. Everything is correct in the article; email Shaun, goods sent to your adress (professionally packaged), he emails you with the bill amount and the bank details of his preferred distributor. You pay them by bank transfer (Thai bank to Thai bank). Simples. I will say however, that some of the prices are cheaper in the UK, but then they have to be air freighted here, beggars cant be choosers.
Maybe I was being a bit enthusiastic but I have to know what people want and these things to take time to set up and fine-tune.
I’ll stat with the email feature that allows people to volunteer their email address to the community. There should not be any spam because only community members will be able to access each other’s email.
Having thought about the options for a while since I posted them I thing a Forum is the best place to start after the email feature.
I have another idea now and that is a For Sale and Wanted section.
I admire the conviction you have making the decision to go ahead with the traction engine project. I would be a daunting task in UK were you have easy access to the tools and parts that you will require. As well as the help and advice of fellow enthusiasts.
From your last entry I see you are looking to but a fair sized bit of kit. And the mill will be of similar size I expect. And as we spoke about on your last visit some form of lifting device will have to be obtained. I would think the four jaw chuck for a lath of that size would be too big to man handle safely.
On my last trip home I had a visit from Andrew Pickup. So we spent a happy couple of hours in the workshop chatting about our shared interests. So thanks to your web site we now know (as the scientist say) ‘’we are not alone’’ in our hobby. Out of the 60 odd million people in Thailand there are three of us like minded souls.
Yes the 6″ Little Samson project is a bit daunting and I still have my doubts not so much about the project but as to the cost of the machine tools and accessories I will need. That plus getting the boiler built.
I know I’m not skilled enough in the workshop to tackle that Big Traction Engine model project just yet. I still keep making mistakes even on a small steam model like the Stuart Turner Victoria steam engine I am building. So it’s still a dream but I think I need more experience and more planning first.
For example, I have never made a boiler in my life! I have the vertical copper boiler kit from ??? forgot the name but haven’t started it yet. The problem is that having never built one I’m scared that I might melt the copper getting it too hot with the oxy-propane torch or not getting enough silver solder penetration with the air-propane torch. It’s not like building a steam engine where if you mess up a piece you make another. If you mess up the silver soldering on a boiler the whole boiler is ruined.
Also before I launch into the Big Traction Engine model project I have to finish not only the Stuart Turner Victoria stationary steam engine and that boiler but also the 3/4″ scale Burrell traction engine I have started.
As to the machine tools for the Big Traction Engine model project the tools I want are on the website of THEPTHAI MACHINERY CORP. I have sent two emails asking for a quote and they don’t respond.
I have had an offer from AllArm Co for similar machines but the ones above are bigger.
Andrew Pickup sent me a couple of emails and it is Andrew who introduced me to Cromwell Tools Thailand so clearly this website is doing what it is being built for – to bring fellow model engineers in Thailand together and to share information and resources.
Thanks again for the comment, George and look out for some more announcements soon.
Hello mike
Thanks for the kind words and the order today see you before month end mate
we know have the new 2014 catalogue available so if anybody would like a copy please send me your address and I will post you one
hello Alan I will be up to see you next week if that’s ok a few issues down here but all ok at Cromwell
my mobile is 081 803 2653
Shaun
Hi Alan, yes Shaun is one of the good guys. 8″ shaper only about 300kgs. 20′ Containers i bought outright in the UK in 2003 for £1500 each, but they were top of the range insulated ones. And then i kitted them out as workshops.
May be worth inquiring with some BKK shippers to quote you in bringing your workshop over here. Shipping a container door to door should not be more than $2000. You can rent or buy, in 2003 the cheapest container bought outright with a 2 year shipping certificate was £500 + vat.
Hope this helps,
Mike.
ps, i also have a Thai friend who imports machine tools direct from China, no middleman, recently he imported a very high quality new Bridgeport clone for 150k baht, cheaper than the UK prices or anything in BKK.
I’ll look into the container idea to bring the workshop over. The machines I have there are on the small size but ideal for making the smaller parts. even a big traction engine has small parts.
A Bridgeport clone would be ideal for building the traction engine – it’s a favourite for that purpose.
I had a quote for a similar sized milling machine (and a large lathe) from All Arm Co when I went down to BKK to pick up the tools and cutter grinder. I’ll check that price out and put it on the website.
Building such a large traction engine in Thailand is a really big undertaking and could be a 7-10 year project. Besides a large lathe and milling machine you will need some substantial hoists to lift the boiler and tender into position and for general handling of the wheels, etc.
I would recommend a smaller 4-inch model as they are still quite large, but may not get you to the pub. You could always open your own pub at the bottom of the garden instead, that way the police won’t stop you on the way hone!
Yes, you are right it is a big project. But I’m sick of making small parts!
My spec for the steam Traction Engine in Thailand is that it should be big enough to have a significant presence on the road but as simple as possible. Parts should be big so that machining tolerances are large. Agricultural is what I’m looking for – if I could do away with the compensating gear (differential) I would.
My preference is a 4″ Fowler but I just think it’s too complicated.
The wheels on the Little Samson are cast in one piece – no need to build them up with individual spokes and all that riveting.
The 4″ Foster or Fowler is fine. A 4″ Burrell would be too small.
Having a pub at the end of the garden is a good idea and something I’m working on but can’t say too much about that here.
Also you raise another point that is far more serious than the size of the thing. I doubt if a steam traction engine would be legally allowed to run on the roads in Thailand.
Also I’m not sure of the legal position regarding the boiler and design/manufacturing standards. That’s another issue I’m looking into. I have the Little Samson boiler drawing so I’m going to contact a boiler manufacturer in Thailand to see if they can make it. And if so what the cost is likely to be.
And yes, I know I will need a crane not just for the parts but for the lathe chucks. I struggle to lift the rotary table and the machine vice on my existing lathe/milling machine. Any bigger machine will need a crane.
But it’s a life’s ambition. If I don’t do then I will have failed in my life and we can’t have that.
Hi Alan,
more into making stuff for the workshop and my motorcycles than models, but on top of being a “petrolhead” am also a “machinetoolhead”. I’m from the UK too, moved here 10 years ago in Udon Thani in the NE near the Laos border. In 2005 i brought over in 2 containers my household and workshop goods inc lathe etc, Snap On tool boxes and motorcycles. without declaring the bikes, the customs duty was a reasonable 70k baht. My machine shop here comprises a 1969 VSL Boxford lathe, fully tooled, 1973 Tom Senior mill with the quill feed Vertical head, 1979 8″ Boxford shaper, a Stent T&CG and all the usual stuff like bench grinder, linisher, pillar drill etc.
Regarding tooling, Cromwells have a big warehouse in BKK, the manager is a nice chap from England called Shaun Burke. May be worth talking to him.
Regards,
Mike Hayward.
Hi Mike and thanks for the comment. It’s great to hear from fellow machinists here in Thailand even if they aren’t primarily involved in making models.
You have a very impressive set of workshop equipment. that 8″ shaper must weigh a ton or more. I like shapers – wish I had one.
I’m very impressed by your transportation project. 2 containers must have cost a fortune. I’ll probably sell my UK machine tools and just bring the bits and pieces over. It seems to me that importing stuff from UK is just too expensive.
Andrew put me touch with Cromwell Tools and I got a phone call and an email from Shaun Burke. He is coming up to Pak Chong to see me in the new year.
Please keep in touch and contribute as appropriate to the website content.
Hi Alan
Just a quick comment
I had similar problems with dark glass. Then I obtained on of the new electronic welding masks. Much better you can see the job very clearly. Also there is a small adjustment that lets you change the darkness of the screen as tig / mig welding is much brighter. I found it money well spent
George
Hi Alan
I have just read the tool order you have sent.
One thing you did not mention was that when I bought my tool grinder it included a full set of metric collets and the entire set of tool holding jigs. When I priced the same grinder in the UK. I found I would have to pay for these separately. So a very big saving there.
Best of luck with the Thai customs!!!! George
Yes you mentioned that all the accessories came with the tool and cutter grinder when you bought it from the All Arm shop in Bangkok.
I think you also said it came with a cabinet?
I am supposed to go to the All Arm shop on Saturday 21 December but Sam hasn’t confirmed that. He is in China until 20th so I’ll send him an email on the 20th to confirm he is there.
Im also looking at a lathe and mill to buy but at this stage just want to check the prices with Sam.
As to the lathe and the mill, I’m looking at these machines:-
Alan,
My workshop is already in Bangkok, I am renting a small shophouse in Bangkolem area, but we moved house so I will have to drag it across town – but not too far.
I first set up my workshop in Bangkok in 2004, and since then have packed it up, moved it to Taiwan for 3 years, packed it again and moved to Dubai for 4 years, packed it again and came back to Bangkok. Hopefully this will be the final move! I ended up paying about THB 9,000 in customs duties fir the whole workshop equipment. The company I used was Boonmah and they are good and have the proper lifting equipment for lathes, milling machines, etc.
We have a 5-story townhouse and the ideal place for the workshop would be the utility room on the 5th floor! But I think that would be asking too much of the workers to lug everything up there!!
The casting yard is for concrete works (I am in civil engineering) so it was used for expressway segments and rail sleeper segments, tunnel segments, etc. Plenty of space but not so scenic for spending the weekends there.
I believe the Rob Roy is a 3.5″ gauge ax I was thinking about making that one myself, but ended up making a Simplex by Martin Evans. Now started work on a BR MK-1 coach with Commonwealth bogies (about 1.8m long).
Interesting you moving your model engineering workshop all round the world.
If you built the Simplex loco in it you must have some pretty decent equipment.
My workshop in the UK is in an upstairs bedroom. I have a 4″ lathe and a decent size milling machine, pillar drill and badsaw as well as two benches and another smaller late etc in there!
It was a real (and dangerous) struggle to get the machines upstairs and installed on the cabinet stands. I winched them up the stairs using a steel-rope winch and lifted them in place with a car-engine crane. Even so I had to take the head off the milling machine and take it up in two parts.
Hi Alan & George,
Its a good idea to get a data base of suppliers in Thailand that are suited to model engineering. Although I can get quite a few tools from China Town area it is the steel sections that are difficult to get. There are many shops selling large steel sections but they are too large, sell only in 6m lengths and the composition of the steel is questionable/not known.
I’d like to know if you have found a supplier of silver steel in round bar form.
Also, has anyone built a 5-inch gauge track yet in their garden. I have a steam locomotive but no track as yet, but my company have ‘promised’ to let me use part of their casting yard to build one. Lets see what happens there.
Regards,
Andrew
Andrew, very many thanks for your comment and welcome to the Model Engineering in Thailand fraternity. There are now three of us! (That I know of.)
Supplier’s Database
For the database I have plans to make it a proper database that individuals and companies can enter details directly i.e. doesn’t need my intervention. It will be searchable and have groups. e.g. steel, brass, hand tools, machine tools etc.
It’s not a difficult thing to set up using WordPress – I just have to get round to doing it.
I have heard about China Town but when on a visit to Bangkok, more precise directions would be appreciated. I can imaging spending hours walking round there looking for stuff.
I will be inputting Sat Nav coordinates to locate suppliers premises when I input to the database.
Steel Sections
As to steel sections, have you seen the Ying Jaleaum page? Plenty of steel sections (no small BMS (Bright Mild Steel) sections though) and there and there is no minimum length – they will cut what you want.
But you are right about the quality of the Thai steel. It’s dead rough, hard to machine and difficult to get a good finish particularly compared to the free-cutting Mild Steel we are used to in the U.K.
Other Materials (See La Borigaan)
See La Borigaan (in Pakchong) have a stack of stainless steel and other non ferrous materials like brass, bronze and cast iron. I have loads of movies and photos to put on the website.
Silver Steel I have not found but you can buy Key Steel – the Thais use it for making keys to hold flywheels and pulleys on the shafts. I haven’t tried it but I’m guessing that it high carbon steel therefore hardenable. I will buy a piece and test it.
5 Inch Gauge Locomotive Track
I don’t know of any model railway track in Thailand. George in Pattayah has a part built rob roy which I think is 5″ gauge so he would possibly be interested in a track.
Casting Yard
When you say casting yard are you referring to as in a foundry? Could we get small castings made there?
Moving A Model Engineer’s Workshop to Thailand
Andrew, in an email you mentioned moving a workshop to Thailand. I would be very interested in that project since at some stage I will have to do it. I’m thinking to move it next year around June/July. In my case I will maybe sell the big lathe and milling machine because of the huge transport costs if I have bought new ones here.
You do know that the Thai customs will charge you a fortune to get your stuff released? Perhaps your company will be paying for the shipping so in that case it’s not such a big deal.
I had a visit from Shaun of Cromwell Tools this week. He personally delivered my order for soluble cutting oil, Sherwood STD tapping fluid and a case of Fullers London Porter! Amazing personal service.
The tapping fluid and London Porter I have tried and can thoroughly recommend. The soluble oil trial will wait until I get my big machine tools properly commissioned.
As to round silver steel (and this is the reason to responding to your question) Shaun says that Cromwell in Bangkok now stock it.
Good morning Alan
Very pleased to see the lower pivot point worked.
It looks like when I get up to see you I might be buying a band saw fr4om the local supplier. And getting a copy of the drawings of the saw bench from you.
It was good to read that the steam engine is also progressing. It never ceases to surprise me how much time we spend in the work shop to produce such small models. But if it was easy then there would be no sense of achievement when we finally say it’s finished.
Any way keep on turning and hope to see you soon.
George
I’m planning to put the bush in the piston rod crosshead today. ‘Simple’ job but if i achieve that sucessfully today and that’s all I get done I’ll be content.
What a brilliant idea! I tried this in CAD and it works. The reason is quite obvious and the results amazing.
Just by dropping the pivot point yet retaining the short arm length the available capacity increased to 110 mm.
You can see this on the resulting drawing Makita Bandsaw Horizontal Dropped Pivot Version 01.
This is the way forward.
Good morning Alan
Best of luck with the mods to the band saw.
As you say an arc welding set will make life a lot easier and you get a much stronger job. Elding rods are very cheap to buy in Thailand. I will be interested to see the finished design as I still need to get some kind of mechanical saw.
Good to know that you have found some time to progress the steam engine. I hope to get some work done on mine when I get home on the 18th December. I am still at work in Baku and it is cold.
I have received the back copy of Engineering in Miniature with the write up of the Newcomen pumping engine. So I will be collecting materials to make a start building sometime in the future.
Regards George
I have been working on developing the Makita 2107F bandsaw frame design all day. I have reached a stage where an issue has arisen that needs a resolution.
I’m designing the bandsaw from on the basis of an arc welded construction. There is plenty of choice of welders in Pakchong (Pak Chong) and the thing is that once you have arc welding capabilities you suddenly find many more uses for it.
Making The Victoria Steam Mill Engine
I just drilled the hole in the piston rod crosshead taking great care to get it in the right position using a drilling bush. It’s in the correct position on one side but a few thou out on the other. In other words it isn’t square! I’m going to open it up and fit a brass bush then drill it square. I’m making a jig to to that.
Visit to All Arm Shop 19th December
I’m planning to go to the All Arm Shop in Bangkok on 19th December, the day after you arrive.
I want to buy a tool and cutter grinder like the one you have. Essential here in Thailand the way I ruin end mills and twist drills.
Also I want to talk to Sam about the bigger lathes and milling machines suitable for making my traction engine.
Hi Alan.
I have been watching the video of the steel supplier. Very impressed. As you say a shopping list is a must. Plus some spare cash to buy the stuff that you see that you just must have. It looks like you should be able to build the traction engine from the material available there. If I can get up to Pakchon in December I will buy myself a few Christmas presents. I also hope to visit the E.A.T. restaurant.
I am still looking for aluminium plate of half inch thick?
I will be in touch later Hope the steam engine is progressing.
George
I have just found another one that seems to be new. A warehouse with all the steel neatly stored in an orderly fashion on racks – unlike Ying Jaleaum which is very untidy. I’ll take some photos of the new one, I haven’t been inside yet.
There is another metals stockist in Pakchong (Pak Chong). The stock mainly stainless steel, brass, bronze and cast iron. It’s called “Pakchong See La Borgaan” and there’s a photo of the outside of the shop on the Mystery Shopping In Thailand Post.
I’ve got dozens of photos and some movies of the inside of the shop showing the metals they have for sale. Must post them on the website promptly!
Good everning Alan
I have just managed to watch the vidio on the band saw and the jig saw. Both very intresting.
Beats the old Hack saw. When I get time I hope to have a look round Pattaya for supplier.
Look forward to seeing the drawings for your bench set up.
How is the work shop coming along?
Regards George
I’m making (planning actually) a beefed up version of the Makita 2107F bandsaw holder for cutting-off before I make the vertical bench type holder.
I have just started making the drawings. It’s all worked out in my head but I need the drawings primarily to get a shopping list for the materials. (Steel, bolts etc)
I’m thinking about buying an arc welder and welding it together – that gas brazing set isn’t much good on 1/4″ steel. Can be done (as you saw on the website) but it’s very slow and wasteful of gas.
I have recently been making a few pieces for the Victoria Steam engine. Piston, piston rod and piston crosshead.
Had a devil of a job with the piston rod and broke a 5BA die trying to cut the piston thread. Awaiting a new die from UK.
Good morning Alan
Good to see the new web site up and running.
When I return to Pattaya in about twelve days I will have a look round to see if I can find a saw locally.
I will view the video of the modification to fit a table. When I return home I am unable to view it while at work. I look forward to other helpful tips and hints about equipment that we need to carry on our hobby.
Regards George
I should think that by the time you get to Pattayah I will have built my own frame to hold the Makita bandsaw and should some more photos and drawings to show on the website.
Hi Alan,
Not sure if you have this supplier in your list, it looks like he/she has seamless copper pipes up to 4″ in stock.
https://www.sinsiamintercooling.com/1product1.php
Looks like a potential supplier for boiler tubes.
Les
Hello from Bernie in Aus. I came across your web site during a search this morning. Issue 4 of my magazine is being compiled and I’m wondering if you would like to contribute an article? To my surprise 24% of my readership comes from the USA, as well as a few from Britian.
It’s still a young publication but having just retired I can now put more effort in to it.
hmsmea is the title. Home machine shop and model engineering Australia. Not just for model trains, we try to include small machine shop news and build articles.
Regards
Bernie Clark steamloco1954@outlook.com If you Google the mag and click on the link, have a read.
always wanted to make one myself but sadly cannot get the cash together for the plans
Hi All,
Due to popular demand I changed the order of articles.
Next one will be how to use your Android phone and an Arduino to control your model .
If anyone would like to see specific topics please let me know happy to help wherever I can.
There’s an interesting Post on the Forum about this model on the Forum at:-
https://modelengineeringinthailand.com/forum/index.php?threads/3-4-scale-ji-case-traction-engine-model.20/
It discusses the provision of Crosshead Trunk Guide versus Slidebars.
Yes, I have a separate resource list offline which I’ll update and upload. It comprises mainly of UK suppliers of materials and kits and parts for model trains.
Query from Alan. Will you be updating your own resource list?
Hi Alan,
I’d use a piercing saw and a die-filer. Then draw file to get a good edge.
But if the dimensions were critical you could use a rotary table on the mill for the curves.
Many thanks Andrew, yes that’s a good suggestion – if you have a die filer. Even then the die filer must accept small enough files and making those sharp corners accurately wouldn’t be easy.
Fortunately I do have a die filer. Yes you can put in small files – a 3-square would be useful for sharp corners. Just grind a safe edges on 2 of the 3 sides so you can get into the corners.
Hi Alan,
First, your machining method is far more creative than what I would do.
The trickiest machining aspect I see is the 0.031” material thickness. I would sandwich the metal stock between two sheets of 1/8” plastic sheet. Clamp the sandwich flat on the milling table. Using a 1mm or 1.5mm diameter end mill, CNC cut the entire part, including the 1.7mm hole, milling through the top plastic sheet and 0.020” into the bottom plastic sheet. This method will leave a small radius on both corners, which can be milled away as you did on your parts, or hand filed if the dimensions are not critical. Using a small diameter end mill to cut the hole won’t tear or deform the thin metal as would a typical drill bit..
I used this procedure to machine the reed valves for my wobble-plate air compressor I made 2 years ago. The valve material is 0.010” thick stainless. The size of each reed valve is similar to your part. All the holes in the reed valve plate are milled, not drilled.
Congratulations on successfully completing the trunnions.
And very well documented. The write up was a good read. The only change I would suggest is to clamp the sandwich to the milling table. with a thick bit of perspex under it to lift it clear of the table. I say perspex become I have a lot and it makes a good spacer. But any scrap material would do. By clamping to the table you would avoid the distortion and separation of the parts.
At least you now have a well swept floor.
I too have just brought a heat gun and will give it a try for soft soldering parts. But most of the time I use silver solder.
