Handmade Tanks - Singh Precisions

“”Approximately, 2 months ago Mr Singh sent me 2 brief emails after a very long absence, indicating he had been Ill, but is back and will take care of everything. Specifically, he will build the wanted tank, and send regular photographs of his progress before shipping. Thereafter he will ship the tank to me stateside for my honest assessment.... and payment, ONLY if I'm satisfied. Nothing in the 2 months. No emails, no responses, nothing. I can't understand what is going on.””


Not sure what Brother Farrokh meant by the message above.
The last email I got from Farrokh on my mail id was on 1st December 2014.
After that we had no email communication until recently @ 2nd march, to which I replied on 4th march.
We did exchange Three Facebook messages between 30th January & 4th February
Once this AN thread was initiated, the whole discussion shifted here and this project was being discussed here in detail. I have mentioned THRICE in separate messages in this thread over the last 2 months that I need time till Mid or End of February before i start with this project.

Anyways, I have already begun this tank project and I will post all details & info here on this thread. The whole reason of participating in this thread is not because I want to encourage anyone towards purchasing my products, but to answer the several questions & queries relating to my process of custom hand making a tank. I will make a tank, post pics and answer queries.
Once after the tank is ready, I can send it to ANY access Norton member for a bare knuckle review, all my expenses. However, with that being said, I also emphasis once again, that no one is obliged to accept the tank & go thru the review part.
I wish to custom make a Commando Lyta tank and post the pics here on AN..Simple as that.


Pic A 1 –
I have commando lyta tank cardboard patterns/templates, which I drew over a 2MM sheet of Aluminum to further cut, file and tack weld (TIG)





Pic A 2 –

After the Tack welding, the welds are rolled/pounded into a round-semi spherical shape.
The process is repeated till all the patterns are fully welded.
The leftover welds are then filed/sanded using a hand filer. The process is slow but the finishing with a hand filler is far better.
Another method is to first form/shape the three patterns over a wooden buck and then weld them. It’s the easier way but it consumes a lot more time. One needs to be very careful about not ‘over stretching’ the metal on any one of the patterns.











Pic A 3 –
As you can see, our tank is just about taking up a little shape.
Now I use a wooden mallet & a leather sand bag and give a rough unfinished shape to all the three patterns.
As this moment, the tank goes out of proportion and looks bulbous & asymmetrical, but once we go in the plannishing phase, it will come back to the right size, shape & symmetry.









The process is slow and it will take 4 weeks before the tank is finished.
The next set of pics will be after I am done with hand plannishing the tank around 12-13th March

Thank you everyone for your time
Regards
Singh
____________________

Good. I now know I've got ample time to get out and buy some popcorn :lol:

Buy the burnt carmel flavour. They stick to your gums and you spend even more time pricking them out

Singh,

Is this the tank you promised to Farrokh that you said you were making next?

Dennis

Yes Dennis, this is the tank I am doing for Farrokh & all the participants of this thread.

The tank has gone thru the second stage now. I have finished the first phase of hand plannishing the tank and punching the knee indent on one side.

Pics named A1 show how our tank, which looked nothing more than a deflated balloon earlier is now a lot more symmetrical and has started to look aesthetically pleasing. The overall shape now resembles that of an actual motorcycle gas tank.








The ‘fish sclaes’ that you see on the entire tank are the marks left after hundreds of blows from my hand held hammer over every square inch of the tank. Every Centimeter of the tank has received several mild hammer blows backed by a spherical dolly.
Each hammer blow stretches the area of impact a tiny bit, the round dolly on the other side helps the metal take a spherical shape. At this stage, its upto my discretion on how much to stretch & shape the metal. In other words, I can use a smaller, more spherical dolly and give the tank a lot more roundness, make it similar to a large football eventually or change its overall shape. At this stage, it is very easy to stretch the tank out of proportion. So while I work I need to check the tank over a wooden buck several times. I also use a leather template with which I check the symmetry of the both sides of the tank every few minutes while plannishing.






Pic A2 shows the knee indent on the left side of the tank. There are several different shapes & sizes I can go with when it comes to the indents. Once I select the shape, I make a wooden or cardboard template (if not already in stock) and mark the area to be indented – Seen in pic A3.
I can use a flow forming press can do the job, but after several years of practice, I can make any sort of indent with just my hammer & dolly. Its faster & easier, it also allows me to get into the narrow spaces near the welds of the side & top patterns/panels.






