I don't go out very often. This was true even before the pandemic. So the situation doesn't affect me that much; however when I plan something, it's gotta get going. From the weekend I was planning on getting some other tools and stuff for the workshop. My goal for this week was getting a wood plane. A smaller one. Something needed for fan struts and sound board calibration. That and some other tasks I can't do properly with my big plane.
My goal was something similar to this picture. But I wasn't able to get it. Here's why:
I came to the place. It's a big franchise store with a lot of expensive things, but the only place in town where brand new tools can be acquired. I've been getting some via internet, but this size of plane is elusive. Ok, I get inside the place ask for it. It was 14$ which is a fair price for this tool. Some are more expensive. Japanese planes are the most expensive. But I'm not on the stage of having tools like that. Other things caught my eye: a 3/8' wood chisel (a size I don't have and also need) and teak oil (this is for the fretboards as I have decided to leave the wood naked so the oil is both finishing and protection from the environment). I paid and when I got the plane I realized it's unassembled. I checked this and see it has no blade. Of course, no time is wasted in telling this to the clerk and after some minutes in the storage. She comes out and tells me she has to refund all the purchase because there's no blade to be found. Funny, right?
This is the same thing that happens with everything around this country. But I don't want to delve in politics and the nature of Latin America. It's always more of the same. I still don't believe what happened. So, I got the chisel and the oil. Later, I bought some sealant because I didn't have a drop. This thing is getting expensive. Last time I bought 1/8 of a gallon it was 4$. Today, I paid 8$. So, this is the weird phenomena that only happens in this god-forsaken country known as dollar devaluation. Is there an explanation for this? Yes, as Thomas Hobbes would say: "homo homini lupus". Except that in this case I would dare say: Venezuelans are wolf to their kin. And I have no choice but to get my things and keep going. There are no mechanisms to regulate this things. The Government does the same. So, yeah. Nothing to do here.
I think this should be a rant about somethin this silly, but it would become a rant about Venezuelan society itself. Everything is a mirror of the cracks of our so called "country". But this is a Sisyphean task and I'm happy watching all the show from my hill as the rock keeps rolling into the abyss. I'm ok with this. I can work my instruments' finish and do some carving with this chisel. My next step is getting stuff from Amazon. There I have choices and pretty good deals.