Good luck on the next small component.
Hello Minesh and a warm welcome to the Model Engineering In Thailand community.
There are currently 66 members registered on the mailing list which is quite surprising given the rather ‘off-beat’ subject and the location. (i.e. Model Engineering In Thailand)
I know one member, Michael, who likes to build and fly those helicopter-type drones (Quadcopters? Apologies for not knowing the correct terminology). He adds all kinds of sensing devices to them to monitor the atmosphere, take movies etc.
I’ll send you Michael’s contract details so that you can contact him if you wish.
Once again, welcome to the community and I do hope you’ll find the content we provide interesting.
Good evening the
What can you say when you see something like that.
Other than it is on a par with the diorama that Andrew made using his steam loco.
Both put my attempts to shame.
But it does give one a target to aim for.
As for the ring on the line shaft as a young boy I would put a rings of leather on the hubs of our bicycle wheels.
George
Hello Alan,
Thanks very much for that. What an incredible effort to make it all up and running. As with my late friend Keith, the talent, genius and perseverance to do this is fast becoming a lost art.
You are correct about the rings on the overhead shafting. I grew up on a farm in the early 1950,s and we had an overhead shafting driven by a 5hp single cylinder diesel engine. If I recall correctly the rings were made up out of small pieces of leather belting soaked in oil. The plummer blocks for the shafting also had a small steel ring inside them to pick up the oil from the reservoir
All of the drives were via flat leather belting, to such things as water pumps, the vacuum pump for the milking machine, and at one stage a 32 Volt generator. We also had a bench grinder similar to the one in the video, which was later converted to an electric motor drive by replacing the flat pulley with a vee pulley.
There was also a steam boiler! It was upright, about 4 or 5 feet in diameter and maybe 8 feet high. It had a wood or coal firebox, but I do not know if it was water or fire tube. My Father spent years trying to find some identification stamps on it and removed some of the lagging in the process. I doubt that it was ever fired up from new, but it was there when he took over the farm. There was also a wash up trough that belonged to it that had a valve and jets on it for use with steam.
All gone now!
Cheers,
Kevin
Hello Kevin and many thanks for your interesting and detailed history lesson!
In my teens I worked in an agricultural engineering manufacturing company (Bamfords of Uttoxeter) where there were still one or two machine tools driven by the remnants of overhead line shafting. I well remember the ‘clickity-clack’ sound when they were in use.
When you say “You are correct about the rings on the overhead shafting” I think your are referring to my suggestion that they were used to keep the shafts clean, which in turn was a response to a query by Fergal.
It looks good – maybe an idea for a future project for me, but the Stuart castings can be quite expensive. I’ve been looking at stationary steam engines for a while but could never select one. Always fancied the beam engines myself, but would need to do some research into the functions/factories they were put to use.
You would also need somewhere to display it. My workshop is full and home now too full already!
Hi Andrew and many thanks for the comment.
I know the Stuart Models castings sets are expensive but the sets from PM Research are cheaper and far more detailed.
If I was building a diorama like that my big concern (apart from the time involved which in my case would be prohibitive) would be dirt, dust and corrosion. I’d have to keep it in and air-conditioned cabinet fitted with HEPA filters!
Amazing craftsmanship!! It’s hard to believe that it’s only a scale model. I’ve seen a few real, full scale shops similar to this one scattered around the eastern US, but they were all powered by a water wheels, not steam.
Always enjoyable to look back at how far we’ve progressed; thanks for posting the video.
Lovely piece of work must have been a few head scratching moments while building it
Well done to him
Thanks for sharing
More Model Engineering In Thailand videos on my YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVItXrWvwaIpTe-SCXfv9ww
Good morning Rod
Fantastic to see and hear about your achievement.
Well done.
Good to find we are not alone as they say
It puts my efforts to shame.
But it gives us mortals some thing to look up to
If you are ever in pattaya please look me up and pop in for a chat and a beer.
Keep us informed of your progress
George hill
Sad to hear of the loss of any member would like to have met him……….He will be missed
All the best travels to him, I hear the lathe of heaven doesn’t come with a quick change tool post, hope he took his along.
I too had never personally met Keith Patten, but reading through his comments on this website, leads me to believe that he was a true gentleman. He will be missed.
Hi Keith,
I live in Hua Hin and have been searching for someone with a lathe to turn some small parts for me in mild steel, if you can help please get in touch with me.
Hi Andrew
What is the cost for a set of bogies? do they have brakes and what would the cost be for multiple sets if ordered. are they assembled or knock down or can cnc files be bought to have them machined here in South Africa
Regards
Michael
Neither had we. But thanks to one man with an old mill and lathe who built one with a 0.
Hi Alan:
He can start looking here http://www.smartcncs.com/index.php?lang=en
they have some small manual stuff in stock, lots of places to shop, he just has to do his homework.
cheers
Glen
PS
There is always our PRC friends, happy to sell you crap at knock down prices (import duties not included, usually about 10g’s if you pick the right “agent”.
Alibaba.com
Hi, Alan
Greetings
Sieg machines, I know – it is from New Zealand
Please request Mr. Bruce to advice Sieg Lathe SC4 — is it Center distance 410 mm OR 510 mm ?
I can supply equivalent other brand… may be from India – US – OR Europe
Sieg make also can supply – OR – can supply New OR Used
Please request him to advice the following as his requirement :
1. For Small Lathe — required Lathe Specifications:
a) Manual OR CNC ————
b) Swing ( what biggest diameter to be machined ? ) ———–
c) Distance Between Centers ( What biggest Length to be machined ?) ———
2. For Small Milling — required Milling machine Specifications:
a) Maximum End-mill tool size to be used ( may be 16 mm OR 20mm OR 25 mm) ————-
b) If Drilling / Tapping Required — Maximum Drilling Size ———— Maximum Tapping Size ————
c) Required X-Travel ————mm Y-Travel ———— Z- Travel ————
d) Spindle Taper ————- may be MT3 — MT4
After knowing these information advices, I can suggest the proper and economical both equipment.
About his old-used SC4 Lathe and Milling what happened ? Want to sale ?? What Prices ??
** Please advice proper problem in both machines
regards
Thakor – Bangkok – Mech. & Elect. Engineer with 40-years experience
Hi Thakor and many thanks for your detailed information about supplying small lathes and milling machines in Thailand.
I am sure this will be of interest to our readers. When I receive requests for further information from the website visitors I will email them to you.
Regards
Alan
Hi
I have had the same problem with the same company the best company I have dealt with for Sieg machines are POSH ENTERPRISE sales@posh.co.th
Telephone: +662 746 5148, +662 746 6756
Fax: +662 746 5183
Mobile Phone Number: +668 1908 8807, +668 1565 5678
http://www.posh.co.th
I purchased three machines from them great backup service they can also supply many other machines cnc
and manual …. good luck and keep up the good work
Hello Alan,
As you know, I built both my mill and lathe (full CNC) and would be willing to share my drawings with Bruce, (and any other interested members). The DIY route is certainly not for everyone, but as both myself and Philip have shown, it is an option here in Thailand.
Mike
Mike, your offer to share your CNC lathe drawings with others is very generous.
Thank you.
Alan
I bought my lathe and mill from Smart CNC. Below is the contact info for the owner. I had to get my wife to call him and ask him to answer my e-mails. After that he answered very well in good English. I have been pretty happy with them.
Pongthep Puentain
We Drive Your Dream
******************************************
Smart Tric Technology Co.,Ltd.
31/24 Moo13. Klongsong, Klongluang
Pathumthani 12120 THAILAND
Tel:+66 2 159 8691
Fax:+66 2 159 8692
MP:+66 8 9058 8693
E-Mail :info@smartcncs.com
Skype: smartcncs.minicnc
Line ID: smartcnc
http://www.facebook.com/SmartCNCs
GPS: 14.120975468373507,100.63696503639221
http://www.SmartCNCs.com
>> High quality benchtop machine and tools for inventor <<
************************************************************
Hi Alan we have a small lathe and a milling machine in stock in Bangkok drop me a line at burkes@cromwell.co.uk and I will send you a catalogue and will email some pictures and the prices
sold a few of these and they are good quality
Hi Shaun ans many thanks for your comment.
For the benefit of our readers who don’t already know the Cromwell Thaland website is at http://www.cromwell.co.th/index.html and there is a review on this website at http://modelengineeringinthailand.com/resources/tools/tools-suppliers/cromwell-tools-thailand/
Best Regards
Alan
Hi Alan,
Just sent you an email with some attachments. The quotation is for a small lathe but ordered from China. I met the company at Metalex 2016.
They have various lathes and small milling machines – maybe suitable for Bruce.
The TNT option on the attachment – if you can upload it for me – includes delivery inside Thailand so you don’t need to bother with shipping clearance, etc.
Morning Andrew
I see you attended the last Metalex exhibition.
I have been to the last five.
If you are going to the next one let me know and I could meet you.
How is the latest clock project going.
I would still like to see the diorama of the lack you made from the photographs it looked superb
George
George,
Yes I have been going to Metalex every year for 5 years now. For the past two years I went on the Saturday when they let the punters in! Can get some discounts there as well.
However, I can’t afford the large machines at THB 20 million – just outside my budget. So lets try and meet up in November 2017.
I have sent some photos up to Alan for putting onto the web, including a couple of machines I made (filing machine and a pinion cutter). There is also an update on my grandfather clock, where I have now got to the difficult bit – engraving the chapter ring then making a wooden clock case!
The railway diorama was fun to make. I have previously done something similar when I made a dolls house for my daughter (many years ago).
Andrew
Hi Andrew and many thanks for the information about Shanghai SUMORE Industrial Co.,Ltd in PR of China.
I have just visited there website and it seems to be a very large company. http://sumore.com/english/index.asp
The website is very clear and in three languages including English.
I have uploaded above the Shanghai Sunmore SP2102 Mini Bench Lathe Specifications and Quotation that you kindly forwarded to me.
Many thanks for your help and information.
Alan
Hi Alan
The only lathe on sale second hand that I know of is the equipment being sold by Deena in changmai
George
Thanks for your comment George,
For the benefit on new visitors to the website George is referring to the offer of workshop equipment for sale by a model engineer in Chiang Mai, being handled by his wife, Deena.
There is a full description of the equipment for sale right here on this website at http://modelengineeringinthailand.com/for-sale-and-wanted/for-sale-emco-compact-10-lathe-plus-model-engineers-workshop/
Best Regards
Alan
Thanks for the update Phil, and again, congratulations on a very well thought-out & clean build. Not that you seem like you need the help, but there’s a wealth of information on all manner of CNC machines at http://www.cnczone.com/, including a forum on plasm-EDM-Water Jet machines, http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc-plasma-edm-waterjet-machines/
BTW, You didn’t mention what voltage those NEMA steppers are rated for, I trust it’s somewhere around 3 to 6 volts max.
Anxiously waiting to see your beast in action,
Mike (now living in Rayong)
Contrary to popular belief Thailand is not a manual labor country, there are many CNC shops big and small. One central Bangna one is http://www.cncbro.com/catalog/ there are dozens on the road to Ayutthaya, Rama 2 and on the Bangkok-Chonburi Road.
That should read six inches long
George
Good afternoon Mike.
The problem I think with the term one tenth scale is a linear term. But the real scaling should be on the cube root of the volume.
As a one tenth volume of a fire box is not the same as a one tenth linear one.
As for draught the boiler I made uses the exhaust steam from the engine. It also has a separate blast nozzle.
I have also a connection that allows compress air to be used to allow the fire to be started.
The natural draught is of no use at all as the stack is only domestic inches long.
Hope that helps.
George hill.
Thanks for confirming my suspicions about the limited function of the short stack on a scale model.
As for linear scaling resulting in a cubic volumetric downsizing, I understand how that affects the combustion chamber volume,…however, since a lump of coal can burn (oxidize) only on it’s outermost surface, and not it’s entire volume, it seems that the burn-time scaling would be a linear function, yes? In other words, lets assume your lump of coal is a perfect sphere with the entire surface of the sphere being oxidized at an equal rate,…would not the oxidation process proceed along radial lines towards the center of the sphere,… at a linear rate? Further assume a 10″ radius sphere of coal burning in a full sized burner vs a 1″ radius sphere of coal burning in a 1/10 scale model burner; seems likely that the full scale “lump” of coal would last about 10 times longer than the much smaller scale model lump of coal.
But, this is all just my best guess as I have no practical experience to draw upon, so in practice, do you need to feed your burner a fresh supply of coal more frequently than a full size burner?
Watching a video on the old steam Tran firing it was little and often. About one good shovel full every two minutes.
It also stated that thirty percent of flammable components were volatile gasses that were driven off by the furnace heat. And burnt with the top air.
You mention the rate of ten inch to one inch surface area. A ten inch cube has a surface area of six hundred square inches and a one inch cube of only six square inches. And the overall temperature in a full size fire box would be constantly higher due to its size.
As they say you can’t scale nature.
I would think if I used coal sized to match the scaling I would end up using dust. That would fall through the fire bars. And At that size would not allow any draught to pass through.
I have very little experience of firing using coal but I am sure any one in a club. Back in uk could explain their experience doing so
But interesting questions raised and thought provoking.
George
You make an interesting observation in stating that as the coal heats up, various combustible gases will be driven out,…I hadn’t considered that. I’m sure that while these gases are being generated the overall BTU output will increase, but I have no knowledge as to how long the out-gassing process continues, nor what impact it has on the size & permeability of the “solid” coal lumps.
I agree with your conclusions that larger lumps of coal have larger surface areas than smaller lumps of coal, however, while the combustion of a larger surface area clearly generates more BTUs,…having a larger surface area says nothing about HOW FAST each lump is being consumed; a process which I still suspect is a linear one, as the coal is consumed from it’s outermost surface and progresses linearly towards the center.
I’m curious, is the burn-time of the coal also scaled down to a similar fraction as the scaling of the entire engine,…ie 1/10th scale engine results in fuel being consumed in roughly 1/10th the time of the full scale engine? I’m also curious as to how much “drafting” is produced by a scaled down smoke stack; is the induced air flow through the burner (generated by hot air rising up through the smoke stack) adequate for proper & complete combustion or do you need to force air into the burner with a fan?
Good morning Mike
The boiler is finished and runs well on Welsh steam coal.
Alan kindly sent me some down to see the boiler would perform.
Initially I tested it on charcoal. It will steam ok. But you have to keep on feeding the fire all the time.
Which can lead to a reduced steaming rate.
You can buy a gas burner for it from GLR.
I have since had coal delivered from UK.
Cost fifteen pounds to buy about one hundred and thirty to get it here.
But worth it.
I will send Alan some pictures of the boiler build.
He might post them on the web site.
Happy New Year to all
George
Lookin’ good so far George. It always amazes me at how nicely most engines and their respective parts scale down in size so easily. I’m quite interested to see the boiler parts and learn what fuel(s) you plan to burn. It’s my understanding that many of these original steam engines burned either coal or wood, which doesn’t seem like it would scale down very well ? Do modelers switch to a liquid fuel instead,…or perhaps propane??
Yes I had seen Cromwell, but on every page if their catalog it says they are wholesaler and only distribute to distributors. That one cannot buy direct from them.
If this is wrong, please do let me know! I will be in BKK around the 15th of January I am thinking about would like to start sourcing goods and materials! Thank you!
Matt
Hi Matt,
On the page “Review of Cromwell Tools Bangkok, Thailand” there is a short quote from the Manager Shaun Burke:-
So there we are. It’s dead easy.
By the way the invoices I get are from a company on Bangkok called Kranes Tools and they have a website at http://www.kranes-tools.com/
You could probably buy directly from them.
[Note: I just checked their website and it’s been hacked by “Kosova Anonymous Hackers”. I have advised Kranes by email.
Hope this helps.
Alan
Subject: Welding Equipment
Message Body:
Hello! I am an expat living in Cambodia that frequents Bangkok for work. That being said, I am trying to gather tig welding supplies, disposables, and tooling for personal projects. I am struggling to find information on good quality companies that can provide high quality goods. Hoods, gloves, wire, cups, etc. etc. Any idea where to find them?
The struggle it real!
Hi Matt,
There must be dozens of shops in Bangkok selling welding equipment but like you I don’t know where they are.
Except one and this is called Cromwell. There is a write-up on them here:-
http://modelengineeringinthailand.com/resources/tools/tools-suppliers/cromwell-tools-thailand/
You can download their catalogue and order from it. I suggest you contact the manager Shaun (British) and I am sure he will help you.
By the way, Cromwell sell not only welding supplies but all manner of engineering tools. All their stuff is good quality and they have supplied myself and other ModelEngineeringInThailand.com community members also.
Please let me know how you get on.
Alan
Yes I had seen Cromwell, but on every page if their catalog it says they are wholesaler and only distribute to distributors. That one cannot buy direct from them. If this is wrong, please do let me know! I will be in BKK around the 15th of January I am thinking about would like to start sourcing goods and materials! Thank you!
Thanks for the comment Mike.
The sourcing of the CNC components (stepper motors, drives, controllers etc) was a question I was going to ask.
PCAM in Thailand sell stepper motors, controllers, ball screws and other CNC components as well s complete CNC and manual lathes and milling machines.
http://modelengineeringinthailand.com/resources/tools/tools-suppliers/pcam-precision-cnc-machinery/
Alan
Thank’s Mike a good summary.
There are plenty more videos coming – more on old fashioned engineering – like how they built steam trains – to modern cutting edge CNC and metal 3D printers.
Alan
That’s truly some great work Philip,… congratulations on a superb build !! I especially like your use of casters, as they greatly simplify moving the machine about the shop, or even to an outside location.
I am curious as to why you chose to use cogged belts instead of ball-screws on the X & Y axis,…costs? weight? Greater level of accuracy & rigidity of ball-screws vs belts simply not needed on a plasma torch?
What stepper controllers are you using?
Were you able to purchase the automation parts locally or did you buy them via eBay as I did?
I’m looking forward to seeing your machine in action 🙂
Oh my,…these out-takes bring back lots of memories of my own failings. I think I’ve made every mistake shown on his videos, plus a few more. But I don’t have nearly the extensive vocabulary of “special” words that John so freely uses at those troublesome moments,…being an American myself, a few of his expletives were simply new to me. Must remember to NOT use them around the house or my wife will have my head !!!
Anyhow, thanks for posting this Alan,…it’s a great laugh 🙂
Hello Alan,
I posted another short lathe video to YouTube a few weeks ago, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzGvSykLnec showing the lathe cutting a small mild-steel spindle and using the newly working coolant system. My little DIY lathe is now 98% complete and I’ve begun using it to make parts for my next project. I doubt that my lathe will ever be 100% finished, as there always seems to be something else I want to add or modify.
Now I need to finish the CNC Rotary “Table” I started building last year but needed a lathe to make the R-8 spindle to complete the project.
As always, feel free to share the above YouTube link with your readers.
I look forward to seeing more pics of your “toys” J
Mike
Hi,
Great site, very interesting.
I wonder if you could give me a bit of advice. I am looking for a machine shop preferably in the north Bangkok area that will take on small projects. Mainly making one of stainless steel parts (small bearing housings, small axils, brackets etc) for a couple of hobby projects. Basically small milling and Turning jobs.
I have found a couple of small fabricators locally but the language barrier has become a problem. Any advice is welcome.
Thanks
Chris
Hi Everyone.
I’m another who found this article via a Google search. I happen also to live in Thailand and, as I approach retirement, want to get back into my schoolboy model engineering, although at the current rate my darling Wifey is constructing palaces for her chickens, geese, guinea fowl and other assorted ‘pets’ I may never actually be able to retire. At least the eggs are good and our 1.5 Rai (1/2 acre) garden produces wonderful tropical fruit 😛
My real job is as a Consultant Engineer (a fancy name for “Person to blame when it goes wrong”) on major transport infrastructure projects (BTS and MRT lines for those in Bangkok).
We live in Chiang Rak Yai, about 40km north of Bangkok, been in Thailand since 2004, met the lovely lady in a Thai restaurant in Rome (yes Italy).
Keep it up
Dave C.
Hi there all you modellers,
I am into scale model aircraft and mainly these days 00 model railways, especially Hornby. I am completely amazed that despite the maufacturing centre of Hornby being just across the way in China, there is absolutely nothing in Thailand for the enthusiast.
I am living in Udon Thani, which is six hours drive from Bangkok. For those in Udon, there is one model shop near the Udon Pit School dealing in ARTF kits, helicopters, and speed boats. Has a decent range of materials, but principally for the ARTF enthusiast.
Scratch built, and detailed scale builders looking for choice woods of various sizes and covering materials for example will find it lacking, and fuel? I have seen one other shop in the town dealing in mainly radio controlled cars.
