Making a violin shop in Vietnam means starting from scratch. Some things can be sourced within the country; carpenters tools are available, some files, some abrasives, metric nuts and bolts. We ordered some scraps from a carpenter’s shop for the fireplace and wound up using some if it to cobble specialized tools like the thicknessing gauge. Other things have to be shipped in which involves working with the Vietnamese Post Office; a meditation on patience and persistence. It took me several years to find a source for a small drill press. But once located it was good quality (from China) and not expensive.