Pic A4 shows the three basic tools I need to finish the tank. I make my own tools and dies so that I can get the temper & hardness I seek. Just like our bikes, my tools look the same as they did 40 years ago. Not much has changed.

The slapper is made of an old vespa pickup scooter leafspring. It was tempered once after I got it.

Dolly – Machined & Tempered the way I want, it has a ‘grip’ on the other side so I can hold it in my palm (not fingers) for several hours without much fatigue.

Hammer – I use to use a round hammer head for plannishing, and the square for indents, but now it makes no difference, I can use any of the two for plannishing. The benefit of using a square head is that I can sometimes deliberately use the sharper square edge to nudge the indent line, or give shape to the weld lines.



I never use metal handles on the hammer, the wooden handles are much better at dampening the vibrations and are a lot lighter. Heavier hammers cannot be used for plannishing softly. Rubber grips help with the vibrations even more, but I get blisters easily with the rubber. Remember, one tank’s shell can take upto 4,500 + repetitive hammer blows. So the choice of tools is pretty imperative for the whole project + your fingers & wrists

A lot more plannishing will happen in the next step and after that, i will add the gap cap to the tank and start the work on the bottom panels.
I will post a question and let you guys choose which gas cap goes over the tank pretty soon.
Next update needs 6-8 days.

Regards
Singh

http://www.singh-precisions.com

_________________________________________

I ordered a tank, seat and fairing from Singh about 2 years ago. I paid the man in full. After an extremely long delay after tales of illnesses, I finally received the tank and the seat. They came out greats but, no fairing. I'm still waiting on my fairing. It's been 2 years, maybe more, I've lost track.

Singh, do you have any intention to complete my order? If not, just tell me, please.

Thank you.

Anthony in New York

I hope your Tank is delivered soon Farrokh.

It is now close to 5 months since Singh's long response. Obviously his hands were working fine on that day.
Why could he not respond to his paid up customers?

In that time I could have completed a metal bashing and welding course and made the Tank myself.

If it takes him this long to make a Tank he certainly is not making living.

How many other customers does he have waiting?

Other Bike Forums could be having the same problem.

Strida

Brother Anthony - As per my records, your fairing was shipped thirteen months ago - last year in Feb. Since you got the tank & seat, i was surprised to learn that you didnt get the fairing which was shipped later.
Anyways, i have just mailed fed ex and am awaiting a response with the delivery date/proof and recipient signature.
Will let you know once i get an update.

Brother Strida -

"I hope your Tank is delivered soon Farrokh. It is now close to 5 months since Singh's long response. Obviously his hands were working fine on that day.
Why could he not respond to his paid up customers "

Let me try and point out once again, This tank i am doing and posting pics & info about is not someone's order. I am doing this tank for the AN community, to let everyone see whats the best i can offer and then decide if they ever want my services later on.
Farrokh or anyone else has NOT paid any amount for it and nor is anyone obliged to pay anything for it once its finished and ready to mount.
Farrokh may want to buy a tank if he feels like at a later stage, once after i finish this tank and post all pics & info here on AN.
With that being said, i would like to say once again, i am willing to send this tank (once its done) on my expenses to anyone who wishes to test it and post an honest review here on AN for everyone.

Regards
Singh
______________________

Thanks Singh. As I emailed you numerous times in the last 13 months or so, I never received the fairing. The tank and seat arrived fine, but the fairing was never delivered. This should not come as a surprise, since I emailed you countless times about this.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing from you about the fairing. Since I never received it, I'd appreciate if you could send one to me so I can finish this bike, and become a happy customer.

SINGH said:

Brother Anthony - As per my records, your fairing was shipped thirteen months ago - last year in Feb. Since you got the tank & seat, i was surprised to learn that you didnt get the fairing which was shipped later.
Anyways, i have just mailed fed ex and am awaiting a response with the delivery date/proof and recipient signature.
Will let you know once i get an update.
[/i]



Regards
Singh
______________________

Click to expand...