Robinsons in Central Plaza used to have a large range of plastic kits, glues, varnishes, paints, air brushes, and general building tools. Note the word ‘used’ because Robinsons in their infinite wisdom have removed all of this in its entirety from their store! All i could get from their staff was that the company had ‘taken it back.’
Anyone else have any further details of well stocked model engineering outlets around Udon Thani, or must we go to BKK or import from the UK to get any decent building materials around Udon Thani?
Good question! Hornby? You either import it in or go without!! I have seen nothing in Thailand. Can anyone enlighten me as to an outlet anywhere in Thailand?
Another Steel supply shop in Chon Buri, also located on the Chon Buri by-pass (361) is shown here in Google Street View: https://www.google.co.th/maps/@13.3475501,100.998352,3a,75y,317.91h,93.14t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sW-gHWBjVONbXZNuFKX54gA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en
This shop carries more surplus steel than new stuff. They have quite a selection of steel pipe; from less than 1/2″ OD to what appears to be about 2 meter OD.
Hi Andrew – Lovely set of bogies! I am trying to get some of these done for my South African Railways Stock but no one has any drawings and no one else seems to sell them. Would you perhaps have any drawings for your bogies that I could purchase?
Kind Regards
Bryn
Hi Bryn,
I have just received this response from Andrew:-
For the bogie I haven’t prepared the proper drawings yet. They are all bits of paper at the moment. I have prepare another book and am planning to include the drawings. I have started preparing them but only one or two finished – still looking for those pieces of paper!! Maybe early next year.
Regards
Andrew
Hi Bryn
Sorry but didn’t see your posting until Alan mentioned it to me.
I used drawings from Doug Hewson and adapted them to make from bar stock. His drawings are based on using his aluminium castings. I didn’t want to go that route so made some sketches of how to convert them for my own use.
I am preparing a small book describing the bogie construction and the various parts – there are over 300 pieces to the pair of bogies.
If you send me your email I’ll send you an advance copy of the book. You can purchase the bogie drawings from Doug (3 drawings @£11/each) and either wait a bit for mine or adapt them by yourself. They can be time consuming.
I also built a 5″ gauge British Rail Mark I coach which is about 1.7 m long. Done in “Blood and Custard” livery.
Best regards
Andrew
Hi Andrew
My appologies for the late reply Andrew! The email that was sent mentioning your reply was lost in one of my email folders!
I would very much love to get an advance copy of that build booklet describing the bogie construction! What a fantastic job you have done! I am extremely grateful! My email is: south-african-steam (remove the hyphens as all one word)@googlemail.com
I am sure your blood & custard coach is just as good as your bogies! 😉
Kind Regards
Bryn
Bryn,
Yesterday I sent the booklet and a photo of the BR Mark I coach.by email. Hope I got the email address correct. If you didn’t recieve please let me klnow.
Regards,
Andrew
Hi Alan,
I found the best source for materials today. It is called Sricharoen in Chon Buri. it is on the bypass road at the north end of Chon Buri. The GPS numbers for the place are 101.00082, 13.40999. The road from Motorway 7 t the shop is very good.
They have all the materials you could want in loads of different shapes and sizes. There is also a table at the back where they put the scraps and you can buy those by the kilo.
They are pretty slow about making up your bin and getting you out the door, but this is best selection I have seen.
Wow, Matt that is a real find.
I popped “Sricharoen, Chon Buri” into Google maps (without the quotes) and it came up immediately complete with street view photos.
Thank you very much for sharing this with us.
Alan
Thanks Matt for posting the info on Sricharoen, I live in the Chon Buri area and will definitely pay them a visit.
If you need any Nuts & Bolts or other fasteners in the Chon Buri area I found a little store just past the Big C Extra on 3 (Sukhumvit Rd): GPS 13.323333, 100.963345 (13°19’24.0″N 100°57’48.0″E)
The only name for the store is in Thai, but here’s a link to Google Street View of the store: https://www.google.com/maps/@13.323245,100.9632922,3a,69.8y,124.26h,95.81t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1su3mo0Ye9cDG0XuShEsC87g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Very nice buggy, and looks like very safe even when rollover.
But yes indeed, a very nicely equipped workshop, including aircon.
Yikes!!! With that power to weight ratio, perhaps John will consider adding wings & a propeller, because that buggy is certainly going to FLY !!!
The buggy looks good
But check out the workshop. Best tool chests and a clear work area.
Magic mate.!
hi alan
theres a lad down the road from here builds and races these buggys he has one with two suzuki hayabusa 1400cc engines inside it have never seen it go must be some buzz with all that power
a long ways from traction engines??
Hi Fergal,
“two suzuki hayabusa 1400cc engines inside it”…
A check in the ‘net produced 195 hp per engine but one guy managed to get his bike up to 700 hp!
http://motorcycles.axlegeeks.com/l/1339/2013-Suzuki-Hayabusa
http://www.gizmag.com/go/3838/
So your guy has just shy of 400 hp in that lightweight buggy!
Like you said should be a buzz.
Of course all that power can’t be put down to the road, just not enough grip on the tires.
It’s the same with traction engines. Just not enough grip, particularly in grass or non-mettalled roads.
So we’re all in the same boat (?) really….
Happy Steaming
Alan
Hi all, great plans. Need to build a bench for my shed. Your bench was no.1 result in a google image search for “steel work bench designs”. (picture says 1000 words!) Didn’t have to look further! Design is super combines all elements any keen hobbyist would require! many thanks from a wee shed in Northern Ireland- keep up the good work!
Hi Alistair and many thanks for your comment.
That steel bench design was not mine by the way but was designed and built by Mike in Nong Khae, Saraburi Thailand.
My own first steel bench I built in Thailand fell apart when I tried to move it!
I had ‘welded’ it together using a small oxy-propane brazing torch. I didn’t have an electric welder at the time. When I re-built it I used manual metal arc welding (MMA) – AKA “stick welding”.
Hi
M looking for 6metre bed lathe n milling machine. N big drilling machine please can u tell me what will be da price
Hello Alan & Ray,
I have made a few small purchases (2 different lathe chucks, drill chuck, MT#5 center) from “Everlasting”, a Chinese company with an office and several warehouses in Bangkok, and have been quite satisfied with the quality and price. They have a fair website showing & describing all their products, but they dont show prices, for that you need to call; they have one or two sales people that speak English, but I find it easier to have my Thai wife make the call. Here’s the link:
http://www.everlastingmachinetools.com/index.php?route=common/home
If you’re looking for a used lathe, you can try the shop Gordon mentioned, or there’s also a shop on route 361 in Chon Buri that sells used equipment; (I need to visit the shop again to provide better directions).
A few months back, I too was looking for a lathe of similar size,…for a variety of reasons I chose to build a lathe,…it’s a fully enclosed slant bed design,… I’ve posted a “build log” on another website that specializes in CNC machines: http://www.cnczone.com/forums/vertical-mill-lathe-project-log/281738-cnc-cad-24.html
Whichever path you take, best of luck to you and welcome to Thailand,
Mike
Hi Mike and many thanks for the information.
That website http://www.everlastingmachinetools.com/index.php?route=common/home is very interesting and looks like a very valuable resource for metal working hobbyists in Thailand.
Particularly interesting for me was the availability of old fashioned machine tools like shapers, slotters, and horizontal boring machine.
And the selection of lathes available is quite amazing from small to massive. Must be something there to suit everyone looking to buy a lathe in Thailand.
And of course your link to the forum where you describe you own home designed and made CNC lathe is well worth a visit.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/vertical-mill-lathe-project-log/281738-cnc-cad-24.html
Thanks again fir the info Mike.
Alan
Hello Alan,
I ran across your site looking for lathe and mill accessories on the web, and found it interesting.
I am American, also retired in Thailand and set up my garage with my woodworking equipment, but recently bought a Sieg Mini Lathe and Mini Mill. I am an Electrical Engineer but I love to dabble in Mechanical Engineering also.
Do you have a favorite place to acquire Lathe or Mill accessories?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Mike
Ban Chang, Rayong
Thailand
Hello Alan.
I will keep my ears open and ask some of my contacts but there are not many Thais into hobbies in the same way as the English/British.
Last year I was looking for a wood lathe but no luck and didn’t want to start my new hobby off with something expensive in case I didn’t like it so I ended up making my own.
Regards David.
Hello Alan,
Just a thought about a lathe. Before I bought a lathe, considered buying in UK and then to ship over, that I did do but never again. Because from a lad a Myford ML7 was the only one I wanted. So buying one on e,bay was what was done, it is an old machine built in 1947 and cost me 410 pounds, had it airfreight over at a cost of 565 pounds. Because as a lad a Myford lathe was the only one that I had dreamed of to do model engineering, That cost was silly as 4 or 5 years ago a New Taiwanese lathe of similar size could be had in Klong Thom for 1000 pounds.
There is a used machine dealer on the way out of Bangkok close to Nakom Patom and has a lot of lathes and other engineering machines. Going to BKK in 10 days and may call in and have a look at what he has. A good place is Klong Tom in Bangkok and if you were to ask me what should I do, the answer would be, have a day or more in Klong Thom with Eng;ish and Thai speaking friend.
Gordon.
Hello Alan,
Nice to see you have found established a small Model Engineer community in Thailand. I too am an expat living and settled in Malaysia for the last 10 years or so and have similar interests although I am more focused towards the general projects I am doing such as making tools or parts for tools I use for my various DIY stuff.
I am still on a quest to connect to other fellow machining hobbyists in Malaysia but have not found anyone yet.
I have a Sieg SX2P mill and a SC2 lathe that I purchased and imported from China via a seller on AliExpress.
I am not a regular blogger but recently I decided to compile and post my observations into getting into the hobby with a focus on finding the machines, tools and materials in Malaysia so others may benefit from it. I have focused my search around Kuala Lumpur and Miri (Sarawak).
The blog I setup is http://kafie1980.blogspot.my/
My preferred raw materials are aluminium, brass and delrin as my machines lack much rigidity to work with steel.
I have not intentions to market my blog here or else where but perhaps you can have a quick look and see if some of those sources for machines, tools and raw materials are beneficial to be included in your Thaland based Model Engineering website.
Cheers,
Kifayat Hussain
Hi Kifayat and many thanks for your comment.
The small model engineering community in Thailand is not so small. There are around 40 of us at the moment. Quite a few when I thought I would be the only one!
There is another would-be hobbyist in Malaysia. I can put you in touch if you wish. Chris’s comment and my reply can be found here:-
http://modelengineeringinthailand.com/workshop-equipment/lathes-in-thailand/sieg-sc4-lathe-comet-vs/#comment-2468
I have been to your blog at http://kafie1980.blogspot.my/ and I love it! Until I read your blog I had no idea that my affliction with TES and GAS was an actual medical condition!
I have put your blog’s url on this website at http://modelengineeringinthailand.com/resources/links-to-blogs-websites/ and I will put the links to your materials and machine suppliers on the appropriate pages.
Right now I have to go to the workshop and finish off the ratchet brake for my homemade forklift truck!
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Dear Allan,
I too am heading towards retirement in a couple of years or so and am an academic in Univ Malaya in Science (theoretical and computational chemistry) holding a Malaysian passport. I think that before science can be practiced there are a host of other related conditions pertaining to time, the past and the passing on of learning experiences to the next generation and the community and all these ingrained cultural predilections are absent in the colonies , necolonies and other Third World countries. Here in UM they have closed down the workshops and glassblowing shops; how do you practise science without being able to make apparatus?
We have a very high global academic ranking despite the above scam.
In any case, in order to atone for the crimes of natives and to be free of complicity, I wish to learning the following:
1) basic machining (lathe and milling)
2) basic machine casting
3) lastly, some electronics and interfacing with computers for data acquisition with sensors.
Could you help me in various ways ; could I visit you from time to time and perhaps contribute to the work in your projects in exchange for the skills attained through your instructions?
I would like to recondition some old model aero diesel engines that have lost their compression, and perhaps make one glow and one diesel. By carrying out these activities, I would be in a better condition to understand how scientific thinking can be applied to solve real problems; not problems of an alien kind that does not require a skilled pair of hands coupled to a sensitive mind which our academics excell in.
Sincerely, Chris
ps: Sorry about your back. Due to an accident and the incompetence of our doctors, I have lost full mobility of my left hand at the shoulder.
Hi Chris and many thanks for your comment.
I can’t really comment further on your reason for wanting to learn the engineering skills, I was simply born an engineer and have been doing it since I was a child.
I am ready to help you where I can and you are welcome to visit occasionally. Would you be visiting from Thailand or from Malaysia?
(I have been to Malaysia by the way. Strange place – so many cultures mixed together)
Reconditioning and making model aero engines is easy. The process is well documented in many construction articles. With only one arm though I can understand you would have some additional challenges.
Perhaps I can put you in touch with a magazine called Model Engineer if you don’t know it.
http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hi, such a pleasant surprise this morning to find this site.
I am a brit retired here for some time now. Ex UK Merchant Navy. I am interested in live steam mainly.
Funds permitting in the near future I shall be upgrading my lathe and milling machine.
Presently using a Unimat 3, good for what I need at present but limited size wise. A Proxxon excuse for a milling machine, again limited but small cuts and a lot of fiddling and I can generally achieve what I want.
Looking forward to future exchanges
Pete
Hello Peter and thank you for posting your comment about you machine tools.
Nothing wrong with small machines and small models so long as your eyesight is good!
Look at my Gauge 1 Black 5 bogie for example, it’s tiny.
http://modelengineeringinthailand.com/models-alans/gauge-1-black-five-bogie/
Welcome to the engineering modelling community in Thailand and
Chok Dee
Alan
Hello,
I buy a grinder like the one you have in the picture.
do you have a complete manual that explains how to use it? or something to help me use it properly?
I’ll be very grateful if you can give me a hand …
Thank you
Greetings
Gaston Strube
Hi Gaston and thanks for your query.
I have searched all over for a decent operations manual for the Universal Tool and Cutter Grinder and have not been able to find one.
The two that I have found don’t show all the ways to use it. Here are the links so that you downdload them:-
http://www.northerntool.com/images/downloads/manuals/426245.pdf
The above (Northern Industrial Tools) is probably the better manual, but get them both.
http://www.manualguru.com/harbor-freight/45707/users-manual
These tools and cutter grinders, apparently, were originally designed to grind engraving cutters so that is what the manuals describes mainly.
The Northern Industrial Tools Manual also gives instructions how to use:-
– The Twist Drill Grinding Attachment
– The End Mill Grinding Attachment
– The Lathe Tool Bit Grinding Attachment
If you do buy such a machine please share the Operating Manual you receive with us.
Im looking for a boiler for my miniature steam bulldozer project with a case traction engine I want to make something very very rare and unique because I have seen a full-size steam case bulldozer once it was at a tractor show here in Indiana once many years ago but I never once seen the bulldozer again so I thought id have 4inch scale model made if I can purchase a new boiler if someone can build a boiler for me if so please feel free to contact me 5749306228 if any one can help
Boiler for Steam Powered Bulldozer
Harrybob, what an exciting idea!
I did a search using – tracked traction engine – on Google images and all kind of wonderful machines were displayed.
One of them is the 4″ Hornsby Steam Chain Tractor built by Steve Baldock.
You can see a photo of it here:- http://modelengineeringwebsite.com/Hornsby.html
So yes, you have a good idea for as you say an interesting and unique model.
There are quite a few boiler makers in the U.K. but there is generally a long (e.g. waiting list). I had to wait 9 months for the boiler for my 6″ scale Little Samson Traction Engine model.
I can give you the names of a couple of UK boiler makers if you email me, or better, if you reply to this comment.
At 4″ scale you’ll probably need a steel boiler – particularly if it is to form the chassis for your engine as in a normal traction engine.
But before contacting a boiler maker you will need a design. It seems you are from USA (you mention Indiana) and I have no idea what the legal and insurance company requirements over there.
If you are not looking for a close scale model of the steam Case bulldozer you could maybe find an existing design that you could use.
Again I can give you a list of UK websites showing boiler designs. Please email me, or better, reply to this comment.
I have been looking into a decent priced mini lathe and ran across your site. I have also found http://www.smartcncs.com/?lang=en which have quite a few models of lathes and hadn’t seen them mentioned here. Prices are quite high in my eyes but I figured I should at least let you all know of them.
Hi Duke and thanks for your comment.
I have seen the smartcncs website before but looking at it again today they have improved their range of machines including ones from Germany and Taiwan. They are showing many machines I have never seen before.
I don’t know of anyone who has made a purchase from this company though.
This is a superb looking lathe:-
http://www.smartcncs.com/product-en-718509-5820009-LD+1216GH+TAIWAN+Gear+Head+Bench+Lathe+406+mm,+Special+Price,+Free+Delivery,+2+Year+warranty.html
And look at this milling machine:-
http://www.smartcncs.com/product-en-1101042-6556256-%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B7%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B4%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%82%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%94%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A5%E0%B9%87%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B8%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%99+BF20Vario+%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%81+Optimum+Germany+%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%B8%E0%B8%93%E0%B8%A0%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%B5+%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B4%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%A9.html
If within budget I’d suggest that German made followed by Taiwan are better quality than Chinese.
It’s a very handy website and since I’m looking for a replacement motor and/or controller for my Sieg C4 I’ll see if they can provide one.
You say the prices are high but it depends what you are comparing with. If you import from say USA or UK you’ll have shipping charges, Thai VAT and customs duty to pay. From my experience this can almost double the original purchase price.
Plus. And this is VERY important. If you buy in Thailand and have problems with it or need spare parts or upgrades you can always go back to the shop.
Much more difficult if you imported your machine.
One last point. If at all possible go to the shop rather than buying online. Not only can you see what you are getting but you will build a relationship with the supplier and that could be very important in future.
Once again thanks for sharing your information with us.
Alan
I noticed that many of the lathes sold by smartcnc use the D1-4 spindle, but when I emailed them with the hope that they would also carry, or could at least order, various chucks with the D1-4 mating connector, I was disappointed by the return email stating that do not carry D1-4 chucks.
Does anyone know of a good lathe chuck supplier here in Thailand?? I recently purchased a 6″ 3-Jaw with a plain back and I’m having a local machine shop custom make a D1-4 backplate; I’ve also ordered the three cam-studs from a supplier in the USA. I’m still looking to purchase a 6″ 4-jaw and I’ld love to buy one with a D1-4 back side.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your enquiry.
Did you find your D1-4 chuck and/or backplate?
I bought a D1-6 faceplate and a backplate for my big Kinwa lathe from Forcelink, the company who supplied it.
Unfortunately they no longer have a website. This is their address:-
120/39, Soi Kingkaew 21/2, Bangplee, Samurprakarn, Bangkok 10540,
Here is the Google map and satnav coordinates:-
https://goo.gl/maps/VrMdP
13 40.243140000000004
100 deg 42.94409999999971
You can try sending an email to the person I deal with, Joe who speaks excellent English.
weixia35 AT truemail.co.th
I’ll also circulate your enquiry to the Announcement list subscribers.
Hope this helps.
Alan
Alan, thanks for the link to the machine shop supplies dealer, I will drop by with my new plain-back 4-jaw chuck and see if they can sell me a D1-4 backplate for it. The same machine shop that made my lathe spindle also made a D1-4 backplate for my 3-jaw scroll chuck, but I gave the shop the 3 cam studs (which I had bought from a US supplier via the internet) , so they didn’t need to make them. It will make my life much easier if the shop you bought from can also help me.
BTW, I no longer live in Nong Khae,…my wife & I moved down to Bang Saen a few months ago and we both love it down here.
Best Regards,
Mike
Gents,
Just a couple of links. I have bought some good quality second hand tooling, but unfortunately the companies do not have web sites.
So the question is can I post google maps of the location of the machinery shops?
http://www.sunrisegr.com/?setlanguage=en
http://www.vertex-th.com/Tooling-system-1.html
Phil.
Hi Philip and thanks for you information.
I have bought equipment from Sunrise. Their service is excellent as are the products.
Vertex equipment I love. Accurate and works well.
As to posing Google Maps if you send me the shortlink I will embed it into this website.
Thanks again for you posting.
Alan
Gents,
For all of your special steels try the link below. I have found them very helpful and inexpensive.
JUTHA WAN METAL LTD
jtu/sriracha@juthawan.co.th
http://www.juthawan.co.th
Phil..
Hi Phil and thanks for another post.
That JUTHA WAN METAL LTD website is very interesting and they should be a useful resource to anyone looking for stainless steel or special tool steels metals in Thailand. They are based in Bangkok (of course).
Alan
Many thanks for your nice words George.
I have no intention of finishing the Black Five engine. It’s all history now.
But I do have here a modern ‘kit’ of laser-cut parts for a Fowler Dock Tank in Gauge 1. If I can find someone with a TIG welder to weld up the frame tabs then it’s a goer.
