Soon I was eager to try and expand my abilities by diving into manual machining. After some quick searching and studying on the internet, I decided on buying a mini mill and a mini lathe. I settled on buying a Sieg SX2P Mini Mill and a Sieg SC2 Mini Lathe from an online shop at AliExpress by the name Sier Tools Industrial Company Limited. I made my purchase from them purely because they were willing to help ship the machines via sea freight (these machines combined weigh almost 100+kg and it is not practical to ship them into the country via courier). Again, these machines are good value for money assuming their size fits your hobby working envelop in terms of dimensions. These machines come in wooden crates and also need a complete external and internal cleanup and calibrations. There are several variants of these machines and they come under several badge names or colors but in reality they all come from the same factory in China. They work like a charm when machining aluminum, brass, and engineering plastics as long as you keep the rpm and feeds reasonable enough and do not push the machine to the extremes. You can machine steel if you are careful but I would advise to stay within the limits of soft metals and engineering plastics. These machines also have lots of content on the internet where several people have posted their upgrades, best practices and even videos on YouTube with regards to assembly, calibrations, tips & tricks. A plus point to these machines is that they can be easily CNC'ed in the future and there are several online sources for readymade kits.
A photo of the Sieg SX2P mini mill is below:
For many of you who are hearing the name Sieg for the first time, (hahaha, its not your typical bosch or black & decker brand name), SIEG Industrial Shanghai Group is a machinery company from China and they are making export quality products that are sold world wide. They have a website in English (http://www.siegind.com/) where you can compare various models to better understand which machine will suite your needs. They also have a distributor listed here in Malaysia by the name Kobeco Machine Tools Sdn. Bhd based in Pinang. Kobeco also sells a lot of other machines and they have a website (http://kobeco.com.my/) but there is not a lot of information there such as model details, pricing etc and so I have never bothered contacting them (my bad probably).
I would like to advise you that before you decide to dwell into the manual machining hobby, buying the machines is only the first step of the journey. Calibrating them for accurate print dimensions in case of the 3d printer or even tramming the mill table or adjust the backlash on the mill and lathes is a constant process. You should also be prepared to spend almost the same amount of money as you paid for the mini mill and the mini lathe on tooling and accessories. The 3d printer needs a supply of filaments and the occasional repair work e.g. replacing a leaking extruder.
A common question is which one is the best and more capable? Well each one of these machines is different and unique. There is no such thing as one machine can do it all. The 3d printer can make strong plastic parts in PLA or ABS plastic but you have to spend time designing the part in a CAD program and then slice and print the part using programs such as Repetier-Host. The lathe and mill remove material from solid objects which offer considerable strength as compared to a printed plastic part. The lathe is more focused along turning and shaping cylindrical object and the mill is focused on drilling holes, milling pockets etc. But the precision and accuracy of these machines can give results within the resolution of 0.02mm if you carefully setup your work piece and you do your layout work correctly.
Another important factor is considering the money you are willing to spend, the space you have available as well as the place you live. I only have a small store room where I am able to setup my mini machine shop and have to ensure the noise levels are low so I do not annoy my neighbors even while working during day light hours. But these machines are reasonably quiet as compared to a typical hand held power tool such as a drill machine or an angle grinder.
If i had the money and space I would have considered a larger set of machines such as a Bridgeport mill or a South Bend lathe. And yes, these beautiful American made machines exist in Malaysia at a premium price and you may be lucky to find one on sale and be able to afford one but you need a forklift to move it around a very big workspace preferably not in a residential area.
There are lots of sources of information posted on the interwebs for the home DIY'er with regards to which machines to purchase, what tools are required, ideas, solution, best practices etc.
The rest of this post is regarding sources of machines, their accessories and material stock for home shop hobbyists living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
For most folks who live in Kuala Lumpur, the general mindset is that you have hobby shops geared towards Photography, RC toys, Arts n Crafts etc. But there is no such source when it comes to hobby machining. I do envy people across the world in countries like US where you have places like LittleMachineShop, Harbor Freight, etc and you can purchase a machine and various accessories without the trouble we face here.
You can find these machines in Malaysia in some online listings such as Mudah or Lelong but at literally double the price. And believe me there is no such thing as warranty for many of these machines unless you decide to buy a Sherline as they have an official distributor here or a Proxxon who have a distributor in Singapore but you will be paying high prices as compared to the US or Europe. If you can find a reasonable online shop that are willing to help you an extra bit in ensuring you do not pay cut throat prices on shipping, you should manage to source these machines at a reasonable cost. But for the sizes of these machines, you will pay import duty or GST or both depending on your luck. For example with my 3d printer weighing 15kgs I had it delivered to my house from China via FedEx and only paid 6% GST and i was not charged customs duty. For the mini mill and lathe (weighing a combined almost 100+kg), I had them delivered via sea freight to my door step from China and did not have to pay anything extra (no GST and no customs). But I have been imposed import duties + GST on a few items in the past and normally these calculations are based on the declared value of the items you are shipping into the country.