Re: Handmade Tanks - Singh Precisionsa

This thread cracks me up. No one in thier right mind would do buisness with a company (or one guy trying to sound like a fully up and running company) who has such a reputation for neglecting customers inquiries, work, emails and being so obviously evasive. My nieghbors 8 & 10 year old kids come up with better excuses. I have never had the pleasure of dealing with fabricaters of truely high quality metal work like Evan Wilcox, The Tank Shop in Scotland etc etc but I bet if I inquired about a order they would respond in a timely "professional" manor and if I ordered something they would stay in touch, it would be done on time & arrive after being shipped. Also they would be on it like white on rice and respond immediately if it hadn't arrived as scheduled as any good seller would do. If... (BIG IF) you could & were really making tanks etc of truely good quality and getting them in customers hands in a timely manor for a price cheap enough to make risk dealing with products from India worth it it would be SO easy to show that. My sugestion to you Mr. Singh is to go get your dung together and come back when your ready. Or stop portraying yourself as a fully up & running efficient company. Admit that you are "trying" to get to a point where you can provide something of reasonable quality, quickly & for a much lower price then the one off hand made tanks of known quality & we will welcome this with the best wishes. I for one hope you do someday get to a point of being a trusted responsible seller of good tanks but as it stands now I wouldn't trust you with a order for a two inch square piece of flat stock much less a hand made tank. Sorry (kind of) for the rant, just saying.... Glenn T. S.

This thread has degenerated into a circle jerk. I propose we just kill it here. IF anybody EVER gets a tank from this guy, write and tell us about it.

Stephen Hill

+1

biz like this doesn't fly in this neck of the woods, to say the least

I tried for six months to get a tank out of the Tank Shop in Scotland, as did one of my clubmates, no luck. Actually my clubmate ordered his tank about 8 months in advance of a planned trip to the UK with the intention of bringing the tank home to save substantial shipping fees. This was explained to the proprietor and agreed upon. About a month before leaving for the UK, my friend phoned to check on progress to learn that the job had been forgotten about and could not be completed in time to coincide with the trip. My clubmate went elsewhere and got a decent tank in a reasonable amount of time.

I thank the proprietor of the Tank Shop for getting me into metalshaping. Had he looked after our orders properly, I might never have started on metalshaping and I really enjoy it.
I was told by another clubmate from Dumfries (home of the Tank Shop) that the best way to get a tank from him in a reasonable amount of time is to go down to his establishment every day and enquire about the progress on your project. Tough to do if you live in North America. I should add that these experiences are from about four years ago, if under new ownership things may have changed.

Glen

There seems to be a big disconnect between Singh's posts and his customers experience. Usually, you get the reputation you deserve. Singh is either underperforming or he's had an unbelievable run of bad luck. Either way, not good for his customers.

worntorn said:

I tried for six months to get a tank out of the Tank Shop in Scotland, as did one of my clubmates, no luck. Actually my clubmate ordered his tank about 8 months in advance of a planned trip to the UK with the intention of bringing the tank home to save substantial shipping fees. This was explained to the proprietor and agreed upon. About a month before leaving for the UK, my friend phoned to check on progress to learn that the job had been forgotten about and could not be completed in time to coincide with the trip. My clubmate went elsewhere and got a decent tank in a reasonable amount of time.

I thank the proprietor of the Tank Shop for getting me into metalshaping. Had he looked after our orders properly, I might never have started on metalshaping and I really enjoy it.
I was told by another clubmate from Dumfries (home of the Tank Shop) that the best way to get a tank from him in a reasonable amount of time is to go down to his establishment every day and enquire about the progress on your project. Tough to do if you live in North America. I should add that these experiences are from about four years ago, if under new ownership things may have changed.

Glen

Click to expand...

As far as I know it's the same one-man band and always has been. You clearly didn't get good service... if any at all
The Triton tank was delivered in the last couple of months, and I believe it was ordered about 3 months beforehand.
The guy certainly doesn't brag about fast delivery, but there are reasonable limits - evidently he's upped his game recently, or maybe isn't as busy?

I saw your fantastic work on the Norvin, and it got me thinking too. Then my brother phoned me to discus buying a TIG welder last night.
Just need to find a cheap English wheel...