Very Impressive & detailed workmanship. You must have been a tool maker or clock maker in a past life; getting all those tiny parts to line up is no simple task,…but you’ve made it look easy. Bravo!!!
Mike
Good morning Alan
A nice start Alan. Just goes to show the rust bug is every where.
I hope you get to finish the engine to the same standard. But I think you have set a very high goal. Given the size and redesign of the valve gear you intend to work to.
Best of luck
George
George,
Not sure if you managed to find a lathe, there are as you probably know many places selling new and used equipment in Thailand, but it is always difficult to find them.
There is a large shop for the want of a better word selling a huge range of used equipment both large and small in Chonburi, much of the equipment in imported from Japan.
As for steel, if I require anything special I contact a supplier who has a supply base on the highway towards Chonburi from Pattaya. They are always happy to supply the lengths and quantities I need.
If you are interested, I will provide the contact details, I should be in Thailand in a week or so.
Hi Phillip,
It’s Alan here from ModelEngineeringInThailand.com and I just saw your comment addressed to George.
I’m not sure what George that is but I for one would be extremely intersted to hvae the addresses of the second-hand equipment and steel suppliers in Chonburi.
Many of the visitors to the website would also be interested, I’m sure.
If you could kindly let me have that info I’ll make sure it gets posted on the website under the resources section.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Good morning Alan
I had forgotten that I had sent the photos to you without any narrative.
First of all the photo shows parts supplied by Cotswold Heritage. But I am thinking of changing much if not all of the bright mild steel components to stainless steel. Or cast iron. Which is the reason there is so much bar stock in the photograph.
As you have mentioned in past posts the rust bug is alive and well in Thailand.
I have read a few reports about the casting being undersize. I am sure when I get time to start the project I will find out.
It is a good looking engine but will try my skills. Most of the screw fixings are in the 8 and 10 BA range. And the size of some of the castings are very small. The cranks are cut from mild steel but I hope to use the cast iron bar to replace them.
The research you have completed on the engine and its designer was very impressive.
A model of the big gun would look very impressive.
Regards George
Hi George, it’s evening here now.
Not sending the narrative was a good thing. It made me do the research into the model and Sir William Armstrong which I found both enjoyable and fascinating.
As to the rust bug I have just painted some bright mild steel parts with ‘clear paint’. It’s readily available here in Thailand and it looks really good as in you can’t see it! I’ll write an article about it but I intend to paint all the non-contact surfaces on my tools and models with it. Contact surfaces will get the ACF50 treatment.
I gave up on small models as you know – I just can’t see those small parts let alone trying to make/manipulate them. I did make a Gauge 1 Bogie for a Black Five Loco based on LBSC’s 3 1/4″ gauge Doris many years ago. I still have it here and when I look at it’s quite exquisite in it’s tiny detail even if I say so myself. I have some good photos of and will upload it to the website sometime.
My thoughts about a model of the gun are the same as yours. The picture of the gun really captures the atmosphere, doesn’t it?
I also thought about some model cranes and etc driven by the hydraulic pumps from the horizontal twin cylinder horizontal steam engine steam engine. I have seen a photo of a model William Armstrong hydraulic crane and can post it if anyone is interested. But I have so many other models to make and finish off that will be just a ‘dreaming about it’ project.
Thanks for the comment.
Alan
Good morning all,
I can well understand Georges comment. When I went to visit him and his model engineering workshop one thing that stood out was how clean and tidy it was and I remarked to George on this point.
Not only were the work benches clean and clear, the lathe and milling machines were cleaned down with not a trace of swarf anywhere.
This neatness and cleanliness is reflected in Georges models too. Also in his photo presentations where everything is neatly arranged and there are no items in the photo that shouldn’t be there.
I’m afraid I’m in the must do better category when it comes to tidiness and clutter. But at least the clutter on my benches is arranged in logical piles. There’s an order to my clutter.
Alan
Good morning Mike and fellow metal men.
From the photographs the bench and the surrounding area looks clean neat and tidy. It makes working a pleasure if the work area is light and clean. I always found when I ran a workshop in the middle- east the men turned out a better job if the area and tools were tidy and in good working order. The right tools are easier to locate and use. Congratulations on a very professional job.
George
did you buy your (2) machines yet
would you consider used
i believe you could buy (2) machines lathe and mill
used in good working order
under $12,000 us funds
about $1200.00 to load and secure container
let me know your comments
Good morning fellow metal benders.
I just wanted to confirm all of the preceding comments about Cromwell tools. I had the pleasure of meeting Shaun yesterday when he dropped by to deliver a parcel of silver steel. I contacted Shaun with the order and almost immediately it had been sent to the U.K. Bank transfer and that was it. Material now in the workshop ready for use. Fantastic service. I only wish the plumbers I had working in the house were as professional. But that is as they say another story.
Once again thanks Shaun.
i am all rounder workshop fourman and hardworking
A means for members to edit their own posts would be nice.
And YES, the Resource Guide/database will likely prove to be one of the more useful features.
Mike (Nong Khae)
An email contact list would be great, or some other means of providing members to communicate with fellow members. Perhaps you could set up some way of auto-notifying all members that someone has made a comment, original or follow-up, that might work too; you could even allow members to opt-in or opt-out of these notifications. As it is now, when a member makes a comment, or follows up with an answer to a question, I believe that “admin” is the only one who knows. A forum might also fill this need, and until your membership grows to many, many folks, you likely wont need to moderate the forum as I believe that everyone here will remain civil with their posts.
I know that you’ve already invested a great deal of time and effort into creating this webpage, but I wonder if one of the “Facebook” or “MySpace” type sites might already have many of the features you want to incorporate?
A user corner would be good, but again, if a member reading the tip or shortcut has a question, it would be nice if the original poster were auto-notified via email,…sort of like Facebook sends me an email whenever someone makes a comment on one of my pics or posts.
A members corner would also be a nice addition; even with the small membership you have, once a few members post their projects, others will be encouraged to join in,….you have to start somewhere. But, you must provide for the up-loading of pictures; I doubt that a “text-only” members page would encourage much participation.
Whatever course you choose, and changes you elect to make,…Thank You for setting up this site!!! It’s a great way to bring like-minded folks together.
Mike (Nong Khae)
Hi Mike and thanks for your ideas – all good ones. You really have ‘hit the nail on the head’ with your suggestions by which I mean that they are exactly what the site needs.
I’ll see what can be done to accommodate your ideas. Any new feature must take account of:-
– Privacy and security of users’ personal details. (email address),
– Prevention of Spam postings which must be automatic.
– Minimum monitoring/action by myself.
I think that there are sufficient applications to freely available to incorporate most of your ideas.
My precious wife & I drove down to BITEC on the 19th and spent most of the day examining the many, many exhibits. The place is HUGE, I could easily have gone back to see more exhibits in greater detail on Thursday or Friday, but simply laked the will to fight the traffic. We left our house at 8am and it took only a bit over an hour to drive the expressway part from Nong Khae, but once we exited onto the road in front of BITEC, the traffic nearly stopped….it took another 45 minuets to traverse the few kilometers to the BITEC parking lot. Once inside, I was “greeted” by a dynamic Yaskawa robotic welding display with 2 robotic welders going through the motions of spot welding a auto part.
I found a few general tool suppliers based here in Thailand that reminded me of a Harbor Freight store; I picked up their products catalog and was pleasantly surprised to find prices listed for all the products,…and they mentioned that they would mail out their products once you placed an order….no need to drive to their store.
Lots of large lathes (430mm swing over bed & up) on display, but only one in the 300mm swing category, and it was from China (Toptech) with no Thai storefront; however, I could order through IDDA (www.idda.co.th). There’s an english language web page at http://www.toptechmachine.cn The salesman at Toptech quoted me a very reasonable price if I purchased it at their store in China,…but he didn’t know (or didn’t want to say) the shipping, VAT, and import fees to get into Thailand.
OK, that’s my report,…It was nice going as a retiree and not as a business rep.
Mike (Nong Khae)
But George, you use water cut parts in your models, not chain drilled hacksawed and filed as I do!
And you use DRO on the milling machine instead of marking out and centre-popping.
You’re not as old fashioned as you make out to be. I bet you even use a calculator instead of log tables.
Hi all,
I have the same boiler kit that George has, and like George I keep putting off building it. Not because I don’t have a big enough heating torch but because I’m scared of wrecking it with too much heat/not enough heat and silver soldering all the parts in the wrong place.
Also I want to finish the Victoria steam mill engine before I make the boiler.
Properly planned it shouldn’t actually be difficult but building the half sized Little Samson traction engine and finishing off Victoria is enough for me at the moment.
Thanks for this message, I’m a newby and always wondering to find this kind of shops.
Also, is there maybe anybody who knows a latheshop in the surrounding of Thayang (changwat petchaburi)
I need some small device from 7cm diameter and 4cm high made from brass.
Thanks.
Peter
Hi Mike,
No, it’s free but as I said it’s best to register online before you go.
Hi Mike, George is in a better position to answer rather than myself.
I would suspect that the engine will run on very low pressure, say 15 to 20 psi.
As to a boiler I don’t know if George has any plans for that but I do know that he is weighing up his next project which is a twin cylinder horizontal mill engine, not a steam boiler.
On the subject of the quality of George’s Stuart Turner Beam Engine model I agree with you totally. The craftsmanship is something to aspire to. The fine finish on the cast iron parts (e.g. flywheel) is outstanding in my humble opinion.
Is there an entrence fee?
Good afternoon Mike
As Alan states it is free to get in but before they issue a pass badge there is a long form to fill in. No problem but does take a bit of time. If you pre-register you will receive an e-mail with a pass number. You just show this at the desk and your badge is already for you. That was the way last time I went.
This year I registered a couple of months ago and yesterday they sent me an invitation to the VIP lounge. Not too sure just what that gets me but a cold beer would be nice!!!!!
I hope to be there on the 22nd if I get back from Baku in time.
Very impressive work Andrew!!! I’m guessing that you make your own paper scrolls as well??
Mike,
Actually I bought the music rolls from Mervyn Wright off the internet. He makes the music and puts about 3 tunes onto each scroll. If the music is long you may only get one tune on it.
You can puck your tunes for each roll and hecwill prepare them for you and puts them in a nice box.
I have posted Alan a DVD of me playing the organ, but now relying on Thai Post to deliver it in one piece!
Regards,
Andrew
The beam engine looks fabulous to me; very detailed craftsmanship. What steam pressure will it run on? I look forward to seeing pics of the boiler/burner assembly.
Good morning Mike and fellow metal benders.
Thanks for the comments.
At the moment I still have to do some work on the cylinder and the parallel motion, mostly cosmetic.
It turns over smoothly at about 10 PSI. I do have the parts to make the vertical boiler sold by the now defunct GLR they also supplied the castings for the mill engine (Tina) Which I am also building. I need to buy a large cyclone heating torch before I start work on the boiler. Making the boiler for my Rob Roy was an eye opening experience.
Hi Andrew,
A few days ago I had to re-build one of my own home-made benches. It was located out in the garden in a very sunny place ie very hot!
My wife asked why I didn’t move the bench to a cooler place under the shade. When I said because it’s too heavy and she replied that would help me move it I couldn’t refuse.
We tried lifting the bench but we could only manage to move a foot because of the weight. So I decided to ‘over-end’ it. Over it went and fell to pieces!
All those ugly gas ‘welds’ were not as strong as I thought.
(See the original gas-welded bench story on the Making A Steel Work Bench page)
So I had to grind away the remnants of the gas welds and re-weld using the electric arc welder.
Good morning Mike
Looks to me you have found a new profession and business opportunity. The finished bench looks very well designed and well made. Will you be making a matching high stool to complement the bench? I have found that some of the small fine work I have to file and polish is best done while seated. Might have something to do with my old age!
Are you going to fit a heavy duty vice to the bench? I have drilled holes in my bench top for the bending and other tools that need to be fixed down. But I do not want on the bench all of the time. As I find a clear bench is easier to work on and keep clean.
Once again well done
Regards George Hill
Hello George,
I had not considered making my own high stool,…I’m hoping that I can find something suitable in one those little wood furniture stores that seem to be all over Thailand. For the moment, I’m using an office chair I brought with me during my move from the US,…it’s just high enough on it’s highest setting.
I completely agree with your “clear table” philosophy and to that end I will cut several pieces of wood boards from the same size board I made the table top from (8″ x 10″ x 1″). Each board will be used to mount things like a heavy 5″ vise and a grinder. Each board will be the same size and have matching holes pre-drilled that match up to holes in the table. The holes in the table will have metal threaded inserts which will make changing out the vise for the grinder quick, easy, and repeatable without damaging the table top. I’ll send Alan an update of this when I complete it.
Keep making metal (and wood) chips,
Mike
Good afternoon Mike
One comment on the note book added design. No use of CAD or other high tech just paper and a pencil. I assumed I was the only guy still doing things that way. For the more accurate stuff I still use the old Tee square my farther used at night school over eighty years ago.
George
Hi Andrew
It looks superb I have always liked nice wood work and only wish I could work wood as well as you can. It is far more tactile than the cold steel and brass we normally work with So far none of the models I have made have wood bases as I have still to work out how to stain, seal and polish them. Any chance of a video with sound?
How is the coach coming along?
All the best George
Hello George,
I have a DVD of me playing it and the kids dancing to the music. They have now grown out of that phase!! It is too large a file to upload, but I could make a copy and post it to Alan if he likes.
The pipes are meant to be made from Balsa wood, but I faced some of mine with some hardwood. The three large bass pipes (hidden behind the back panel) are all balsa. There is not a lot of skill required in the woodwork front – lots of rectangular panels fitted together.
I stained the balsa wood parts but not the hardwood. The case is all cheap plywood off-cuts from B&Q and I used a stained on that, but not a very Goidelic one – a bit too shiny for me.
I am now working on the underframe for my coach. Just finished making the brackets for the battery boxes, the regulator, etc. I also finished the dynamo and support frame. I made the brake cylinders and have fixed the V-frames in place. So all going well, but I sometimes have to work at my office in order to get my salary!! I finished the buffers and draw hooks too but not yet fixed in place.
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Lovely organ.
I just thought of one snag with your Lumphini Park retirement job – you aren’t allowed to work in Thailand. I don’t think that the “I’m not working, the monkey is” excuse would be accepted!
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Great to see there are others interested in engineering in Thailand.
I had a small workshop back in the UK and now live near Phuket and have workshop once again.
I purchased a manual mill from (Sieg) POSH ENTERPRISE in Bangkok also a mini lathe (Sieg) two years ago.
I purchased a big manual lathe from Sumore SP2110/750 also a copy (Sieg) KX3 cnc Mill SP2215 had them shipped into Bangkok and delivered here to Phuket with a few problems but now have most equipment I need, Tig welder Plasma Torch etc all of which I purchased from Bangkok Hardware in Phuket.
There are plenty of suppliers of most steel and I have found one that stock most every thing and will cut to length, but like you say you have to make the best of it the same as most things bought here!!.
Will leave it for now but any one interested in Machining metal I would be pleased to help.
Hi Vince and thank you for your contribution to the website.
Your comments are timely because there is another person (Lieven) in Phuket looking to but a lathe and milling machine but is having problems finding reliable suppliers.
We had a long discussion on this most of which is recorded on the website starting here:-
http://modelengineeringinthailand.com/resources/tools/tools-suppliers/#comment-1522
I will let Lieven know of your experiences and I hope you can help him.
I (as would other visitors to the website) appreciate if any further comments could be posted on the website for all to see.
Again, welcome to the Thailand home workshop machinists community.
Hello Vince,
The SP2110 lathe you have appears to be just what I’ve been looking for, and at a reasonable price too (listed price on their web page is $2000 FOB). Can you tell us what shipping costs were? What shipper did you use? Import duty fees??
Thanks for any help you can provide,
Mike (in Nong Khae)
Dear Alan,
Actually the CQ6125 lathe has been on my mind for a while, but not currently stocked. So the other alternative I had in mind is the CJ0623L. http://www.cnc-kit.net/584799/เครื่องกลึงเล็ก-cj0623l. Any thoughts? Lathe is definitely required: e.g. thinning out the wall of sockets, piston bullets… Below some pictures of tools that could be made up to give you a better idea.
As for the mill, the XJ9512L has been on my mind, opinions on the machine differ and quite a bit of negative feedback for the gears. A little worried as well that for some machining operations it might be a little light: eg: milling a 1 ½” crowfoot out of ½” steel, or lack of space on the table to fit a rotary table enabling to mill out (enlarge) sockets to custom sizes. Below some pictures of tools that could be made up to give you a better idea.
So I was thinking about the SM-30X3-RF. http://www.smartcncs.com/product-en-512061-2491280-Milling+Machine+Made+In+TAIWAN+Model+SM+30X3+RF+price+59,900+Baht+(Ex.VAT).html. Any thoughts on that one?
With Kindest Regards,
Lieven Maertens – ลีเวน มาร์เทนส์
Scuba Clinic Co. Ltd. – บริษัท สคูบ้าคลินิก จำกัด
http://www.scuba-clinic.com
Hello Lieven,
Had to do a bit of research to bring you the comments below.
LATHE COMMENTS
Comments on the CJ0623L Bench Lathe 39,500 Baht
http://www.cnc-kit.net/584799/%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B7%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B6%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A5%E0%B9%87%E0%B8%81-cj0623l
Specification isn’t well detailed, so most comments based on the photos.
It looks very similar to my Sieg C4 except that it has a screwcutting gearbox which is an improvement and it’s a bit bigger.
The cross slide has T slots which is good – allows fitting a rear toolpost for example and allows sliding the topslide across which is a handy feature.
Cross slide slideway dovetails look very narrow.
The top slide gib adjusting screws are on the correct side. Mine are on the opposite side which is completely wrong.
Seems to have powered cross slide (for facing) which is useful if facing large plates but otherwise rarely used.
Has a screwcutting dial which is good.
No feedscrew handwheel which is very bad. See my article – link below.
Doesn’t seem to have either auto trip on the leadscrew or a dead stop.
Both essential as is the (non existent) leadscrew handwheel.
Doesn’t seem to have easy-reverse leadscrew but I could be wrong.
Electronic motor speed down to 100 rpm is not slow enough – not enough torque for intermediate cutting on large diameters.
Spindle accuracy of 0.01 mm typical workhorse but not precision.
Not many accessories. Check what you need and what the spindle fitting is. Can you fit an ER Collet chuck for example?
You need to check if the range of threads cut covers what you want.
All in all a standard Sieg type lathe.
The CQ6230BX910 Lathe
http://www.cnc-kit.net/856512/%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B7%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B6%E0%B8%87-cq6230bx910
The CQ6230BX910 is a much better spec. See the other two spindles below the leadscrew. One will be for standard sliding so that you don’t wear the leadscrew out (keep it for screwcutting) and the other may be an auto stop or dead stop.
119,000 Baht (three times the price of the CJ0623L)
PREVIOUS COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ON STANDARD SIEG TYPE LATHES
I made some comments on a typical Bench Sized lathe here which will help explain some of my comments above:-
http://modelengineeringinthailand.com/#comment-988
MILL COMMENTS
Milling Machine Made In TAIWAN Model SM-30X3-RF price 59,900 Baht
SM-30X3-RF. http://www.smartcncs.com/product-en-512061-2491280-Milling+Machine+Made+In+TAIWAN+Model+SM+30X3+RF+price+59,900+Baht+(Ex.VAT).html.
The first comment is that it has a round column.
This is definitely a very bad feature:-
The head is not constrained from twisting when it is lowered and raised using that rack you can see. If you need to raise the head say to fit a tool and then lower it to use the tool you will lose your XY coordinates. Vat bad.
It is probably thin wall steel tubing and lightweight.
In short it looks like a bench drill pretending to be a milling machine.
It will be useless for any serious and accurate work.
That XJ9512L milling machine is better in the above respects but again it is a lightweight machine.
This is the milling machine I bought from the UK that I mentioned earlier:-
https://www.emcomachinetools.co.uk/EnterShop/tabid/268/CategoryID/139/List/1/Level/a/productid/1328/Default.aspx?SortField=UnitCost+DESC%2cProductNumber
It’s called the ST-20LV Milling Machine
At £1,590 (82,680 Baht) it isn’t cheap but that’s the minimum spec to aim for for serious work.
Something like this I would say is the minimum spec that will do real work:-
SM-1000SX3 Sold 65,900 Baht
http://www.smartcncs.com/product-en-512061-5514723-Small+Milling+Model+++SM+1000SX3+Sold+65,900+Baht+(Excluding+of+VAT)+2Year+Warranty,+Delivery+Free.html#
But as I said a DRO is virtually essential.
Hope that isn’t off-putting but long experience has taught me that buying small and cheap only results in disappointment and more expense.
By the way, I have attached some photos of my machines just to demonstrate that I know what I am talking about.
