[Calvi]

Hi again Dave,

your help is invaluable. As you has told the price of goods in Europe is utterly otrageous. It is just fraud. I am a true fanatic of US made goods and many, many of the goods I own are made in the USA. everytime I have to buy something I check for US manufacturers and US based Internet online shops for even having to pay for the shipping to Europe, price in the USA for all kind of the US made best products in the World and USPS shipping prices are so cheap that is worthy to buy in the States.

It is a pity that I have followed the advice of your Countryfellowmen in expatriates in Europe forums without researching further or looking for the advice of someone a little bit more knowledgeable about the subject. I am an amateur airbrush graphic artist and I had to buy an air compresor a short time ago. Badger Thayer & Chandler is an American manufacturer of the best quality in the World and I found one in an American online shop for 195 US Dollars plus 30 US Dollars shipping but I was afraid it could not work well with our 220 Volts network so I finally had to pay 385 Euros for a German one. More than 420 Bucks!!! I wish I had known better. I did not know electric machines work in such a wide range of voltages in the USA. I think those electric machines made to work at 240 Volts will do. I brought to Spain many British electric appliances that are still working perfectly well in Spain with just a plug/socket adapter after 8 years .

The price for Services Sector in Europe is as otrageous as price of goods. I have to pay 84 Euros a month for a 4 Megas bandwith conecction to Internet to a French Cable ISP that follows an agresive Shaping policy and drastically reduces my bandwith on more dense traffic hours.

Now thanks to your knowledge and advice I know I can buy electric appliances and goods in the USA at the same extremely reasonable prices I buy the rest of the goods.

By the way, Spanish language is highly ifluenced by our French neightbours one and Bricolage is a French word that we have imported. It means doing all kind of house maintaining and improving works, masonry or plumbing, electricity and heating works and many others, for instance, and includes making furniture or fixing electric appliances on you own. Beg your pardon for not knowing the equivalent English word but that is just because though I lived in the UK for 6 years you never end learning English. Spanish has about 150.000 words, French about 300.000 words and English Merrian Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus contains 750.000 entries. Of course American Encyclopaedias contain the same number of entries.

I am going to look in the States for a second hand one of the trademarks machines you have told me. They are far cheaper than Cowells one.

About learning machining I have to tell you that is going to be difficult in Spain without going to a Polythecnical School but I am sure I can find very good books in English for amateurs. I love high-thech and those machines used for machining are awesome. I am sure I am finding soon a field of machining that suits my taste and allows me "playing" with them.

Cheers and thanks again.



Luis