Auction report
Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI
>A really good auction for this area; an old farm house, a couple dozen planes there, and of course they sold the planes last. All the heavy hitters were there, and there really weren't any bargains being handed out although prices were typically 25-50% lower than ebay. The #378 new in the box had slight stains on it, so I can't really say it was mint, had a good box, and sold for $200. The guy who bought it said he hadn't even noticed the box on the table before, so he bought it without looking at it! I ran Tim Bonelli up to the $100 mark on a really nice #112, ran a nice gun metal block plane up to $60 without getting it, and then ran a drastically cleaned up #604-1/2 up to $140 and didn't get it. I did get some consolation prizes though; a type 1 #40 scrub plane with a broken tote for $35, the #378 body for $15, and a project plane #4-1/2 for $5. Since I hadn't spent a pile of money yet, I decided it was safe to check out Tim Bonelli's antique booth in the Goshen antique mall on the way home and he ended up forcing me at gun point to buy a Millers Falls #1 spokeshave for $40. So I once again have a neat little pile of tools to stack somewhere, and a small deficit in the tool budget right now, but it was a fun day; hopefully I can now start saving once again for the national meet in June ;) I met my former high school shop teacher there, and I asked if they still had a shop at the old school. They have actually kept the wood shop plus expanded into other technologies. They teach auto cad, I think he said they have stations for 8 students, plus they have a technology course and have expanded their shop to include a CNC milling center and lathe. Sounds like a good way to go, instead of deleting the shop course, expand it; he said there are plans for the new school to also have a wood shop; if you're looking for a good place to raise your children, look at Middlebury, IN; home of Coachmen and Jayco industries.
A day at an auction is better than a day spent fishing I think, especially if the fish aren't biting.