That red item sitting on the floor that looks like a part of a milling machine is in fact my ST-20LV Milling Machine awaiting re-assembly.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hi Livien,
You might be interested in this comment by Vince, who also lives in Phuket and bought a lathe and a milling machine in Thailand:-
Link to the topic.
In fact Vince bought a big manual lathe from Sumore SP2110/750 also a copy (Sieg) KX3 CNC Mill SP2215 and had them shipped into Bangkok and delivered to Phuket.
You might want to ask Vince about his experiences.
Hope this helps.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Dear Alan,
Thanks for the info, most certainly helpful.
Just making the decisions as what machine to purchase is always the difficult bit. Add to that the language barrier… talked to CNC-kit.net, but they appeared very unhelpful even if someone fluently in Thai (Thai national) spoke to them.
The choice is rather limited if one would like small machines.
With Kindest Regards,
Lieven Maertens – ลีเวน มาร์เทนส์
Scuba Clinic Co. Ltd. – บริษัท สคูบ้าคลินิก จำกัด
http://www.scuba-clinic.com
Dear Lieven,
Thank you for your reply.
I took a look at your website http://www.scuba-clinic.com and was very impressed with both the website and your scuba facility.
If you want to make components for scuba compressed air systems then you do need very good quality machines, better than the ‘hobby’ mini-lathes..
Better to avoid the tiny ones – they just won’t give the accuracy and features you will need.
Have you tried the http://www.cnc-kit.net/ website?
Keith gives them a good write-up here:-
http://modelengineeringinthailand.com/resources/tools/tools-suppliers/pcam-precision-cnc-machinery/
I have a milling machine (bought in the UK) very similar to the XJ9512L milling machine on the cnc-kit website and it’s very good.
As for a lathe I would go for something like the CQ6128 or if you don’t want to stretch that far the CQ6125.
For the mill I would definitely recommend a DRO (Digital Read Out). I consider this essential for a milling machine. Nice to have on the lathe, too but not so essential as on the milling machine.
Chok Dii Khrap,
Good Luck
Alan and Kanyah Brown
“Surfin’ the World”
Dear Sir,
When researching mills/lathes in Thailand, often get links to your site.
My company is a small workshop down here in Phuket. Often I need custom made tools, but the quality the local shops deliver is of poor quality: hand filed/shaped, plasma cut, out of tolerance and no 2 pieces are the same 🙁
Anyways, could you be so kind to let me have some details of trusted supplies for a small sized lathe and mill able to fabricate smaller tools and high pressure fittings.
Much appreciated.
Lieven
Good morning Lieven and thank you for your enquiry.
I know of trusted and proven suppliers of both large and small lathes and milling machines.
I suggest you look at some of the featured websites on this, the resources Section of the ModelEngineeringInThailand.com website.
This page reviews a supplier of smaller machines but they are not a tried and proven supplier:-
http://modelengineeringinthailand.com/resources/tools/tools-suppliers/scnc-mini-cnc-lathes/
The following supplier, Cromwell tools, is well proven and trusted. Many of the ModelEngineeringInThailand.com website’s visitors are repeat customers – myself included. They do supply small lathes and milling machines but the range is limited:-
http://modelengineeringinthailand.com/resources/tools/tools-suppliers/cromwell-tools-thailand/
When you get to the Cromwell Website (link is on that page above) be sure to download the catalogue.
I am copying this email to the Manager, Shaun Burke, who gives a personal service.
If you want large tools this is the company I use and the service is excellent, in fact they were here yesterday installing a taper-turning attachment to my big lathe:-
http://www.forcelinkthai.com/ You need to contact joe, speaks excellent English.
An Alternative is to have your things made by a well proven and trusted huge machine shop here in Pakchong called Teera Borigaan. I am having some parts made there now.
In addition to a vast array of manual machinery they have CNC Wire Erosion, CNC Lathes and CNC Plasma cutting etc.
There’s a movie of the machine shop here, but to see the CNC machines do wait until near the end of the movie:-
http://retiringinthailand.net/model-engineers-paradise-pakchong-thailand/
If you have a drawing or a sketch of what you want I’ll get you an estimate.
That’s the best I can do at the moment but If you have any more queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Chok Dii Khrap,
Good Luck
Alan and Kanyah Brown
“Surfin’ the World”
Good morning Andrew
I can only hope that when or if I ever get my three and a half inch Rob Roy finished it looks half as goog as your model I would be vert happy.Well done at least we are not alone in our hobby.
George
Hi Alan,
The model was made in Thailand, Taiwan and Dubai.
The boiler was professionally made in the UK and came with a certificate. However, it does not have a steam certificate yet, and I don’t intend steaming the train regularly for another year yet. I have done my own pressure test on the boiler and fittings last year, so I’ll have to repeat that again next year.
I don’t think there are any boiler testers for model engineering stuff so it would be difficult to arrange that and the subsequent insurance if doing any public running.
I’m not sure if it will ever run on a track as I don’t have anywhere to run it, although I am hoping my company have some spare land at their construction plant yard.
Regards,
Andrew
Hi Andrew and thanks for the information.
It’s a well-traveled loco!
I’ll have the same issues with boiler testing when I get my 6 inch scale Little Samson Traction Engine finished and ready for steaming.
Alan
Hi Andrew,
Was this model was made (or part made) in Thailand?
If made in Thailand does it have a boiler certificate?
Has it ever been run in earnest on a track
Just to add interest to the web page.
Chok Dii Khrap,
Good Luck
Alan and Kanyah Brown
“Surfin’ the World”
ModelEngineeringInThailand.com
RetiringInThailand.net
Hi Alan,
Thank you for publishing a couple of pictures of my 5-inch gauge Commonwealth Bogie on your site. I also have some photos of my 5-inch gauge steam locomotive if you would like them too. In some (or many) months I may also have some of the British Rail coach body that I am building (which will fit on top of the bogies). I am making the underframe at the moment.
I have not had much luck in sourcing small steel or brass sections in Bangkok, and you mentioned that there is a shop in Pak Chong that has many sections. Can you remember if they have any small sections, say less than 10mm as I need some to complete my underframe to support all the (dummy) equipment that fits there (battery boxes, etc).
If you could give me their contact number I can ask my secretary to contact them to check on the sizes and if they have an outlet in Bangkok, or if one of the ‘friends’ has an outlet here.
Regards,
Andrew
PS – One unusual model project was building a 20-note busker organ that plays roll music. I’m not sure if your website would extend to that though. These side projects sometimes give us a bit of a break from grinding away at the nard metals though! Maybe I can use the organ in Lumphini Park to supplement my retirement funds – I just need a little monkey with a red hat!!
Hi Andrew and thanks for your email, good to hear from you.
Small Metal Sections
Small sections – less than 10 mm (small to model engineers is tiny in Thailand) of just about any metal seems to be unavailable but I did see some very small sections of stainless steel yesterday. Round and rectangular down to about 3 mm x 10mm or so it seemed.
There are four metal shops in Pakchong. Of the two big ones, one just sells steel and the other sells everything else.
This last shop is called Teera Borigaan. I’m enclosing a photo of the shop sign with their telephone number on it.
Pakchong Teera Borigaan Metal Shop Sign
Bright mild steel is available down to at least 1/2″ (yes in imperial sizes) and possibly small but I haven’t bought anything less than 1/2″.
The other shop (Teera Borigaan) selling everything else is amazing. I’m putting some photos and videos on the website but the page isn’t finished you so I am attaching just one photo of the smallest brass section I saw.
It seems to be about 15mm square. See photo:-
Brass Bar Square 15mm
The other two smaller shops sell small aluminium sections and the other small stainless steel sections.
I guess the aluminium is for making window frames and the stainless for making ornamental gates, railings and burglar bars.
Coming back to the brass it would be possible if there is enough interest from everyone to buy some sections, cut it up and deliver by mail. The main issue I see here is that it would bend when cutting.
I could buy a length eg of that 15 mm bar and send a length down to you for you to cut up. Please let me know if this is of interest.
Loco Photos
Yes please Andrew, please send the photos of the 5″ gauge model locomotive, I would love to see them as i am sure would others.
20 Note Busker Organ
I can’t get you a monkey with a red hat but if you send me the photos I’ll put them on the website together with a photo of a red-hatted monkey!
There aren’t that many model engineers in Thailand for the website to be too restrictive. Your busker organ project was a home hobby construction project and that’s close enough.
I just thought of one snag with your Lumphini Park retirement job – you aren’t allowed to work in Thailand. I don’t think that the “I’m not working, the monkey is” excuse would be accepted!
Work Bench; should I buy or build my own? The only work bench I’ve found for sale in Thailand is from A E Engineering: http://www.aeengineering.co.th/Hand%20Tool/Tool%20Storage%20&%20Display/Tool%20Station/Workbench/Workbench.html?lang=2&customer_id=1215&name_id=21940&rid=16509&id=73155
Does anyone have any experience with AE Engineering or any other workbench supplier in Thailand?
Thanks for any recomendations,
Mike M (in Nong Khae)
Hi Mike and many thanks for asking about buying workbenches for the home workshop in Thailand.
The first consideration when selecting a workbench is “what is it to be used for?”.
I have several workbenches for different purposes and they are all different construction, some purchased ready-made, some homemade.
The purchased ones are lightweight and suitable for light assembly work and marking out.
The heavier homemade benches are suitable for heavy metal cutting and filing (using a bench vice), metal bending and cutting etc.
The bench shown in your website link to A E Engineering shows a lightweight bench and I have a similar one. If you want to affix a bench vice for cutting using a hacksaw or anything other than light finish filing then you need to assess the type and strength of the working top of the bench.
In the case of my own lightweight bench which does have a bench vice fitted, both the bench top and the whole bench itself is far to flimsy for anything other than finish filing and occasional hacksawing. If I wanted to use it for serious hacksawing it would need first of all bolting to a wall, then the bench top would need fixing down (at the moment it just rests on the steel bench frame) followed up by general strengthening.
Even my robust homemade steel bench really needs fixing to the wall, something I must do one day.
As to A E Engineering this is the first time I have heard of them.
Another company in Thailand that supplies good quality workbenches is Cromwell Tools. If you go to their website you can download their catalogue in pdf format.
I and several other model engineers and metal working hobbyists in Thailand have bought products from Cromwell Tools and the tools and service have both been first class.
If you are interested in anything from Cromwell, then simply email the Manager Shaun Burke and mention ModelEngineeringInThailand.com.
To finish off here are a few photos of some of my workbenches (not all of them in Thailand).
First this is a bench I made myself and it sits out in the garden. The plastic bowl underneath is used to cover the vice when not in use.
You can see the vice has been removed temporarily to make way for my SBG-40 Universal Bender – a steel bar bending machine which is in use to bend 1/4″ x 1″ mild steel bar for my 6″ scale model traction engine. You wouldn’t be able to do this on a bench like the AE Engineering one.
Even though it’s a strong bench it moves a bit when hack sawing so it needs fixing to the wall, really.
You’ll also notice that I leave this bench in the garden and it’s completely unpainted! The millscale prevents it from rusting except in areas where the water ‘puddles’. That plastic bowl under the bench is what i use to put over the vice (or in this case the bender and the vice) at night or other times when it’s raining.
Here is a close-up of a couple of the welds and they aren’t pretty. Bench still works, though. I made the bench using oxy-propane gas welding but doing it again I would use electric arc welding.
This web page “Setting Up A Model Engineering Workshop In Thailand – Making A Steel Work Bench” shows a typical lightweight work bench also full details of how I made my own heavy-duty steel workbench in Thailand.
Hope you find this of some value, Mike, but please feel free to ask if you need any more advice.
Also I hope that other visitors will contribute their opinions on buying or making work benches in Thailand.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hi Alan,
Rust appears to be a major consideration here in Thailand (well, for me anyway).
We are in Udon Thani, and I am having to take extra precautions against the evils of air-borne moisture. Machines and tools I have had for fifty years (in some cases), which were still pristine on the days our containers arrived (March and December 2013) in Udon Thani, are needing a lot more TLC and oil to keep them that way.
I have noticed, however, that oiled vertical and soffit surfaces are not so prone to the onset of corrosion, so I figure that as the specific gravity of water is greater than that of oil, the water condensing on the upper metal surface oil is migrating through the oil film and continuing it’s evil work to reduce my pride and joys into iron oxide!
It is a bit of a pain to have to wipe off excess oil prior to using any tool / machine, however I am supposed to be retired and time is supposed to be no object.
Lathe, mill, drill press etc. and tooling are swamped in oil and get a refresher on a regular basis.
The onset of surFace corrosion has been worst in my woodworking machinery, and although accuracy is not that critical, everything runs smoother on clean, polished surfaces.
I have had to take the 3M stripping disc to the table-saw tables, the automatic planer table and to the buzzer tables. A few smooth plastic tablecloths placed on the oiled surfaces now “encapsulate” all critical metal surfaces on all machines.
For those who have not come across the 3M stripping discs, they are definitely the best thing since sliced Hovis, and I cannot recommend them highly enough.
If anyone has a foolproof method of protecting metal surfaces, I would like to hear from you.
In the meantime, it’ll be oil, plastic sheets, and trying to remember to put everything away at night!
Cheers,
Laurie
Hi Laurie and many thanks for raising this subject of rust in the home workshop in Thailand.
It’s a subject I have discussed with a colleague and fellow model engineer (George) who lives on the coast in Pattaya. I image that his kind of airborne moisture is salt laden so very deadly to nice shiny steel parts. (Actually the really shiny parts are slower to be affected than not so shiny ones.)
There is a cure (or two) which I’ll explain about in a minute but whether these are available in Thailand I don’t know. Probably not. But first to respond to your other points.
I haven’t particularly noticed that vertical and soffit parts are less prone to corrosion but I have noticed that there are patches of severe rust in patches right next to pristine as-new surface finish, instead of a generally degrading rusty surface spread throughout.
I mentioned ‘type of airborne moisture’ and I’m sure there are different types. Where we live up here (as in vertically up, not geographically up) in the hills at Pakchong, we suffer from early morning mist and cloud in the daytime/evening. Because we are quite high it’s always damp and it feels like you are living in a cloud which is true some of the time.
Sadly I don’t have a special oiling regime in place – I don’t have time for that. If I cleaned and oiled all my machines before I went to be I’d be having some very late nights. But I do have a strategy and a secret weapon I said I would tell you about. Also, I suppose I do have a bit of a policy for mills and lathes and that is to use the soluble cutting oil a lot. (Built-in suds pump on most of the machines). The water evaporates if you just leave the suds in place when finished and leaves some oily residue on the machine and whatever tools (eg chucks) you have been using.
Another reason I don’t do prolific oiling is that I haven’t been able to find any light oil in sufficient quantities here in Pakchong. All I can see in the shops is motor car and motor bike oils.
My Secret And Guaranteed Stop-Corrosion Product
It’s called “ACF50” and comes in spray cans. Search for “ACF50 Anti Corrosion Formula Protectant Spray” in a search engine or on ebay and you’ll find it.
I sprayed all my shiny steel parts and electrical part before shipping them over from the UK and there wasn’t a sign of corrosion on anything, despite being at sea for over six weeks.
I also bought a dozen or so cans to bring to Thailand but was told (after I had packed them) that I couldn’t take aerosols in the container.
So I spent a happy two hours spraying the contents into a plastic container which I do have here in Thailand. but apart from brushing it on I have no easy (ie spraying) method to apply it.
Hence I haven’t used it much put keep looking out for a spray can that will spray oil. (I bought two but they wouldn’t work even on diluted soluble oil)
As to ACF50 itself it’s a fantastic product. The reports say (amongst other things) that motorcycles are sprayed with it before the onset of winter and it’s cleaned off in spring. All the road salt and rain water has no effect on electrics, aluminium, chrome or steel.
I haven’t seen any for sale in Thailand. perhaps I can persuade Shaun Burke of Cromwell Tools that it is a product he should consider stocking.
The only downside to it is that it ain’t exactly cheap!
Another possible solution is something mentioned to me by another colleague, Pete. This is his suggestion:-
“Clean and spray 2 coats of CRC Soft Seal. Soft seal leaves a brownish transparent dry but slightly tacky coating that is good for long term indoor storage. The parts are easy to handle. Your hands do not get oily and the parts are easy to grip.”
I haven’t tried this nor have I seen it for sale in Thailand.
Other Comments
I liked your quip “however I am supposed to be retired and time is supposed to be no object” because I too find that since retiring I have more to do and less time available in which to do it. To some extent that’s down to Parkinson’s law. (The work expands to fit the time available) And since retiring I do more of those ‘should do’ little projects that save time in the long run, but genuinely I do have a massive project agenda.
Looking after woodworking machinery must be doubly difficult because it can’t be oily when you want to use it, unlike metalworking machines.
My Big Corrosion Bugbear
This is not machinery or tools but models. I have spent hours putting on nice shiny finishes to parts on my steam engines such as crankshafts, flywheels, guidebars etc., and they all rust over.
I’ll clean them up again and for the bright steel I’ll try ACF50 and for the cast iron (e.g. flywheel rim) which can’t be oiled I am going to try a clear paint. The one I have in mind is called “Quick Drying Laquer Spray – ACRYLIC EPOXY” by Bosny.
3M Stripping Disc
If you have been using these to clean rust from those woodworking machine surfaces you mention then your rust bugs are much worse than mine! Shame on you for letting those surfaces reach that stage of corrosion.
Anyway, Laurie, many thanks for your contribution and I hope you can make further comments in future.
Alan
Thanks for the kind words Andrew. In my past “work-life” I was an electronics engineer, so putting in a few wires, circuit boards, and sensors is all very familiar ground for me. The new & challenging areas for me, are learning to make 3D CAD drawings, read those drawing files into a CAM program, which generates “G code”, and finally run the G code file on the “controller” software which controls the X Y Z axis on the mill.
Yes, there are days when I think I’m more than a little crazy,…then there are other days when I absolutely certain 🙂
Mike (in Nong Khae)
+1. I use the EE tangential too, mostly for roughing. I have just made a fantastic new finishing tool from 5/8″ HSS
called a vertical shear tool. Google Gadgetbuilder who describes the tool and angles. It is also in the moltrecht books under shaper tooling where the idea comes from. Very easy to make (only 2 angles), and makes the most fantastic finish on steel or anything. Who needs cylindrical grinders? It is THAT good. Max DOC about 0.003″ but with this tool, half a thou is easy. Swarf is incredible.
Mike
Mike,
Thanks fir that website reference -eventually got round to looking at it!
I may try that tool first before indulging in the EE tool. Maybe save the EE for my Christmas prezzie!
I often have problems getting a good finishing cut, so hopefully this will be a welcome addition to the tool box.
Regards,
Andrew
Hi Keith,
very nice. I love old iron. I presume in American, a 12 x 36″ lathe is 6″ centre height and 36″ between centres. I have a 1969 Boxford VSL which is a top of the range vari-speed copy of the southbend 9″ model A. If you ever part with the Atlas, or upgrade to a heavier duty newer Chinese lathe to match your mill, let me know and give me first refusal.
All the best,
Mike (Udon).
Mike,
830cc wow. Probably a beast to kick over, but goes like hell and scares the neighbours..
Many modifications to that bike, clearly.
I had a ’78 Bonnie back in England in the seventies and loved it.
Here in Thailand now, I have a ’71 Tiger with a Morgo 750 top end and the bike has been ungoing a steady transformation to cafe racer in the 14 years I have owned it. Great fun to ride. I have a Morgo rotary oil pump, mini cartridge oil filter and oil cooler to fit next.
Oh, I just found out about a guy in Korat who makes aluminium petrol tanks. I saw a long Norton Manx tank he had made for someone, cost 11500 Baht, about 1/3 price of a tank made in England, although the quality isn’t quite the same, but looks pretty good. He does a range of styles, so I may get one for my Tiger later.
Ian
Hi Ian,
Glad to see your comment.
Pleased also that the website is not narrowly focussed on ‘model engineering’. All hobbyists, collectors, home workshop types etc are welcome.
The good mix of interests broadens all our experiences and knowledge as well as making new friends.
Any chance of some photos of your bikes? I’m sure Mike at least would be interested?
By the way I was never into bikes but I did have a 1960 Triumph 2 litre TR3A sportscar. I rebuilt the engine and overbored it and tuned it up. The most I had out of it was 115 mph and that was decidedly shaky!
Best Regards
Alan Brown
George,
Good work on the beam engine and glad that everything works fine. I think us model engineers will always be misunderstood by our other halves as they wonder why we continue to make these “toys”! I keep explaining that model engineering is a health benefit and will keep our minds and bodies active well into old age. I’m not sure if that was the answer she was seeking haha!
I have seen the eccentric engineering tools you mentioned and have often thought of investing in one. So as you have had some good results I will probably indulge myself. I tend to use HSS tooling quite a bit fit good finishes and detailed turning. I use the insert tools for roughing out.
