Agree 100%. I have a Stanley #79 with depth stop (early versions don’t have one) and LN #98/99. Interestingly, although designed for the same task, ...
Butt joining the verticals with biscuits or whatever to get 10' would be fine (less than 10' if you want to be able to install it), the look would be...
They aren't what they used to be because they have not existed as a product being sold for many years now! The 800 series more or less replaced them...