# Woodworkers?



## Kokogyi

Aloha Everyone,
Will be retiring to Chiang Mai next year. Are there any western style woodworkers in town? Any interest in sharing a woodworking space or lessons? Is a woodworking shop possible? Will miss some things about our Hawaii lifestyle, but will mostly miss my shop. This isn't to make money....only to practice my craft. Any info would be appreciated.


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## Serendipity2

Kokogyi said:


> Aloha Everyone,
> Will be retiring to Chiang Mai next year. Are there any western style woodworkers in town? Any interest in sharing a woodworking space or lessons? Is a woodworking shop possible? Will miss some things about our Hawaii lifestyle, but will mostly miss my shop. This isn't to make money....only to practice my craft. Any info would be appreciated.



Kokogyi,

Ahoha, Kokogi-san. [I'm taking a wild guess you're part Japanese]

There is a tour offered in Chiang Mai to visit a small town that makes paper, umbrellas, weaves silk , silversmithing etc. I've not seen any furniture-making but I'm sure they'll have some somewhere in Chiang Mai. Might be worth a Google search for furniture and cabinet makers. If nothing else we expats would probably be in the market for chairs, tables and beds. Maybe even dressers, night stands and coffee tables. 

I'm sure you can find wood turning equipment including lathes, routers, drill presses, mitre saws and surfacing machines and all the tools needed in Chiang Mai - and the companies that use them to fabricate the above. Most furniture I've seen was VERY heavy and pretty ugly [but then beauty is in the eyes of the beholder isn't it] Still, Like a good plumber, electrician, computer repairman [thanks $Bill] a carpenter will ALWAYS have a job. Perhaps catering to the expat community you could do well. Especially if you can also make custom built-in cabinets, dining tables etc. using dove-tail joints and mortise & tenon joints. 

Serendipity2


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## Kokogyi

*Mahalo*

Hi Serendipity 2,

Thanks for the kind reply and words of encouragement. Nope, not Japanese. Just one Haole boy on the Big Island. Kokogyi is the name my Burmese friends gave me on one of our early trips there. It means older brother.
Have been to Baw Sang, but I have a feeling Hang Dong is the place. At least that's where the Thai woodworkers seem to be. And I agree with you about the furniture in all of S.E. Asia being a bit on the heavy side.
Was glad to hear there might be some interest in mortise and tenon's and "trying to make a dove tail joint."
Looking forward to our move.

With much Aloha,
Kokogyi


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## Serendipity2

Kokogyi said:


> Hi Serendipity 2,
> 
> Thanks for the kind reply and words of encouragement. Nope, not Japanese. Just one Haole boy on the Big Island. Kokogyi is the name my Burmese friends gave me on one of our early trips there. It means older brother.
> Have been to Baw Sang, but I have a feeling Hang Dong is the place. At least that's where the Thai woodworkers seem to be. And I agree with you about the furniture in all of S.E. Asia being a bit on the heavy side.
> Was glad to hear there might be some interest in mortise and tenon's and "trying to make a dove tail joint."
> Looking forward to our move.
> 
> With much Aloha,
> Kokogyi



Kokogyi,

Hopefully you'll consider Chiang Mai to settle - or close. The Thai furniture isn't very elegant. I'm sure you would do very well making furniture for expats since there are a whole bunch of us in Chiang Mai. I've never seen a piece of Thai furniture I would want in my home. It's not just heavy, it's also uncomfortable. What type furniture do you make? Your biggest adjustment will be to compete [at least to a degree] with the cheap labor here in Thailand but if you're reasonably competitive you'll do a land office business. Especially if you know a mortise and tenon joint from a dove-tail joint. I doubt they know either! Thailand needs a good furniture craftsman. 

Serendipity2


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## Guest

I'm not so sure about the lack of elegance S2! I wrote a blog and took a load of photos in the workshops around Hang Don last November. There was some beautiful stuff;

... and a couple of the photos, as a taster...



How about redoing your house in teak?



(Click on either image for full-size versions...)


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## Serendipity2

frogblogger said:


> I'm not so sure about the lack of elegance S2! I wrote a blog and took a load of photos in the workshops around Hang Don last November. There was some beautiful stuff;
> 
> ... and a couple of the photos, as a taster...
> 
> 
> 
> How about redoing your house in teak?
> 
> 
> 
> (Click on either image for full-size versions...)



frogblogger,

Stunning! But I'll bet that table weighs 1000 lbs and each of those chairs likely 70-80 lbs. The cabinetry in the second photo is gorgeous but who could afford it. That would go into a very expensive hotel or home. While I would love to have that kind of workmanship around me I doubt I could - or would want to - afford it. That was one heck of a teak tree that committed suicide to make that table! It would sure be nice to live like royalty though. 

Serendipity2


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## Guest

The house belongs to the Thai 'matriarch' of a family of carvers - she gets all her work done for free, just has to supply the materials! It's a lovely house, just over the road from her workshop, where I was lucky enough to be given a guided tour and explanation of all the processes involved.


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## Dumbo

Hi Kokogyi, Iam pleases you have brought up the subject of woodworking. I would love to carry on with my woodturning in Thailand. not to make money but because I love woodturning. Are all the tools and machinery availabe for hobbies?


