I think this is a gloat, or at least a good find...
So I went to check out some "handtools" that some guy was selling from when his grandfather collected them...
I walked into a tiny back room where the dogs normally live of a tiny little house. There was a massive pile of old handsaws, and a tupperware bin filled with hand planes. Also some old power tools, but I'm set in that department. Everything is quite rusty from disregard and the like, but good stuff.
I instantly pulled out a No 7 and a number 5 1/2 with grooved bottom, then started looking at the saws. I don't know much about saws at all, but virtually the entire pile of maybe 40 were Disstons, most marked on the main screw Disston Phila, some Disston brothers USA or something like that. I decided to pick up one of the saws, give a try at cleaning it up, then maybe come back. I asked the dude how much for the one saw and the two planes. His response was if you give me 25 for the saw, I'll throw in the handplanes for free. What I wanted was the hand planes, so score I said.
They are in dreaful shape, but I am working on fixing that. I don't really know how to tell the maker of the planes. Both irons have stanley on them, but one of the chip breakers has Bailey on it. I am currently running a batch through an electrolysis procedure I found online, hopefully I will be able to get them back into usable condition. Then I can cross the veritas jointer off my xmas wish lists...
The box of planes I passed on were all block planes, in to me unrepairable shape. I might go pick up another saw sometime, though really like my japanese saws for the time being.
Maybe not complete suckage, but pretty good for an afternoon
Andrew