Regards,
Andrew
Hi Andrew and thanks for your comment.
If I can add my experience of the tangential turning tools.
I don’t get a good finish from them. I have tried rounding the corner but to no avail.
Conversely they are good at turning into a sharp corner.
My experience of the CROBALT tools sold by Eccentric Engineering;-
The tangential type are as good or better than carbide inserts for roughing and unlike the inserts you can sharpen them. I have some amazing videos of them in use – I’ll dig one out and post it on the website.
Also I have the
Eccentric Engineering CROBALT FoR Parting-off tool and it works a treat.
The tangential tools often drop in the holder especially on a dig-in. Most annoying.
I used one ground for screwcutting to cut some 5/8″ whitworth threads on the Kinwa 430×1100 lathe.
I had two issues here although I did screw-cut all 24 bars in the end:-
I couldnt work out how to use the jig provided to grind the 55 deg angle so I did it free-hand – not ideal.
Being tangential and with a 55 deg included angle viewed meant that the tool was very fragile and it kept breaking.
Another drawback with the tangential toolholders is that there is a lot of overhang leading to tool spring. This isn’t so noticeable when the tool is in a toolpost on the cross-slide but It was a serious drawback when trying to machine the taper on the Stuart Turner Victoria Steam Engine connecting rod with the tool in the topslide. Just too much total overhang so I had to grind up two (right and left hand) traditional tools from 3/8″ HSS.
Don’t let the above put you off though but don’t expect them to be panacea.
By the way George used round section tools to get a neat generous radius on his StuartTurner Beam Engine and I have yet to tray round tools.
Hope the above will be useful.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Mike,
I am really impressed that you took on such a project. CNC is terrifying enough if using a bought machine, never mind making one! I’ve never ventured near any projects with any wires attached as I am sure it would end up ripping my work to pieces!
I think I will continue fir some time with my manual machines, although CNC would come in handy for detailed work. Maybe one day ..
Regards,
Andrew
Alan,
Yes, I made the Commonwealth bogies here in Bangkok. There are over 350 components required, so it was fun making most of them, however I did buy the springs and the fixing screws.
I have now started on the 1.7m long under frame that will rest on the bogies. I hope I can keep them straight!!
Last will be the coach body itself.
Regards,
Andrew
Good Morning Andrew,
Many thanks for the additional information about how you built the 5″ Scale Mk1 Commonwealth Bogies here in Thailand, I’m sure readers will appreciate it.
Such fine scale – if running on a ground-level track I would be worried about damaging them.
Alan
Hi Alan,
I have been looking at that 1224 as well. I think that may be the one I end up with, it is a nice looking machine.
I intend to ship a 20 ft container from the US as well. There is a provision in Thai customs about returning Thai citizens and household goods. We will put everything in my wife’s name. She has been outside of Thailand since 2004, so easy to prove her as a returning expat. I even have a Harley Davidson that is in her name. Rule used to be that a vehicle that has been in a Thai persons name for more than two years can be imported duty free.
It will be interesting for sure.
We will be making a trip next month to see friends and family and do some house hunting.
Later,
Matt
Hi Matt and thanks for the update.
It’s a long way off before you buy your lathe in Thailand and by then I guess the LD-1224GH TAIWAN Gear Head Bench Lathe 610 will have been superceded by then.
Just a few observations based on my experience with my Sieg C4 Lathe:-
The topslide is lousy! I had to make quite a few mods to get it to work and it’s still too sloppy to give a good finish. The Gib strip is on the wrong side. It looks like it’s on the right side on the 1224.
The C4 (like the 1224) doesn’t have a leadscrew handwheel. When cutting up to a shoulder at least the last few mm (if using power feed) have to be cut using the saddle traverse handwheel which is very coarse. Min is graduated in 0.5 mm which is no where near fine enough.
The above issue could be circumvented if there was an automatic feed trip and a dead-stop carriage stop. but there isn’t.
Fitting a leadscrew handwheel is a top priority on my C4.
Another very annoying niggle that I MUST put right is that the saddle traverse handwheel has to be pushed in to engage the drive. (In hand feed mode). It can all to easily – and it does – drop out of engagement and then the feed-dial setting is lost. Crazy!
Some of the above points will probably apply to any similar lathe so watch out fro them please. And don’t buy blind! Go to see the machine before you buy.
About the returning Thai Expat rule I think you are on the right tracks with this. I couldn’t do that because Kanyah had been living in Thailand for around 3+ years before we imported the container.
Good luck with the house hunting!
Best Regards
Alan Brown
What can one say “Magnificent”
Yes George, truly remarkable.
I am assuming that Andrew made these in Thailand in which case the feat is even more awe-inspiring.
Alan
I see you share interesting stuff here, you can earn some
extra money, your blog has big potential,
for the monetizing method, just search in google – K2 advices
how to monetize a website
Gents,
I am very pleased to have discovered your website today. I have lived in Thailand for about a total of 7 years on a couple occasions. I am married to a Thai lady and we are planning to make our final relocation there in early 2016. I work in the middle east at the moment and need to continue until the finances support our move. Anyway, I love the small home machine shop stuff and plan to make a very nice shop there.
If you are looking for tools and material, there is a supplier called Ruam Charoen (sp?) in Ban Chang that is excellent. I spent a couple years as a Field Engineer working on Royal Thai Navy ships at the Chuksamet port in Sattahip. I went to RC at least 3 times a week to get materials for fixing the ships machinery, including the 1200 psi steam systems. They were great, if they didn’t have what I needed, they could always find it and have it the following day. Ban Chang is a little bit of a drive from where you are, but would make a nice day trip. Some good restaurants at the beach and a little bar area in Ban Chang that is quite unique.
When I was in China I learned about the mini machines that were available and saw that most of them were made by a company called Seig in Shanghai. Since I was there I arranged a visit to the factory. I bought a small mill and lathe and made an extra bedroom in the apartment into a mini machine shop. I had to sell everything when I left as the shipping costs were just too high and I didn’t really know where I was going.
Sieg’s website lists “http://www.smartcncs.com/?lang=en” as their distributor in Thailand. I was wondering if anyone has used them yet?
When we make the final move to Thailand I will be shipping quite a lot of tools from the US but buying machines there. It will be good to tap into some experience for some advice when that day comes.
Best regards,
Matt
Hi Matt and many thanks for your contribution to the website.
I looked up Ban Chang on Google maps and see that it’s in Rayong not so far from Pattaya. There is another Model Engineer down in Pattaya, George, and that area of Rayong according to Glen is the centre of industry in Thailand. So plenty of reasons to visit.
Looking at Ban Chang on Google images also shows the place has many delights apart from model engineering!
Not sure how I would find the Ruam Charoen shop, though.
I took a look at the website of the Sieg Mini-Lathe dealer in Thailand that you mentioned – http://www.smartcncs.com/?lang=en – and they do display many mini-lathes and mini-mills. Most seem CNC type and they also display CNC accessories such as stepper motors, stepper-motor drives and XY tables for example.
The shop is located tot he North of Bangkok at Pathum Thani. Their address and a map are on the website.
Also I noticed some larger geared head bench lathes like this one for example: “LD-1224GH TAIWAN Gear Head Bench Lathe 610 mm”. That’s a really neat machine and beats my own Sieg SC4 Lathe my a long shot.
So many thanks for the tip, Matt, I will certainly be adding this website to the Resources Section of the website under the Suppliers Of Tools For The Model Engineer In Thailand Section.
By the way I imported my Sieg SC4 Lathe along with my complete model engineer’s workshop from the UK. It came along with household effects in a 20 foot container.
You used to be able to avoid paying import duty by coming to Thailand on a Retirement Visa but hat has stopped now. It’s probably cheaper buying your mini-lathe here in Thailand as you intend to do rather than importing then from USA.
Please feel free to ask for any advice as and when. If I can’t answer there are many people on the Announcement List whom I can call on for advice.
Once again Matt thank you for your contribution and welcome to the group.
Alan
I found the following address info for Ruam Charoen using Google:
83/50 Moo1, Pla, Banchang, Rayong 21130,Rayong,Thailand
Here’s the web link with a map:
http://tha.soopage.com/company/RUAM_CHAROEN_GROUP_CO_LTD_4Ce.html
Please note that I have not visited this location to verify it’s correctness. Perhaps Matt or George could help verify this location is correct?
No worries mate:
You will have to pick out the items you can’t or don’t want to make, create a drawing file either by hand and scan it or use the CAD program of your choice, make a DXF (drawing exchange file) and email it to me. If you want castings made, the foundries are in the Chonburi area or you can send the patterns up to china or taiwan, they all speak engrish.
cheers
Crikey, Glen you are a star!
Castings as well! I have looked for small foundries on the ‘net but found none, not surprisingly.
Chonburi eh? Well armed with this intelligence I made a quick search and found plenty of metal foundries in Chonburi. This is an example:-
Asahi Somboon Metals Co., Ltd.
Thung Su Khla, Moo 3, 205 Laemchabang Industrial Estate, Sri Racha, Chonburi, 20110, Thailand
They don’t have a website.
But how do I find a small one willing to make tiny castings? Drive around and ask, I guess.
Anyway, Glen, I can send dxf files of the parts I want the gear cutting done for. I have the blank castings already and will machine them so that the gear cutting company has reference planes. All I need then is the gear cutting.
This kind of information will be exciting to our fellow model engineers in Thailand.
Thank you once aging for sharing this information with us an for your offer to help.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hello Alan:
In Rayong we have micro to monster machine shops on almost every corner. I can route your RFQ and you can pick or choose who you want to get your outsourced parts from. Message me with drawings.
All the best
Glen
Hi Glen and thanks for the info plus of course the offer to route my RFQ.
I have drawings but they need a bit of ‘tickling’ to identify just the outsources work, I’ll do that and send you a couple to gauge reaction.
I have been in that area twice to buy accessories for machine tools. The shop was SUN RISE TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY, 969 Moo 5 Preaksa Rd., Preaksa Mai, Muang Samuthprakarn, Samuthprakarn 10280.
They have a website http://sunrisegr.com/
I got the impression from driving around there that it was one huge manufacturing industrial estate and that they must be serving some Japanese car plants locally, like Toyota.
Having someone like you with local knowledge would be great timesaver.
Thanks again for the offer glen, I’ll be in touch.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hi Alan and all other metal men out there.
Congratulations on the simple act of getting the project of the ground and all the bits into Thailand. I am sure that has been the hardest part. The rest is just fun from here on in.(maybe a little sweet and sleepless night thinking how to some of the bits) But that’s the fun!!!
I hope some time to get up to see you and the bits sometime in the future. In the meantime keep the story going as it helps keep me sane while I am at work.
Congratulations George
Hi George and many thanks for your comment as usual.
It wasn’t easy at all to purchase those parts and get them delivered to Thailand.
It was easy physically, but not mentally.
The hardest part was making the commitment. I mean, before I even bought that big lathe and milling machine I had to weigh up the costs and the risks. The total capital investment in machine tools, the extension to the workshop, the castings and the boiler is enormous.
The concern about the Thai customs was another worry that actually came to nothing.
And following on are the additional materials costs and further tooling costs.
Also I had to weigh up my chances of actually completing the traction engine while I’m still alive and young enough to enjoy it!
As soon as I had bought those big machine tools there was no turning back.
I’m now privately and publicly committed to the project.
But first I have to finish the Stuart Turner Victoria steam mill engine and that’s presenting a few challenges at the moment.
I hope to post an update with photos soon.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hi Alan
Hope things are going well for you.
This mail is simply to keep in touch and perhaps update you a little.
My workshop is gradually progressing and Shaun Burke has been a star in helping with a number of supply issues. Cromwell has done quite well out of me over the last few months having purchased a Kobe Pillar Drill, vice, vertical/disc sander / linisher and a rolling tool chest.
This week I have ordered a milling/drilling machine which you are probably familiar with ZX7550, complete with 3 axis DRO (this will be a first DRO for me). The machine should be installed at the end of the month, subject to the DRO arriving on time and being fitted before delivery.
Having taken note from your experience I first approached All Arm and they were initially very helpful by email. I arranged to take a day off work and made an appointment with “Sam” to view the machine and to view their proposed DRO. I arrived at the scheduled time only to be told in Thai that Sam would not be coming to work that day. Not very professional I thought, he could have phoned to let me know. The staff in the showroom had very little English so it made some of my technical questions quite difficult despite my Thai wife trying desperately to translate. However as you will know, engineering English is very different to normal conversational English and my wife struggled.
The next day I sent a mail to Sam detailing the questions I would have asked during my visit. One of these questions was which 2 axis DRO was he proposing to use. Promptly he sent a reply with picture and model number. It was blatantly obvious that this was a lathe DRO as it had none of the milling functions, I actually then researched (internet) and found that the same model was available in both lathe and milling versions. Armed with this information I replied to Sam saying that I was happy with the model he had selected but please be sure to fit the milling model and not the lathe model. He replied “If you are going to be picky then I don’t want to sell you this machine all DRO are the same and if you want it for anything but X & Y coordinates I definitely do not want to sell you a machine.
I replied and pointed out that there was obviously a misunderstanding or something lost in translation and that I was not being picky but simply selecting the type of DRO that I wanted to purchase from him. That was over 3 weeks ago and despite further mails from me there has been no reply.
To say the least I was a little miffed and decided to find another machine and another supplier. I think that I have found a gem and can thoroughly recommend them. Their company name is PCAM (Precision CNC & Machinery) their website http://www.cnc-kit.net/ which is unfortunately in Thai only but still pretty easy to navigate.
It’s a small company that both sell new machinery and also build their own special purpose CNC machines for companies with special positional requirements (not only machine tools) The company appears to be run by K’ Thanakorn and his nephew K’ Noppadol. You could not wish to deal with two more friendly and helpful people who also know their products very well. Both speak excellent English.
As is normal in machine tools they were really not prepared to offer a discount but did agree to deliver and install the machine in Hua Hin and supply 5,000 baht of HHS milling cutters. So hopefully the delivery and installation will go well, they will deliver on a tail lift truck and bring the necessary lifting equipment to move it to my workshop.
For your resources section I have two additions that may help hobby machinists in BKK
Cutting fluid.
SUN SIAM Co., Ltd
325, 327, 329 Soi. Pattanakarn 3, Pattanakarn Rd., Suanluang, Bangkok 10250, Thailand.
Tel.: +66 2 7198662-4, +66 2 3192609-10
Fax.: +66 2 7198173, +66 2 3183382
E-mail: info@sunsoil.com
http://www.sunsoils.com/
They have a range of cutting fluids/oils
http://www.sunsoils.com/images/MW_WaterSoluble_Table.jpg
I bought their Cutting oil soluble in an 18L drum (smallest available but if you’re a big user you can buy it in 6,000L J) the price for 18L was 1,400 Baht +7% VAT the premium soluble was 1,600 Baht + 7% vat
Another item that was frustrating me was marking out blue or layout blue. Yes, I know that you can use a permanent marker but when you are marking a large area marking blue is the way to go. I looked everywhere and only came up with the American DYKEM marking out Blue or Red.
I found the Thai distributor who seemed shocked that I should want such a specialised item but I was much more shocked when they gave me the price!!! 4,500 Baht for a 236ml bottle or 7,500 Baht for a 930ml container. Needless to say I did not buy from them…….you can buy an awful lot of permanent markers for that kind of money.
Anyway by accident I stumbled across a Japanese brand, being sold here.
Check out Sol-Hitech Co., Ltd http://www.sol-hitech.com/product.php?lang=en&headername=Product&headername=
They have a Blue Varnish Spray: their quoted price 300ml spray = 280 Baht
They also have a Blue Layout Ink remover spray: their quoted price 300ml spray 260 Baft
And finally yes, they have a brush on marking blue called Aotack 500 which is supplied in a 500ml can and costs 400 Baht
Enough for now Alan but I have found some other resources that may be of use but for now it’s back to work….I’ll send the rest later
regards……Keith
Hi Keith and thank you for email.
Many apologies for taking so long to reply (I only just saw your email) but there is so much going on here and so much to do I shall have to find a way to ‘manufacture time’.
I’m glad you didn’t buy from AllArm – not because I don’t want then to get some business but because I don’t want you to suffer the same poor service that I did.
Yes, Sam has a strange manner, customers are a nuisance to him, or even worse. he treat potential customers with complete contempt and in his office in Bangkok her was more interested in flirting with his girlfriend than he was in my needs.
But I see you have suffered the same contempt and lack of professionalism from Sam that I did I’m glad you found what you wanted elsewhere.
I hadn’t heard of http://www.cnc-kit.net before and do hope you are happy with their service. Getting them to install the machine is a great bonus – these big mills are very heavy. (Mine weighs a ton as does yours)
The machine you have chosen ZX7550 looks fine and is a good size. (ie massive!). I find the DRO on my machine indispensable so you have made a wise choice there too.
Thanks for the links to the other products – will go on the website in due course.
You are spot on with Shaun from Cromwell Tools. He is great at servicing the likes of us. I bought my cutting oils from Cromwell Tools, both tapping fluid and soluble oil. The latter is in a 20 container but with my two big machines I need a lot of it.
Other things I have bought from Cromwell include an electronically controlled welding helmet and a 10 ton hydraulic press. All delivered to my door by Shaun.
Marking out fluid (one that works) is something I have been seeking for years. I have tried several types and the one that works best (but only on clean bright steel) is to heat it to blue heat.
I came across the American DYKEM marking out Blue during ser chine online here and you did better than me in at least finding a distributor here in Thailand. but at those prices I’ll pass it by as you did.
Did you actually buy that Aotack? I’d be interested in how it performs. A lot of my marking out will be on cast iron (when I start building the half size traction engine) and I don’t think the blue marking-out fluid is suitable. Again I have tried several materials but nothing I have tried works well.
Again many thanks for the email and the resource URLs these will help quite a few people I’m sure.
Please keep in touch with an update on your milling machine installation.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hello Alan:
Great machines and an excellent combination for making sooo many things!!!!
Sweet
We are looking for exactly that type of lathe at the moment and in the process of doing the house and workshop. Maybe it is cooler up there than down here in Rayong but air conditioning, or at least, dehumidification is a must for any workshop.
Looking good….Happy chip making
Hi Glen and many thanks for your valued comments.
Pakchong, being in the hills, is cooler than Bangkok and the central plains of Thailand. At this time of year it’s around 30 deg C.
But as you infer the problem is the high humidity.
We don’t have any air conditioning nor dehumidification with the result that steel parts go rusty very quickly.
As to buying a big lathe in Thailand I have prepared a report based on my own research and I intend to post it on the website ‘when I get time’.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Welding for dummies – buy a MIG. Problems solved. I learnt this 31 years ago, and still own the same said MIG (they don’t make ’em like they used to).
Hi Mike and thanks for the advice.
MIG is a great answer to welding but it’s expensive to buy and to run. That’s the reason I didn’t buy one.
My welding needs are infrequent and relatively undemanding so I couldn’t justify a MIG welder. Of course if you are making seriously stressed parts like boilers then you ought (must?) use MIG.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hi Alan
It must have been a very enjoyable day out. Not everyone’s idea of a good day out. But I think any model maker would jump at the chance. The photographs are inspiring. I only wish my welding was as good as that on the foundation ring of the boiler. I could spend many happy hours in that workshop. Do you have any idea about the weight of your completed boiler?
I like the idea of getting it made to European standards. But I suspect that by the time you have finished the build and see a magnificent engine standing in your drive way it will be hard to send it back to UK to sell it. As it must be the one and only half size engine in the whole of Thailand if not Asia.
Hope to meet up again when you come down to pick up your container.
George
Hi George and thanks again for your valuable comments and observations.
What amazed me most of all (as I said) was how many large traction engines there were either complete or under construction.
Yes welding of that quality is something to aspire to. My welding is atrocious which I put down to not being able to see through the welding mask (plus lack of experience and skill). I bought one of those auto darkening ones (quite cheap) and it’s good to see where to strike the arc but then it goes just as dark as a normal mask.
Like you did I guess I’ll have to buy one of those electronic adjustable ones. Cromwell tools sell them.
Of course I am using arc welding (sometimes called stick welding) and Tony uses MIG welding for the boilers. I find that with arc welding on thin gauge steel running at about 70 ~ 90 Amps the weld pool is obscured by the pool of slag from the flux. mostly the arc is submerged in the slag pool so that’s another reason I can’t see what I’m doing. You don’t have this problem with MIG welding.
I haven’t tried welding thicker steel yet when I hope to be able to see the weld pool at a higher current. But as a lad I did a lot of reasonable welding on my racing car and it passed the scrutineers so it can’t have been that bad.
I do need to be able to make good quality welds – not for the traction engine the only welding there is on the boiler – but to make various tools and jigs, benches etc for the workshop.