Meanwhile I sense another, more positive tank thread looming

worntorn said:

I tried for six months to get a tank out of the Tank Shop in Scotland, as did one of my clubmates, no luck. Actually my clubmate ordered his tank about 8 months in advance of a planned trip to the UK with the intention of bringing the tank home to save substantial shipping fees. This was explained to the proprietor and agreed upon. About a month before leaving for the UK, my friend phoned to check on progress to learn that the job had been forgotten about and could not be completed in time to coincide with the trip. My clubmate went elsewhere and got a decent tank in a reasonable amount of time.

I thank the proprietor of the Tank Shop for getting me into metalshaping. Had he looked after our orders properly, I might never have started on metalshaping and I really enjoy it.
I was told by another clubmate from Dumfries (home of the Tank Shop) that the best way to get a tank from him in a reasonable amount of time is to go down to his establishment every day and enquire about the progress on your project. Tough to do if you live in North America. I should add that these experiences are from about four years ago, if under new ownership things may have changed.

Glen

Click to expand...

The last I saw he was trying to sell the business.
About ten years ago I took a 1970 pre oif TR6 to him to have an alloy tank made , left the bike there for a complete year and he still hadn't done the job , so I took the bike back. It was a 500 mile trip both times for nothing.
By the way, the bike started second kick, with old fuel and un charged battery (on points) :shock:

sam

Andy.
I went to see Terry in shropshire , cant remember is last name. he was about to retire a couple of years ago. his skills with forming sheey alloy and brass was just mind blowing.
He made Horse guards helmets and breast plates, what i noticed he used a fly press with a ball and cup to get the shapes started,using the English wheel to finish the shape.
Its a real black art, and not many have the skills, where i live ,just a mile away.is Peter Mullroy , he made tanks,seats ,fairings for the best works bikes.back in the sixties ..working for Bill Jakeman . My postie worked with him ,telling me that a van would drive in with a full factory MV ,
Pete was a fantastic metal man ,he would look at the sketch and start cutting the parts, he gas welded the joints,using a narrow strip cut from the same sheet.
these men are now an endangered breed,
Remember ; Once over bent,theres no going back.

B+Bogus said:

worntorn said:

I tried for six months to get a tank out of the Tank Shop in Scotland, as did one of my clubmates, no luck. Actually my clubmate ordered his tank about 8 months in advance of a planned trip to the UK with the intention of bringing the tank home to save substantial shipping fees. This was explained to the proprietor and agreed upon. About a month before leaving for the UK, my friend phoned to check on progress to learn that the job had been forgotten about and could not be completed in time to coincide with the trip. My clubmate went elsewhere and got a decent tank in a reasonable amount of time.

I thank the proprietor of the Tank Shop for getting me into metalshaping. Had he looked after our orders properly, I might never have started on metalshaping and I really enjoy it.
I was told by another clubmate from Dumfries (home of the Tank Shop) that the best way to get a tank from him in a reasonable amount of time is to go down to his establishment every day and enquire about the progress on your project. Tough to do if you live in North America. I should add that these experiences are from about four years ago, if under new ownership things may have changed.

Glen

Click to expand...

As far as I know it's the same one-man band and always has been. You clearly didn't get good service... if any at all
The Triton tank was delivered in the last couple of months, and I believe it was ordered about 3 months beforehand.
The guy certainly doesn't brag about fast delivery, but there are reasonable limits - evidently he's upped his game recently, or maybe isn't as busy?

I saw your fantastic work on the Norvin, and it got me thinking too. Then my brother phoned me to discus buying a TIG welder last night.
Just need to find a cheap English wheel...

Meanwhile I sense another, more positive tank thread looming

Click to expand...

All I can say is the "low performance" story seems to be common with one man shops. They are fellows who
just won't or cannot work for someone else and they are very often serious procrastinators. They have to
work for themselves.
You really are forced to go by their shop at least once a weak and inquire. Tedious but very often they have skills that you find
difficult to source elsewhere.

Singh:
Apparently you're making a wonderful, handmade high quality tank; great.
1- When will it be delivered?
2- Since you state you've already started, and I assume it will not take you weeks or longer, please share with us (and me since you have my email, home phone, cell phone, address etc), share the pictures of your actual progress that you've been promising for months.

It should be something you can do in next 2-3 days. Any longer and this is a genuine farce....

-->FJ SvenSven