Another challenge is that many shops do not have sign boards or business names that will give you a proper indication of what they have for sale and most workers in machine shops do not know where their bosses source the machines or the stock material for them.
Most of the times, I park my car in an industrial area and simply walk along the shops peaking inside to see what the workers are doing. If I see anything interesting, I just go in and talk to one of the senior machinists as most of the workers are too young or inexperienced to even imagine what you are looking for. I have done this several times in the industrial areas off Jalan Kepong.
Even for raw materials such as Aluminum T6061 or Engineering plastics, we have to spend a lot of time searching and asking around. Yes, you can buy your stock online and have it shipped via overseas postage or courier but you will be paying a lot of money with which I can literally claim you can buy the same stock at 1/3rd the price locally (assuming you can find the source that is willing to sell in small quantities as most of the suppliers will want to sell you very large quantities such as 6 meter or 20 foot length Aluminum T6061 round/square stock or 1 meter of Delrin or Nylon plastic).
A photo of various machine-able engineering plastics:
Here is a list of some of the shops I have discovered (within the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur) that will be beneficial to the general hobby machinist along with some description of the material and services they offer:
Kuala Lumpur Region:
Aluminum Alloy T6061 Source:
Shop: Kuan Joo Hardware Sdn Bhd
Address: No 147 & 148, Jalan 14, Taman Perindustrian Ehsan Jaya, Kepong, 52100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel:
03-62746882,
03-62742881
Website: http://kuanjoo.com
Description: This shop has been in business for a very long time and you will be shocked to see that their shop does not have any signage. But they offer many types of Aluminum alloy especially T6061 in sheet, bar, round form in various sizes and thickness. They have a lot of scrap cut-off left over from previous orders and are willing to sell to us in very small quantities. They have a few bandsaws onsite and are willing to cut stock in any size or dimension free of charge even for stock purchases worth less than RM 10. I bet you can end up wasting a lot more money and energy and destroy various basic hand powered tools if you were to attempt to cut aluminum stock at home. As for price, I bet you can beat any online price when you consider buying aluminum T6061 from here.
Aluminium Profile/Extrusions Source:
Shop: Kosan Aluminium Extrusions Sdn Bhd
Address: CS6, Jalan Kolej, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor
Tel:
03-89441918
Website: http://www.kosanaluminium.com.my/
Description: I bumped into this shop by luck while I was not really searching for any extrusions but it caught my eye. Although I did not buy anything from them as I was not out shopping I noticed a few good things about the place: They place is willing to provide some basic cutting of aluminium profiles/extrusions but will only sell 6m or 20ft length of extrusions. They have a reasonable selection of T-Slot profiles (at-least very common square/box shapes and some sizes like 20-20, 40-40 etc), U-Channel, Box and L profiles available. The grade of aluminium extrusions is not very obvious but the material seems to be easy to cut, drill and machine although the quality may not match the 80/20 Extrusions available in the US where there is a lot of care taken during the extrusion process with regards to dimensional precision or deflection under load or stresses e.t.c (this is my visual opinion and I have not made any actual tests to check on the actual dimensions). This should be a good place if someone is building frames for a 3d printer or a cnc machine or any other DIY project that requires structural extrusions. So far I have really not found any walk in shop willing to sell smaller lengths of extrusions, but then if you want to build a cnc machine or printer using extrusions, you will require a few meters of aluminium profile and save the rest for future projects.
Engineering Plastic Source:
Shop: Ototech Technologies
Address: No 45, Jalan Metro Perdana Barat 12, Sri Edaran Industrial Park, Off Jalan Kepong, 52100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel:
03-62531669
Description: This shop again has no signage (as usual) and the name is unheard of by even their neighbors a few shops away (imagine my frustration finding this place). But they have a near complete stock of Delrin (some call it POM or Acetal etc), Nylon, Acrylic in the most common round form and in various common colors such as white, black or blue and all common sizes. They stock 1 meter lengths of round engineering plastic stock and also sell small lengths upon request. They have a bandsaw onsite and can cut any size lengths you require at zero charge. They also have sheets and bars of engineering plastic but somewhat limited compared to round stock. Again, price wise it is so much cheaper buying from here versus ordering online and shipping from overseas.