As to the engine being to only half sized model in traction in Thailand I rather suspect it will be the only working traction engine in Thailand – or do you know of another one?
Near to our house in Pak Chong I spotted a rusting hulk of what looks like a traction engine. Just wheels and a boiler basically. When I get back I’ll take some photos of it.
Whether I’ll want to bring my half-sized traction engine back to UK to sell it (or even sell it in Thailand) is something in the far distant future – three years is my estimate from when I start making it – so we will have to wait for that time.
Yes I do hope we can find the time to visit you when we go down to Laem Chabang port to show my passport to the customs officials. But I have learned as a principle in Thailand to only try do one job in one day.
It may all go smoothly but it may take hours and hours and Kanyah doesn’t like driving in the dark. (Neither do I) Also if I have to pay a lot of money I won’t be feeling too good about it – more importantly neither will Kanyah.
I’ll let you know when we plan to go down but until after the port visit I can’t say for sure whether we will come round or not.
Keep in touch
Alan
Hi Alan
Just to let you know that I hope to be back in Thailand on the 4th of June for 26 days. Just let me know when you want to visit. When I shipped my stuff to Thailand I always used the wife’s name. So she could do all of the paper work. As soon as they see an Expat the tea money required tends to increase.
Best of luck.
George
Hi George the timing is good this time. You’ll be in Thailand until 30th June. Our container arrives on 15th June. Allow for a week for unloading and I expect to have to go down to customs on customs around 20th or 23rd so that should fit in nicely with your visit.
However I do have some reservations about combining the two activities on a single day as explained at http://modelengineeringinthailand.com/models-alans/building-little-samson-6-inch-scale-traction-engine/boilers-for-6-inch-scale-little-samson/#comment-583
Hi Alan and all fellow model makers.
It looks like your dream is well under way.
The nine months waiting time should fly by as you will be very busy with machining the casting you have.
Keep the photos coming helps brighten up my time at work. Twenty days to go then back to Thailand and my workshop.
George
Hi George,
Thanks for the comment. I’ll keep the pictures coming as soon as I have them.
I visited AJB Engineering (Tony Baldwin) yesterday and saw plenty of large scale traction engine boilers being built. There are a lot of photos of large scale traction engine boilers under construction on the Boilers For 6 Inch Scale Little Samson” web page
Tony will be building the boiler for my Little Samson Traction Engine.
The nine months will fly by. I was in Thailand for eight months on my last visit and no where near completed the Stuart Turner Victoria mill engine I am building and that’s a miniscule project compared to the Little Samson traction engine.
According to my calendar you should be in Thailand around the 5th of June. We arrive on 8th June and our container arrives on the 15th. We have to go to the Laem Chabang container port to show my passport. I’m not exactly sure when that will be but the container arrives on 15th June.
Since Laem Chabang is close to Pattayah perhaps we can meet up again. I’d like to take some photos of your models and ypur model engineering workshop.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
The boiler in the photos looks quite nice…right out of the 1800’s.
Should look very nice on your scale tractor.
Alan,
It’s a good thing you are not building a full size traction engine then……
Fantastic project. Years of challenging fun ahead. When finished, I am sure it will be the only one in Thailand.
Good luck with Thai customs.
Best wishes
Ian.
Hi Ian and thanks for your comment.
Yes challenging times ahead not the least of which – as you refer to- is getting all that lot through the Thai Customs in Bangkok.
As I said in a reply below how can I convince them that the steam coal in those bags has already been used?
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hi Alan
Very Interesting photos. It would be interesting to see all the castings laid out in one shot when you get back to Thailand. As you say a very committed act. You have my best wishes for a happy retirement. Have you had any ideas about the boiler construction? Or about lifting of large bits of metal safely on your own?
I am still slowly working away on the beam engine. But as always there is always some thing else to fix. To day it was burnt cables in the old house, Two trees to cut back and a load of new bushes to plant. And after all that the start capacitor on the milling machine decided to blow. Not the first time so I had a spare. Must be the high amb temp here.
As I mentioned in an earlier mail might be a good idea to ship a bucket full of steam oil over in the container if there are no safety problems. That is if the traction engine uses the stuff. I still have not found a supplier here.
Best of luck with the shipping
Regards George
Thanks for the comment George – always good to hear from you.
I do have some photos of the castings laid out in the garden at our house in Nottingham (UK). I’ll upload them to the website as soon as I get a minute. Getting that lot back to Thailand and past the Customs in BKK is not going to be easy to say the least.
As to commitment I was committed to building this half sized traction engine the moment I bought those big machine tools in Bangkok.
The boiler I’ll get made in UK. When I have built the 6 inch scale Little Samson Traction Engine and played with it enough I plan to ship it back to UK to sell. In order to sell an engine like that in the UK the boiler must have been built to the correct Standards and have the CE stamp. All the boiler steel has to be certified and welding undertaken by a coded welder. So it’s got to be built in the UK.
I’ll be getting quotations for that work soon. I expect the manufacture of the boiler to take about 9 months from commencement.
As you say something always gets in the way of our hobby of making model engines. For me at the moment is this damned packing and shipping the workshop over to Thailand. I have just put back the collection date by a week because we won’t be ready on time.
Good tip about the steam oil. Should ship a few sacks of steam coal too. How do I convince the Thai Customs that the steam coal is used – you are only allowed to import used items free of duty!
It’ll be a long time before I need steam oil for the Traction Engine but not quite so long before I need it for the Stuart Turner Victoria Mill engine.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hello Alan,
I’m all too happy to share photos and descriptions of my diy CNC mill,…it’s not too often I get to present a show-n-tell to folks that actually know what an R8 quill is. I sent you a brief description with some attached photos to your modelengineering…@gmail.com.
If you don’t get them or you want me send somewhere else, just let me know. I see no way to upload or attach photos via the “comment” section I’m using to write this reply.
Because I’ve chosen to use an different working fluid than water for my steam engine, much of the design concerning “sizing” will be a lot of guess work for me. The expansion properties of water to steam are well known and documented, meaning a designer pretty much knows how many feet of 1/2″ tubing he needs to produce a given quantity of steam at known temps and pressures.
I’ve yet to find similar tables or formulas for the fluid I’ve chosen to use. I will use either a standard axial flow or a Ljungstrom design for the turbine itself, both have their pros and cons, but I favour the Ljungstrom (designed in the late 1800s and used on at lease one steam locomotive).
Somewhere in a box I’ve yet to unpack are my very rough sketches of some of the parts such as the forced air burner/boiler, and as soon as I find them, I’ll scan them into a pdf or jpg file and send it off to you,…I’d love to get your feedback.
Send me an email when you want to meet up,…Pan (my wife) & I are always eager to make new friends.
Best regards
Mike Murray
Hi Mike and thank you for your very interesting comment.
I have copied your comment and added mine in the text below.
I’m all too happy to share photos and descriptions of my diy CNC mill,… it’s not too often I get to present a show-n-tell to folks that actually know what an R8 quill is.
I sent you a brief discription with some attached photos to your email address. If you dont get them or you want me send somewhere else, just let me know. I see no way to upload or attach photos via the “comment” section I’m using to write this reply.
(Alan’s comments)
Mike, I have the description and write-up thank you. I’ll upload them as soon as I get a minute.
I must look into providing the facilities to allow uploading photos into comments.
(/comments)
Because I’ve chosen to use an differant working fluid than water for my steam engine, much of the design concerning “sizing” will be a lot of guess work for me.
The expansion properties of water to steam are well known and documented, meaning a designer pretty much knows how many feet of 1/2? tubing he needs to produce a given quantity of steam at known temps and pressures.
I’ve yet to find simular tables or formulas for the fluid I’ve chosen to use.
(Alan’s comments)
Calculation of flow of liquids and gases in pipes is a common engineering procedure – the equations are well known and there are many software solutions available. I regularly calculate pressure losses in pipes mainly for water, compressed air and natural gas.
Complex fluids ie mixtures of liquids/vapours/gases are much more complex to solve.
Now I use a software program called Pipeflow Wizard which is available from http://www.pipeflow.co.uk/. There is a free download to play with.
Whether it’s suitable or not for your probably depends on the kinnd of fluid you are using. If it’s a vapour/gas mix then probably not.
(/comments)
I will use either a standard axial flow or a Ljungstrom design for the turbine itself, both have their pros and cons, but I favour the Ljungstrom (designed in the late 1800s and used on at lease one steam locomotive).
(Alan’s comments)
Showing my ignorance this is the first time I have heard of the Ljungstrom turbine, but I am familiar with the Tesla turbine which would be easier to construct.
(/comments)
Somewhere in a box I’ve yet to unpack are my very rough sketchs of some of the parts such as the forced air burner/boiler, and as soon as I find them, I’ll scan them into a pdf or jpg file and send it off to you,… I’d love to get your feedback.
(Alan’s comments)
Many thanks, Mike, love to get this section of the website up and running.
(/comments)
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Greetings all. I’ve been following Alan’s retirement saga for a bit over a year now,…very happy that he added this seperate machineshop site.
I’m a recently retired (January this year) electronics engineer who has always enjoyed playing in a machine shop. I’m not a dedicated model engineer but some of my toys may well be considered models as they are somtimes simply scaled down versions of existing devices; over the last few years I built a smallish CNC milling machine, which I’m still fine tuning and learning how to use.
I moved to Thailand from the U.S.A this past February, and I’m temporarily living between Saraburi and Nong Khae, which is near my wife’s family.
I brought many of my hand tools with me,…my CNC mill, rotory table, electric drills, multiple tool boxs, DMM, etc.
Like several here, I too have a keen interrest in “steam” power, but with a bit of a twist,… I dont want to use water as the working fluid,…I prefer using an organic working fluid,…which means my engines must be closed cycle.
I will also be using a turbine instead of pistons. I want to build at least two seperate systems,…one will use solar heat to boil the working fluid, while the other will use a more traditional forced air oil burner. Both systems will spin an electric generator to produce electricity.
Of course, most of my plans are on hold right now while my wife and I look for our perfect retirement location.
I’m very much looking forward to learning where and who, all the best suppliers are,…like Alan, one of my first builds, or purchases will be a nice heavy duty workbench….any suggestions?
Mike M.
Hello Mike and many thanks for your comment.
I should firstly mention that I am presently in the UK packing my (UK) workshop and household belongings to send back to Thailand. It’s a massive task. I have ordered a dedicate 20 ft container and we (myself and my wife Kanyah) are busy packing.
The separate ModelEngineeringInThailand.com website I thought would bring more focus to the model engineering (machinist or workshop hobbyist) people in Thailand and indeed in the short time it has been running I have made many friends learnt a lot about where to get tools and materials we need for our model engineering hobby in Thailand – as indeed have many other people. From what you have written, Mike, you sound exactly like the kind of person this website is being built for.
You sound very competent to have built a CNC milling machine. Any photos of it you could let me have to post on the website? Many people would be interested to see the machine.
Your closed cycle engines sound very interesting. Are you designing them yourself? If you have any more information or sketches I’d love to put them on this website.
I see you are near Saraburi which is only an hours drive or less from our house in Pakchong. Maybe when we are back in Thailand we can meet up sometime?
Good luck with finding the ideal retirement location. Pakchong is picturesque and quiet but the place is booming – up-market houses being built everywhere and land prices rocketing. The cost of land has risen three or fourfold in as many years.
For materials and tool suppliers please see the Resources Section of the website. There is a lot more information to be added when I get the time.
As to a workbench as you know I made a steel one. It looks rough but does the job. I also have some nice folding tables with a white plastic surface – easy to keep clean.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Those are beautiful machines, but how did you get them into your shop, and how will you move them into their final positions??
Hi Mike and thank you for the comment.
The machines are now in place where I will be using them. I have some new photos of them and some movies showing how they were moved from Bangkok to our house. I’ll be posting them on the website when I get chance.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
I recently had the pleasure of two visits here in Pakchong from Shaun Burke, manager of Cromwell Tools in Bangkok, Thailand.
On the second visit Shaun personally delivered my small order for 25 l of soluble cutting oil (So-Cool) and 500 ml of Sherwood STD cutting and tapping fluid. Both these products are very difficult to find in Thailand (even by other manufacturers) especially outside of Bangkok so I was grateful that Cromwell Tools (Shaun) was able to supply them.
Shaun is a great guy and he introduced me to some other nice ‘home workshop’ people and gave me address of a supplier of English Beer in Bangkok who can supply at very low prices. Thank you Shaun!
By the way I have not tried the soluble cutting oil yet – that is awaiting the proper commissioning of my Big Machine Tools but I have tried the Sherwood STD cutting and tapping fluid and it is superb. I put a 2BA thread on a ropey piece of re-bar I turned down to 5 mm dia. (2BA is supposed to be 4.7 mm OD so it was oversized)
Instead of the usual struggle with repeatedly backing off the die to clear the cut I just ploughed right on and cut a whole 40 mm of thread without backing off at all!
Yes, finding a supplier of Fuller’s ale has really made life in Thailand almost perfect!
Fantastic stuff on the TR3A.
By the way, I think everyone should watch some videos of this guy, to put a smile on your face;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3766FEkaqQ&list=PLGjbAdaOBLBkaiyL8nzQTXzLnkmeFfpz-
He must be the grandson of Heath Robinson. Good to see eccentric home engineering is live and well.
Hi Ian and thanks for the info. Great stuff.
Can’t think why I would need a faster toilet but if you have any ideas on how to build a half size steam traction engine (Savages’ Little Samson) fast I would be interested.
Not only do I now have London Pride, I received a box of London porter yesterday! Courtesy of Shaun of Cromwell Tools.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hello Alan and Everybody,
Fantastic what you guys are doing, good luck with the projects.
I have lived in Thailand 30 years, 14 years in the north. My interest is classic Brit motorbikes (so far just Triumphs and BSAs); restoring, building, maintaining and riding them, for myself and friends.
I have a small workshop at my home in Chiang Rai. I found this website through Shaun at Cromwell Tools. Shaun has been most helpful over the last couple of years. I got a beautiful UK made spiral fluted reamer with pilot through him (specifically for line boring swinging arm bushes) and I also bought a mini lathe and mini milling machine from him together with many hand tools. I also buy old British made tools on ebay, often through this seller, 1412jas;
http://www.ebay.com/sch/1412jas/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=
Just seems right having your own King Dick in your hand sometimes…. double ring end spanner of course.
I don’t know anything about large machines I’m afraid.
I recently found both a waterjet cutting shop in Chiang Mai, where I had a wheel embellisher made in aluminium 5083, for my Triumph Morgo cafe racer. He has a great variety of metal stock, in various forms. Stainless, bronze, aluminium, also nylon; flat, round, hex, hollow etc. I am going there in a week or so to get some hollow bronze to make some bushes. I have photos of his stock but can’t see how to post them here. There is also a laserjet cutting shop in Chiang Mai.
Best wishes
Ian
Hi Ian and thanks for the comment.
Great to hear from you and to make a new acquaintance in the field of home workshop.
Shaun of Cromwell Tools mentioned you when he was here yesterday delivering my order for cutting fluid and a crate of Fullers London Porter! (English beer) Great guy Shaun and their Cromwell Tools catalogue is amazing. I recommend everyone to get a copy.
As to the BIG Lathe and Mill, it’s not all about big machines. I have a tiny Emco Compact 5 Lathe and mill back in the UK which is smaller than your mini lathe and it’s just the ticket for small components.
If you have some photos to put on the website please email them to me and I’ll upload them.
I thought people could add photos when they post a comment but apparently not. I’ll look into adding that facility.
I once ‘rebuilt’ a Triumph TR3A sports car. ‘Rebuilt’ means i replaced a lot of rusty body panels with fibreglass ones (shame) but the pride of the restoration was the engine. I put a whole room aside for that project in the house, installed a lathe ans completely re-built and tuned up the engine. I had it up to 105 mph when the engine was run-in and boy that was scary! Slow by modern standards but not bad for a 1960’s car.
Anyway thanks again for posting and please send the photos and name of the shops if you have them.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hi Alan
As you say the work shop looks very bright and airy.
Your thoughts on dies having a lead in are right but my old Dad told me that if you cut the thread first then revers the die you can cut up to a shoulder. I do it all the time and it works well.
Regards George
Hi Alan
It all looks very impressive. I like the idea of the roller door.
The civil work looks well done. By the time it is fitted out with all the other bit and pieces I imagine it will be a joy to work in.
Glad to hear you solved the problem of the spacers.
The BMS that is available sounds good. As you say in UK. The bar is always under size. You ream out a hole for half inch only to find the half inch BMS that has been supplied is a lose fit.
I will have a look round in Pattaya for some if not it will be on the shopping list for a visit to Pak Chong to see your new workshop.
Regards george
Thanks George,
The new lights are now powered up in the workshop and it’s nice and bright. With the RSDs open it’s very bright – unlike the other workshop which is best described as gloomy.
Why do drills and reamers always cut oversize?
And why do thread-cutting dies have a tapered lead on the front so that you can’t cut up to a shoulder?
The mysteries of model engineering!
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Ronnie Lim Consultants are the Pacific Rim Representatives of York Portable Machine Tools, Canada.
York design and manufacture portable in-line boring machines and bore-welding machines for the convenient and speedy in-situ repairs of heavy equipment and certain applications in the Oil and Gas industries, and general engineering.
Let me know if you have any applications that York Portable Machine Tools Canada can offer you. Being in the same time zone in South East Asia makes real time communication that much more convenient, and I hope we can collaborate to mutual benefit.
Regards
Sincerely,
Ronnie Lim
Ronnie Lim Consultants
Pacific Rim Representative
York Portable Machine Tools, Canada
134 Edgedale Plains #07-70
Singapore 820134
Tel: +65-6241 2148 Mobile: +65-9671 9156
Hello Ronnie and thank you for the information about the supply of portable in-line boring machines.
I personally don’t have any immediate need for your portable in-line boring machines but I am posting your comment because someone else visiting the website may be interested there are many types of people who visit ModelEngineeringInThailand.com
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Nice bits of kit. Still think the lathe is a bit pricey. My mate has sold out all machine tools except one humoungous long monster lathe. Even sold his own boring machine @1.2 mil baht. New order from China on the way.
regards,
Mike.
Alan,
A few comments from me:
1. E-mail contact – no problem there, but please try to avoid the spams.
2. A forum would be good a bit later on once more model engineers have been ‘found’.
3. A users corner would also be welcome giving useful tips and shortcuts that work. Perhaps that could start before the forum.
4. For the Resources I will try to send you some more contacts later this month.
5. Member’s section – a bit optimistic at this early stage! 🙂
Best regards
Andrew
Hi Andrew and thanks for your suggestions.
Maybe I was being a bit enthusiastic but I have to know what people want and these things to take time to set up and fine-tune.
I’ll stat with the email feature that allows people to volunteer their email address to the community. There should not be any spam because only community members will be able to access each other’s email.
Having thought about the options for a while since I posted them I thing a Forum is the best place to start after the email feature.
I have another idea now and that is a Sale and Wanted section.
Thanks again for your valued comments.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Your “centre finder” is actually called a “co-axial indicator” or “co-ax indicator” for short. Very handy tool. I have just ordered one from the States for $68, (about £42) shipped free to a friend’s adress in San Fran. He’s bringing it over on his next visit in April for me in his suitcase.
The optical centre punch; wanted one for ages, retail anywhere between £37 to £50, easy to make, the only difficult bit is machining a suitable piece of perspex/acrylic rod and getting the domed convex end right, then polishing out any machining marks. Found some perspex rod, machined the convex end using my ball end turning fixture (home-made), machined the holder off centre from some brass, machined a centre point punch and ground the centre point on my Stent T&CG, jobs a good ‘un. Cost – zero, but about 10-12 hours work. Works very very well.
Love making my own tools.
Regards,
Mike.
Hi Mike and thanks for the comment,
That ‘centre finder’ or ‘co-axial indicator’ is great. I use it on the milling machine to centre the rotary table which may have for example a piece of work in a three jaw chuck that has been machined on the lath and now need indexed milling. Typical item would be the slots in traction engine hubs to take the spokes. It only takes a couple of minutes to locate the exact centre under the mill spindle.
I have thought about using it in the lathe eg when trying to line up a centre mark on a piece of work held in the four jaw chuck. I haven’t tried this yet so I don’t know how successful it would be.
You made your own optical centre finder! Well done. The box on mine says Made in USA. Perhaps that’s why it was so expensive. They don’t seem to make these in China.
On the subject of making tools I avoid it at all costs. If it is available I will buy it. After all I am a model engineer and any time spent in the workshop not making models is lost time to me.
Actually that’s not quite true now. I do make jigs and fixtures that aid the model making, either to improve accuracy or to speed up production when more than one piece has to be made.
