Customs fiasco finished -I got my new toys!

[jim_mex]

Morning - today was a combination of frustration and relief and the end to my previously posted customs fiasco - see Mexican customs frustration

After chasing DHL for the better part of a week they finally delivered 4 boxes to my door this morning.

First one, my late birthday present - a Makita 5007MG circular saw plus a decent Freud fine tooth blade for cutting MDF

Second, A Bosch Colt laminate trimmer/router Installer kit - multiple baseplates and the like. This box also contained a Freud 10" fine tooth thin kerf blade for my table saw

Third - two boxed sets of carbide router cutters - one for 1/4" shanks and the other for 1/2" shanks. A minor disappointment here as customs managed to break the acrylic door fronts to the presentation box front of the 50 pc 1/4" shank set. Also bought a Gorilla Gripper to help move MDF sheets. Tried it out and it works great, I just don't look so cute in hot pants as the girl in the YouTube video!!!

And finally, the biggest box of all, which should have had a large quantity of dowel lengths, 2000 grooved jointing pins, plus 500 x 1 1/2" wooden wheels and matching axle pegs, was empty apart from the packing material and 1 destik bar for dressing sanding belts after the bar-stewards at customs destroyed the natural 'wooden' articles because they had no certificate of fumigation! A costly lesson learnt here!

The biggest surprise was actually pleasant since customs only stung me for another 150 USD import duties and admin costs on the tools so I came out winning financially quite substantially compared to trying to source the tools here in Mexico - most of which are either impossible to find or at more than double the US prices

Now all that's left I to put this lot to work on a ruck of MDF furniture I'm making for a local school so I can pay the bill!

Thanks for all the sympathy and comments in my 'customs' post. I seem to be sorting the mess out to avoid this happening in the future. I'm just a little bit vexed that the supplier Woodworks Ltd haven't come back yet with any advice or assistance but hopefully they will

Ok - off to do some work and test my new toys

Cheers all!

[wood-n-things]

Congrats on getting this costly fiasco finalized. Sorry they kept your wheels etc..You know they did not destroy them...At least you are back in business with new toys..Keep your australian work boots handy...You remember the safety toes...LOL

[Hobbyhorse]

Hi Jim,
Good to hear that the situation has been resolved and you can get that furniture job underway...... although the hot pants just are not you. LOL

Enjoy you new gear.

Rhys

[Jan]

About durned time! Glad the problem is solved and you have your toys. Just outta curiosity, where do you find fumigated wood?

Jan

[jim_mex]

Hi Jan - I'm sure there's a witty answer to that question like for example 'in my workshop when those Mexican beans are playing up!' but the serious answer is that for a long time there has been an international treaty on fumigation of imported wood, pallettes and packing material and even imported furniture containing natural untreated wood parts, for example the carcasses of sofa's and chairs. To cope with this you can find many companies offering fumigation services to internationally certified standards especially in the USA. This is probably the route I will have to go in the fuure for any wood, whether it be off the shelf sheets of Baltic Ply or parts for toys unless the supplier declares the material is certified.

My mistake was to never consider that such innocent items as toy wheels would be hit by this problem but since they are untreated natural wood you have to agree there is a logic at work here. This is the world we live in complicated by the inconsistency of application of laws such as I experienced here in Mexico.

Back to those beans......

[Magic]

Jim that's the best news I've heard that all your stuff has finally arrived. Inconsistent customs rulings can be a gutting experience. Lets hope you've had yours. Magic

[DWSudekum]

Jim, Glad you got your tools. Sorry to see that you could not get the wooden parts you wanted... hmmm.. I see the need for more tools in the near future. Something to make wheels with and dowel jigs........all made from recycle pallet material of course.

DW

[handibunny]

Sorry for all the aggravation, but glad you got your new toys. Have a blast!

[jim_mex]

Thanks folks for the comments

I see the need for more tools in the near future. Something to make wheels with and dowel jigs..

LOL DW - just spent the past 30 mins seriously drooling over a Jet Mini Lathe as a neat tool for making wheels and pegs. Now if I can just find where to buy a set of heavy duty sky hooks from to hang it in my shop. Only problem is that there would be no room for me to get in and work!!!! Dream on Jim....

[saw dust]

Glad you got your toys Jim. Hopefully playing with them will ease some of your disapointment over the lost wooden items.