Machine Tools Supply:
Shop: WEIMA Machine Tools SDN BHD
Address: No 25, Jalan 3/33, Batu 7, Off Jalan Kepong, Kepong, 52100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel:
03-62759098
Description: This is a very old shop and has been in business for several years and they are in their new location away from the common industrial machining area. They have a huge supply of accessories for mills and lathes including milling bits and lathe cutting bit along with tools holders. They even sell some hard to find pink bench grinding wheels and other mill and lathe accessories such as boring bars, rotary tables, vise, parallels, dial indicators, lathe tool blanks, etc. They offer various qualities of tools mostly focusing on larger mills and lathes but they also have some tooling for the mini mill and mini lathe. You need to tell them what size machine you have before they can suggest something useful for our hobby needs else you will be wasting time looking at tooling that is suitable for larger machines. Pricing is reasonable when considering you pay heavy shipping on machine accessories via online sources.
Nuts & Bolts Source:
Shop: Advance Bolts & Fasteners Sdn. Bhd.
Address: No. 488-1 (Ground Floor) Batu 3, Jalan Ipoh, 51200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel:
03-40436633
Website: http://www.advancebolts.com/
Description: This shop has a few established branches and literally carries any type of screw, nut, bolt, threaded rod set screws, washers, lock nuts, sert screws etc. I mean anything under the sun that has threads or can be classified as a fastner, this place has it. This is their bread n butter and I assure you that you can find what you are looking for at this shop at reasonable price, although at times there may be several customers and you should prepare a list of your required items before you go there or bring along a sample or picture of your requirement so that someone at the shop can find the stuff you are looking for. They do have a display in the window showing some samples of various fastners etc that you can look at for a reference and tell them what you need based on that. They have a few counters setup and you can approach anyone in uniform there with your request.
General Machines & Tool Shop:
Shop: Knight Auto Sdn Bhd
Address: 349, Jalan Pahang, Setapak, 53000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel:
03-40219399
Website: http://knightauto.com.my
Description: This shop has several branches and is the closest place we have as Harbor Freight tools in Malaysia. Do not go there looking for German or American tools. 99% of the stuff is from China. You can find almost any hand tool, power tool, jack stands, hydraulic jacks, motorcycle stands, sand blast cabinets, air compressors, and special automotive tools such as bearing removers, compression testers, etc. Guess what? I have even seen them selling some Sieg machines such as the Sieg C2 lathe (old version of the SC2), Sieg M1 Micro Multipurpose machine (Mill and Lathe combined), Sieg G2A bandsaw, Sieg G1 hacksaw, all at a reasonable price.
Engineering Fluid Sources:
Shop: Ace Hardware
Address: Lot No. 6&7, Level G1, Publika Solaris Dutamas,Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur
Website: http://acehardware.com.my
Description: Please don't laugh and I am not joking here. You all know Ace Hardware as a famous chain of hardware supply in Kuala Lumpur. I never really ever bought any tools or hardware from them except for a spray can gun and leather apron if I recall correctly. I must first mention that all Ace Hardware shops do not carry exactly the same products. The Ace Hardware branch at Publika near Mont Kiara is a bit special especially for engineering related fluids and chemicals. Here you can find Acetone cans for your 3d printer(an acetone based solution is often used with bits of ABS so your prints can stick to the bed), all sorts of greases such as white lithium grease(often used to lubricate moving parts of your mill & lathe), high temp copper grease, 3-1 machine oil, cutting oil(used while tapping and treading stock), chain lube(anti-fling heavy weight lubricant), silicon lube(rubber friendly lubricant), various hydraulic fluids, aluminum friendly coolant, penetrating oil, thread lock fluid, degreasers and cleaning fluids etc. You can also find all sorts of sealant, epoxy, glue etc that you may need for your projects. Prices are premium but usually its better than buying online as most postal carriers or courier companies will not post or ship such products due to their liquid nature.
Miri Region:
Nuts & Bolts Shop (and also some Brass/Steel/Aluminium Stock):
Shop: M N Hardware & Machinery
Address: Lot 1508, Lorong 7, Krokop, (Jalan Dombeya), 98000 Miri
Tel:
085-412392
Description: This shop has been around for a very long time and I was referred to the by an old timer running a automotive spare parts shop. They have a huge collection of bolts, nuts, set screws, threaded rods etc. Well that’s why I used to go there i.e. to buy threaded items. Until one day I requested a threaded rod cut in a few sizes. They walked me over across the road to their store in the opposite shop lot, when they opened the shutter I was surprised. They had an assorted collection of round, plates, flat bar, u shape, box shaped, angle in cold/hot rolled steel. They also had some decent sizes of brass in round & hex shape as well as some mild steel (possibly silver steel or drill rod equivalent) in round shape. They are willing to sell any length or quantity. The place is a bit rough and rundown with lots of customers sometimes. Prepare your list before you go there because they don’t like people walking around the shop which usually has stuff lying on the floor all over the place and it’s difficult to walk around the shelves without stepping on something or dropping something. They cut the stock using a scary looking 10" or 12" circular saw and it just freaks me out seeing them cut brass or aluminum using an abrasive cutting disc but they get the job done. Price wise the place is reasonable for the items I buy there. Hey this is Miri after all.