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## Guest

Dumbo said:


> Hi Kokogyi, Iam pleases you have brought up the subject of woodworking. I would love to carry on with my woodturning in Thailand. not to make money but because I love woodturning. Are all the tools and machinery availabe for hobbies?


Some tools here, spotted at another artisan's place I visit occasionally... just this old guy and his wife:



And with those, he was in the process of making this, last time I was there...



I also bought a slightly smaller version of this for about 80 $ a couple of years ago. Made at a father and son workshop I visited near Hang Dong:



Here's the son, at work on something else, a carving in celebration of the King's birthday....


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## Serendipity2

frogblogger said:


> The house belongs to the Thai 'matriarch' of a family of carvers - she gets all her work done for free, just has to supply the materials! It's a lovely house, just over the road from her workshop, where I was lucky enough to be given a guided tour and explanation of all the processes involved.



frogblogger,

It IS a stunning home. I doubt there are many like it in all of Thailand. Great photos too. I would not like that table resting on my toes though - that's a lot of teak.


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## KhwaamLap

Serendipity2 said:


> frogblogger,
> 
> It IS a stunning home. I doubt there are many like it in all of Thailand. Great photos too. I would not like that table resting on my toes though - that's a lot of teak.


I was wondering just what wood it was - looks too grained to be teak and the snake chair seems to light - I guessed maybe banana tree wood or something like that for the latter, but the table has me wondering.


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## Kokogyi

Serendipity2 said:


> Kokogyi,
> 
> Hopefully you'll consider Chiang Mai to settle - or close. The Thai furniture isn't very elegant. I'm sure you would do very well making furniture for expats since there are a whole bunch of us in Chiang Mai. I've never seen a piece of Thai furniture I would want in my home. It's not just heavy, it's also uncomfortable. What type furniture do you make? Your biggest adjustment will be to compete [at least to a degree] with the cheap labor here in Thailand but if you're reasonably competitive you'll do a land office business. Especially if you know a mortise and tenon joint from a dove-tail joint. I doubt they know either! Thailand needs a good furniture craftsman.
> 
> Serendipity2


Hi again S2
Don't really care to compete or do a lot of business. After 35 years of making things for other people, just want to create stuff I like and need a place to work where I don't have to worry about the noise. Here is some of my work. All from Hawaiian Koa.


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## Kokogyi

Dumbo said:


> Hi Kokogyi, Iam pleases you have brought up the subject of woodworking. I would love to carry on with my woodturning in Thailand. not to make money but because I love woodturning. Are all the tools and machinery availabe for hobbies?


After 35 years of woodworking I have to confess I've never used a lathe, but if I can find a shop space, I'd be glad to make a spot for you and your lathe.


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## Serendipity2

Kokogyi said:


> After 35 years of woodworking I have to confess I've never used a lathe, but if I can find a shop space, I'd be glad to make a spot for you and your lathe.



Hi Kokogyi,

I've not use a wood lathe for over 40 years but thanks for the offer! I like your end tables.  

You should be able to find tools in Chiang Mai. I did a quick Google search of wood working tools and there were listings. I suspect most will be hand chisels, wooden mallets etc but perhaps routers, surfacers, drill presses and the tooling for doing dove-tail joints and mortise and tenon joints. It seemed to me the chairs in the photos frogblogger poste were most likely put together with dowels rather than the much stronger mortise and tenon so you probably wouldn't have much competition if you changed your mind. OR you could teach young Thais to make good furniture - your legacy to Thailand. 

serendipity2


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## Kokogyi

Serendipity2 said:


> Hi Kokogyi,
> 
> I've not use a wood lathe for over 40 years but thanks for the offer! I like your end tables.
> 
> You should be able to find tools in Chiang Mai. I did a quick Google search of wood working tools and there were listings. I suspect most will be hand chisels, wooden mallets etc but perhaps routers, surfacers, drill presses and the tooling for doing dove-tail joints and mortise and tenon joints. It seemed to me the chairs in the photos frogblogger poste were most likely put together with dowels rather than the much stronger mortise and tenon so you probably wouldn't have much competition if you changed your mind. OR you could teach young Thais to make good furniture - your legacy to Thailand.
> 
> serendipity2


I like your teaching idea. Had thought about teaching expats, but I think you may be on to something. Thank You!


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## Serendipity2

Kokogyi said:


> I like your teaching idea. Had thought about teaching expats, but I think you may be on to something. Thank You!



Hi Kokogyi,

There may well be expats that would be interested in learning to become skilled furniture makers but I think starting a school to teach Thais would be far more valuable to you and to Thailand. You could probably only teach one 2-3 hour course per day and find you had enough money to comfortably live plus I think if you were to approach the government [visa] with that in mind you would be given special consideration as though you were teaching English. Perhaps even more as you would be creating an entirely new industry in Thailand that would employ Thais. And give yourself a place to work to pursue making what you love making.


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## King Silk

In Pattaya there is a most incredible Teak Building being worked on all the time by Thai Carvers. It's called The Temple of Truth. They would love to have someone like you there I am sure.
Google it an have a 'butchers'. (Cockney rhyming slang Butchers Hook = LOOK!)


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