And I do understand that making tools can be very rewarding. They can form a little mini project where you have something useful made complete in a short space of time whereas making a model is a long process and you don’t see the end result for months or years. If I have to make a tool I’ll do it and be satisfied when it’s made. I have spent weeks making various backplates for chucks and collets chucks to fit the lathe and the rotary table for example.
Thanks again for the comment.
Alan
Mind telling us what your quote was for the mill and lathe, My man up here (Udon) sells those for about 160k for the lathe and 200k for the mill. Both have hardened beds/slides etc, no DRO’s. Buys direct from the factories in China, no middle men. Obviously transport on top would be a big add on.
Mike.
Hi Mike and thank you for your question about the cost of buying a large milling machine and lathe in Thailand.
I will dig out the quotation, tidy it up since a bit scruffy, and send it to you.
If I can find an alternative to AllArm then I’d be well pleased.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Known and used Shaun a few years now. Everything is correct in the article; email Shaun, goods sent to your adress (professionally packaged), he emails you with the bill amount and the bank details of his preferred distributor. You pay them by bank transfer (Thai bank to Thai bank). Simples. I will say however, that some of the prices are cheaper in the UK, but then they have to be air freighted here, beggars cant be choosers.
Hi Andrew and thanks for your suggestions.
Maybe I was being a bit enthusiastic but I have to know what people want and these things to take time to set up and fine-tune.
I’ll stat with the email feature that allows people to volunteer their email address to the community. There should not be any spam because only community members will be able to access each other’s email.
Having thought about the options for a while since I posted them I thing a Forum is the best place to start after the email feature.
I have another idea now and that is a For Sale and Wanted section.
Thanks again for your valued comments.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hi Alan
I admire the conviction you have making the decision to go ahead with the traction engine project. I would be a daunting task in UK were you have easy access to the tools and parts that you will require. As well as the help and advice of fellow enthusiasts.
From your last entry I see you are looking to but a fair sized bit of kit. And the mill will be of similar size I expect. And as we spoke about on your last visit some form of lifting device will have to be obtained. I would think the four jaw chuck for a lath of that size would be too big to man handle safely.
On my last trip home I had a visit from Andrew Pickup. So we spent a happy couple of hours in the workshop chatting about our shared interests. So thanks to your web site we now know (as the scientist say) ‘’we are not alone’’ in our hobby. Out of the 60 odd million people in Thailand there are three of us like minded souls.
I hope you keep us updated on the lathe purchase.
Hope to get up to visit you soon.
Regards George
Hi George and thanks for your comment.
Yes the 6″ Little Samson project is a bit daunting and I still have my doubts not so much about the project but as to the cost of the machine tools and accessories I will need. That plus getting the boiler built.
I know I’m not skilled enough in the workshop to tackle that Big Traction Engine model project just yet. I still keep making mistakes even on a small steam model like the Stuart Turner Victoria steam engine I am building. So it’s still a dream but I think I need more experience and more planning first.
For example, I have never made a boiler in my life! I have the vertical copper boiler kit from ??? forgot the name but haven’t started it yet. The problem is that having never built one I’m scared that I might melt the copper getting it too hot with the oxy-propane torch or not getting enough silver solder penetration with the air-propane torch. It’s not like building a steam engine where if you mess up a piece you make another. If you mess up the silver soldering on a boiler the whole boiler is ruined.
Also before I launch into the Big Traction Engine model project I have to finish not only the Stuart Turner Victoria stationary steam engine and that boiler but also the 3/4″ scale Burrell traction engine I have started.
As to the machine tools for the Big Traction Engine model project the tools I want are on the website of THEPTHAI MACHINERY CORP. I have sent two emails asking for a quote and they don’t respond.
This is the lathe I want:- http://www.thepthai.com/yamspec.htm
And this is the milling machine:- http://www.thepthai.com/pbmss300.htm
I have had an offer from AllArm Co for similar machines but the ones above are bigger.
Andrew Pickup sent me a couple of emails and it is Andrew who introduced me to Cromwell Tools Thailand so clearly this website is doing what it is being built for – to bring fellow model engineers in Thailand together and to share information and resources.
Thanks again for the comment, George and look out for some more announcements soon.
Hello mike
Thanks for the kind words and the order today see you before month end mate
we know have the new 2014 catalogue available so if anybody would like a copy please send me your address and I will post you one
hello Alan I will be up to see you next week if that’s ok a few issues down here but all ok at Cromwell
my mobile is 081 803 2653
Shaun
Hi Alan, yes Shaun is one of the good guys. 8″ shaper only about 300kgs. 20′ Containers i bought outright in the UK in 2003 for £1500 each, but they were top of the range insulated ones. And then i kitted them out as workshops.
May be worth inquiring with some BKK shippers to quote you in bringing your workshop over here. Shipping a container door to door should not be more than $2000. You can rent or buy, in 2003 the cheapest container bought outright with a 2 year shipping certificate was £500 + vat.
Hope this helps,
Mike.
ps, i also have a Thai friend who imports machine tools direct from China, no middleman, recently he imported a very high quality new Bridgeport clone for 150k baht, cheaper than the UK prices or anything in BKK.
Hi Mike,
Thanks again for that very useful information.
I’ll look into the container idea to bring the workshop over. The machines I have there are on the small size but ideal for making the smaller parts. even a big traction engine has small parts.
A Bridgeport clone would be ideal for building the traction engine – it’s a favourite for that purpose.
I had a quote for a similar sized milling machine (and a large lathe) from All Arm Co when I went down to BKK to pick up the tools and cutter grinder. I’ll check that price out and put it on the website.
Once again thank you for the advice.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hi Alan,
Building such a large traction engine in Thailand is a really big undertaking and could be a 7-10 year project. Besides a large lathe and milling machine you will need some substantial hoists to lift the boiler and tender into position and for general handling of the wheels, etc.
I would recommend a smaller 4-inch model as they are still quite large, but may not get you to the pub. You could always open your own pub at the bottom of the garden instead, that way the police won’t stop you on the way hone!
Andrew
Hi Andrew, and thanks for your comment.
Yes, you are right it is a big project. But I’m sick of making small parts!
My spec for the steam Traction Engine in Thailand is that it should be big enough to have a significant presence on the road but as simple as possible. Parts should be big so that machining tolerances are large. Agricultural is what I’m looking for – if I could do away with the compensating gear (differential) I would.
The 6″ Little Samson is about the same size and a 4″ Foster or Fowler. There is now a table showing the overall dimensions of these three models on the Building The Little Samsom 6 Inch Scale Traction Engine page.
My preference is a 4″ Fowler but I just think it’s too complicated.
The wheels on the Little Samson are cast in one piece – no need to build them up with individual spokes and all that riveting.
The 4″ Foster or Fowler is fine. A 4″ Burrell would be too small.
Having a pub at the end of the garden is a good idea and something I’m working on but can’t say too much about that here.
Also you raise another point that is far more serious than the size of the thing. I doubt if a steam traction engine would be legally allowed to run on the roads in Thailand.
Also I’m not sure of the legal position regarding the boiler and design/manufacturing standards. That’s another issue I’m looking into. I have the Little Samson boiler drawing so I’m going to contact a boiler manufacturer in Thailand to see if they can make it. And if so what the cost is likely to be.
And yes, I know I will need a crane not just for the parts but for the lathe chucks. I struggle to lift the rotary table and the machine vice on my existing lathe/milling machine. Any bigger machine will need a crane.
But it’s a life’s ambition. If I don’t do then I will have failed in my life and we can’t have that.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hi Alan,
more into making stuff for the workshop and my motorcycles than models, but on top of being a “petrolhead” am also a “machinetoolhead”. I’m from the UK too, moved here 10 years ago in Udon Thani in the NE near the Laos border. In 2005 i brought over in 2 containers my household and workshop goods inc lathe etc, Snap On tool boxes and motorcycles. without declaring the bikes, the customs duty was a reasonable 70k baht. My machine shop here comprises a 1969 VSL Boxford lathe, fully tooled, 1973 Tom Senior mill with the quill feed Vertical head, 1979 8″ Boxford shaper, a Stent T&CG and all the usual stuff like bench grinder, linisher, pillar drill etc.
Regarding tooling, Cromwells have a big warehouse in BKK, the manager is a nice chap from England called Shaun Burke. May be worth talking to him.
Regards,
Mike Hayward.
Hi Mike and thanks for the comment. It’s great to hear from fellow machinists here in Thailand even if they aren’t primarily involved in making models.
You have a very impressive set of workshop equipment. that 8″ shaper must weigh a ton or more. I like shapers – wish I had one.
I’m very impressed by your transportation project. 2 containers must have cost a fortune. I’ll probably sell my UK machine tools and just bring the bits and pieces over. It seems to me that importing stuff from UK is just too expensive.
Andrew put me touch with Cromwell Tools and I got a phone call and an email from Shaun Burke. He is coming up to Pak Chong to see me in the new year.
Please keep in touch and contribute as appropriate to the website content.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hi Alan
Just a quick comment
I had similar problems with dark glass. Then I obtained on of the new electronic welding masks. Much better you can see the job very clearly. Also there is a small adjustment that lets you change the darkness of the screen as tig / mig welding is much brighter. I found it money well spent
George
Thanks for the tip George. I’ll see if I can get one today.
Alan
Hi Alan
I have just read the tool order you have sent.
One thing you did not mention was that when I bought my tool grinder it included a full set of metric collets and the entire set of tool holding jigs. When I priced the same grinder in the UK. I found I would have to pay for these separately. So a very big saving there.
Best of luck with the Thai customs!!!! George
Hi George,
Yes you mentioned that all the accessories came with the tool and cutter grinder when you bought it from the All Arm shop in Bangkok.
I think you also said it came with a cabinet?
I am supposed to go to the All Arm shop on Saturday 21 December but Sam hasn’t confirmed that. He is in China until 20th so I’ll send him an email on the 20th to confirm he is there.
Im also looking at a lathe and mill to buy but at this stage just want to check the prices with Sam.
As to the lathe and the mill, I’m looking at these machines:-
AA6241FX750, 1000 Lathe (I should actually get the 1500 or 2000 long-bed model.
N-3M Milling Machine
I don’t need a firm quote at this stage, just a guide. I’d like bigger machines if I can afford it.
As to Thai customs I have had a package in there for well over a week now. (Contents not related to Model Engineering and sent from Singapore via DHL)
On the same subject Alex (my son) is going to send me a package with small tools from my workshop in the UK. We will use Royal Mail for that one.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Alan,
My workshop is already in Bangkok, I am renting a small shophouse in Bangkolem area, but we moved house so I will have to drag it across town – but not too far.
I first set up my workshop in Bangkok in 2004, and since then have packed it up, moved it to Taiwan for 3 years, packed it again and moved to Dubai for 4 years, packed it again and came back to Bangkok. Hopefully this will be the final move! I ended up paying about THB 9,000 in customs duties fir the whole workshop equipment. The company I used was Boonmah and they are good and have the proper lifting equipment for lathes, milling machines, etc.
We have a 5-story townhouse and the ideal place for the workshop would be the utility room on the 5th floor! But I think that would be asking too much of the workers to lug everything up there!!
The casting yard is for concrete works (I am in civil engineering) so it was used for expressway segments and rail sleeper segments, tunnel segments, etc. Plenty of space but not so scenic for spending the weekends there.
I believe the Rob Roy is a 3.5″ gauge ax I was thinking about making that one myself, but ended up making a Simplex by Martin Evans. Now started work on a BR MK-1 coach with Commonwealth bogies (about 1.8m long).
Regards
Andrew
Hi Andrew and thanks for the commentary.
Interesting you moving your model engineering workshop all round the world.
If you built the Simplex loco in it you must have some pretty decent equipment.
My workshop in the UK is in an upstairs bedroom. I have a 4″ lathe and a decent size milling machine, pillar drill and badsaw as well as two benches and another smaller late etc in there!
Some photos on the Workshop Page of RetiringInThailand.net website.
It was a real (and dangerous) struggle to get the machines upstairs and installed on the cabinet stands. I winched them up the stairs using a steel-rope winch and lifted them in place with a car-engine crane. Even so I had to take the head off the milling machine and take it up in two parts.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hi Alan & George,
Its a good idea to get a data base of suppliers in Thailand that are suited to model engineering. Although I can get quite a few tools from China Town area it is the steel sections that are difficult to get. There are many shops selling large steel sections but they are too large, sell only in 6m lengths and the composition of the steel is questionable/not known.
I’d like to know if you have found a supplier of silver steel in round bar form.
Also, has anyone built a 5-inch gauge track yet in their garden. I have a steam locomotive but no track as yet, but my company have ‘promised’ to let me use part of their casting yard to build one. Lets see what happens there.
Regards,
Andrew
Andrew, very many thanks for your comment and welcome to the Model Engineering in Thailand fraternity. There are now three of us! (That I know of.)
Supplier’s Database
For the database I have plans to make it a proper database that individuals and companies can enter details directly i.e. doesn’t need my intervention. It will be searchable and have groups. e.g. steel, brass, hand tools, machine tools etc.
It’s not a difficult thing to set up using WordPress – I just have to get round to doing it.
I have heard about China Town but when on a visit to Bangkok, more precise directions would be appreciated. I can imaging spending hours walking round there looking for stuff.
I will be inputting Sat Nav coordinates to locate suppliers premises when I input to the database.
Steel Sections
As to steel sections, have you seen the Ying Jaleaum page? Plenty of steel sections (no small BMS (Bright Mild Steel) sections though) and there and there is no minimum length – they will cut what you want.
But you are right about the quality of the Thai steel. It’s dead rough, hard to machine and difficult to get a good finish particularly compared to the free-cutting Mild Steel we are used to in the U.K.
Other Materials (See La Borigaan)
See La Borigaan (in Pakchong) have a stack of stainless steel and other non ferrous materials like brass, bronze and cast iron. I have loads of movies and photos to put on the website.
Silver Steel I have not found but you can buy Key Steel – the Thais use it for making keys to hold flywheels and pulleys on the shafts. I haven’t tried it but I’m guessing that it high carbon steel therefore hardenable. I will buy a piece and test it.
5 Inch Gauge Locomotive Track
I don’t know of any model railway track in Thailand. George in Pattayah has a part built rob roy which I think is 5″ gauge so he would possibly be interested in a track.
Casting Yard
When you say casting yard are you referring to as in a foundry? Could we get small castings made there?
Moving A Model Engineer’s Workshop to Thailand
Andrew, in an email you mentioned moving a workshop to Thailand. I would be very interested in that project since at some stage I will have to do it. I’m thinking to move it next year around June/July. In my case I will maybe sell the big lathe and milling machine because of the huge transport costs if I have bought new ones here.
You do know that the Thai customs will charge you a fortune to get your stuff released? Perhaps your company will be paying for the shipping so in that case it’s not such a big deal.
Hi Andrew,
I had a visit from Shaun of Cromwell Tools this week. He personally delivered my order for soluble cutting oil, Sherwood STD tapping fluid and a case of Fullers London Porter! Amazing personal service.
The tapping fluid and London Porter I have tried and can thoroughly recommend. The soluble oil trial will wait until I get my big machine tools properly commissioned.
As to round silver steel (and this is the reason to responding to your question) Shaun says that Cromwell in Bangkok now stock it.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Good morning Alan
Very pleased to see the lower pivot point worked.
It looks like when I get up to see you I might be buying a band saw fr4om the local supplier. And getting a copy of the drawings of the saw bench from you.
It was good to read that the steam engine is also progressing. It never ceases to surprise me how much time we spend in the work shop to produce such small models. But if it was easy then there would be no sense of achievement when we finally say it’s finished.
Any way keep on turning and hope to see you soon.
George
Thanks George,
I’m planning to put the bush in the piston rod crosshead today. ‘Simple’ job but if i achieve that sucessfully today and that’s all I get done I’ll be content.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Just a quick thought could you drop the pivot point by half but put a bend in the swing arm to keep the saw horizontal.
George,
What a brilliant idea! I tried this in CAD and it works. The reason is quite obvious and the results amazing.
Just by dropping the pivot point yet retaining the short arm length the available capacity increased to 110 mm.
You can see this on the resulting drawing Makita Bandsaw Horizontal Dropped Pivot Version 01.
This is the way forward.
Many thanks George.
Good morning Alan
Best of luck with the mods to the band saw.
As you say an arc welding set will make life a lot easier and you get a much stronger job. Elding rods are very cheap to buy in Thailand. I will be interested to see the finished design as I still need to get some kind of mechanical saw.
Good to know that you have found some time to progress the steam engine. I hope to get some work done on mine when I get home on the 18th December. I am still at work in Baku and it is cold.
I have received the back copy of Engineering in Miniature with the write up of the Newcomen pumping engine. So I will be collecting materials to make a start building sometime in the future.
Regards George
Good afternoon George,
Bandsaw Frame Design
I have been working on developing the Makita 2107F bandsaw frame design all day. I have reached a stage where an issue has arisen that needs a resolution.
Perhaps you have some idea what to do? It’s all explained on the Makita 2107F Horizontal Bandsaw Frame Design page.
I’m designing the bandsaw from on the basis of an arc welded construction. There is plenty of choice of welders in Pakchong (Pak Chong) and the thing is that once you have arc welding capabilities you suddenly find many more uses for it.
Making The Victoria Steam Mill Engine
I just drilled the hole in the piston rod crosshead taking great care to get it in the right position using a drilling bush. It’s in the correct position on one side but a few thou out on the other. In other words it isn’t square! I’m going to open it up and fit a brass bush then drill it square. I’m making a jig to to that.
Visit to All Arm Shop 19th December
I’m planning to go to the All Arm Shop in Bangkok on 19th December, the day after you arrive.
I want to buy a tool and cutter grinder like the one you have. Essential here in Thailand the way I ruin end mills and twist drills.
Also I want to talk to Sam about the bigger lathes and milling machines suitable for making my traction engine.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Hi Alan.
I have been watching the video of the steel supplier. Very impressed. As you say a shopping list is a must. Plus some spare cash to buy the stuff that you see that you just must have. It looks like you should be able to build the traction engine from the material available there. If I can get up to Pakchon in December I will buy myself a few Christmas presents. I also hope to visit the E.A.T. restaurant.
I am still looking for aluminium plate of half inch thick?
I will be in touch later Hope the steam engine is progressing.
George
Hi George, good to hear from you again.
This Ying Jaleaum is the main steel stockist in Pakchong (Pak Chong). There are more photos here:-
http://retiringinthailand.net/workshop/model-engineers-workshop-thailand-steel-bench/
I have just found another one that seems to be new. A warehouse with all the steel neatly stored in an orderly fashion on racks – unlike Ying Jaleaum which is very untidy. I’ll take some photos of the new one, I haven’t been inside yet.
There is another metals stockist in Pakchong (Pak Chong). The stock mainly stainless steel, brass, bronze and cast iron. It’s called “Pakchong See La Borgaan” and there’s a photo of the outside of the shop on the Mystery Shopping In Thailand Post.
I’ve got dozens of photos and some movies of the inside of the shop showing the metals they have for sale. Must post them on the website promptly!
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Good everning Alan
I have just managed to watch the vidio on the band saw and the jig saw. Both very intresting.
Beats the old Hack saw. When I get time I hope to have a look round Pattaya for supplier.
Look forward to seeing the drawings for your bench set up.
How is the work shop coming along?
Regards George
Hi George and thanks for the comment.
I’m making (planning actually) a beefed up version of the Makita 2107F bandsaw holder for cutting-off before I make the vertical bench type holder.
I have just started making the drawings. It’s all worked out in my head but I need the drawings primarily to get a shopping list for the materials. (Steel, bolts etc)
I’m thinking about buying an arc welder and welding it together – that gas brazing set isn’t much good on 1/4″ steel. Can be done (as you saw on the website) but it’s very slow and wasteful of gas.
I have recently been making a few pieces for the Victoria Steam engine. Piston, piston rod and piston crosshead.
Had a devil of a job with the piston rod and broke a 5BA die trying to cut the piston thread. Awaiting a new die from UK.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
Good morning Alan
Good to see the new web site up and running.
When I return to Pattaya in about twelve days I will have a look round to see if I can find a saw locally.
I will view the video of the modification to fit a table. When I return home I am unable to view it while at work. I look forward to other helpful tips and hints about equipment that we need to carry on our hobby.
Regards George
Hi George and thanks for the comment.
I should think that by the time you get to Pattayah I will have built my own frame to hold the Makita bandsaw and should some more photos and drawings to show on the website.
Best Regards
Alan Brown
I was amazed when I learned that the Bosch GST 25M Jigsaw could cut up to 15 mm in steel plate. So I bought one and I’m trying it out.
Watch this page to see how I got on with it.
Just wanted to be the first
Hi George, you are the first to comment here and welcome.
Alan Brown
modelengineeringinthailand.com