General Machines & Tool Shop:
Shop: Gremas (Miri) Enterprise (AKA Tools Gallery Sdn Bhd)
Address: Lot 679 & 680, Ground Floor, Jalan Permaisuri, 98000 Miri
Tel:
085-439886
Website: http://www.toolsgallery.com.my/
Description: This is a very prominent shop in the center of Miri town. They seem to be dealers for the Kennedy Tool brand from the United Kingdom. They usually stock all sorts of hand tools and some power tools although the prices might be high to buy such tools for hobby purposes. But they are the only shop in Miri (that I know off) that stocks a mini mill (Sieg X2 clone) and a mini lathe (Sieg C2 clone) under the brand name Osaki although these models are a bit old compared to the new ones offered by Sieg. But if you can accept the older models then it may be worth it considering that you will not pay shipping of import taxes.
Hardware and Tools Shop:
Shop: Ng Sian Hap Trading Sdn Bhd (AKA Kenyalang Supermarket)
Address: Lot 1039, Exit Jalan Piasau, Piasau Light Industrial, 98000 Miri
Description: Kenyalang is a very old supermarket and they are usually know to be a shop that sells groceries but they have a very good sized hardware and tool section. Most of the products are from China and they carry powers tools, hand tools, soldering kits, miscellaneous hardware, gardening equipment, wood working tools, plumbing, painting supplies etc. They sell all sorts of drill bits, abrasives, MDF, threaded rod, nuts & bolts, bearings etc as well. Do not be fooled by the outlook of the shop as there is so much equipment there for the average DIYer at very reasonable prices. The best thing is they are open till 09:00pm daily and also on weekends and public holidays in case you break a drill bit or need to buy some quick sandpaper or some nuts and bolts etc.
You may wonder why I suddenly listed above a few shops based in Miri. Well, I am currently working and living in Miri (Sarawak) which is a small Oil town close to the Brunei border in the island of Borneo. You can find several shops selling hand tools, power tools, gardening tools, auto repair tools etc but not many shops are geared towards selling Engineering materials or machines such as Mills, Lathes or bandsaws. The machine shops here cater mainly for work done in steel and they seldom work with soft metals or plastics. I found a company by the name TSA Industries that used to be based in Piasau industrial area (they have now moved to an area behind Emart area) but they only like to deal or sell large quantities like 6 meter lengths of soft metals like Aluminum and Brass and they normally have to have to order stock based on request that can take a couple of weeks to arrive (based on what their staff told me during my visit there) and cutting to specified length onsite is not offered. (I have not been successful in doing business with TSA). If you work with steel or have a wood working hobby then Miri is not a bad place. As an example of how certain basic things can be hard to source in Miri, in 2015 for almost 6 months there was no one selling kerosene. I searched the entire town and had no luck.
I ended up bringing kerosene from Kuala Lumpur in an F&N bottle via check-in baggage (I know it was the wrong thing to do but I had no other choice). Till today, I still bring in most of my hobby materials such as aluminum and delrin from Kuala Lumpur during my trips. In Miri, you can get everything you need but you won’t get everything you want or desire.
I am still on various quests or searches for un-obtainium when time permits as I am yet to find sources for cnc equipment like stepper motors or ball screws and even a proper shop dedicated to selling brass, drill rod, or similar materials to hobbyists.
Maybe it’s my luck or I have been looking at the wrong places. I do see several companies listed in Puchong and Klang industrial areas but after a few casual unsuccessful attempts, I am no longer venturing there as I find the area around Kepong/Jalan Ipoh/Setapak/Segambut is more nearer to the heart of Kuala Lumpur, more accessible and more focused towards small engineering businesses where there are several shops selling raw materials, fastners, bearings, machinery and auto/industrial supplies.
I hope you have probably realized by now that you cannot even dream of finding such equipment at your local Mr. DIY store or regular hardware shop. I can safely bet that you cannot even change the spark plugs on my Kawasaki ER-6n using all the tools on the racks of a typical hardware shop. Sadly a lot of genuine businesses have been taken over by these useless chains based on the 7Eleven concept of doing business. For them, it is just a supply and demand game without any passion for the business they are doing or the product they are selling.
I hope someone out there who is or will be in a similar situation like me with this unusual hobby may find this information beneficial.
Cheers to the Home Machinists & DIYer Crowd!!!
