James Taglienti
04-22-2010, 1:07 PM
I was walking around a tool show in IL when a dealer took this thing out of a box and almost put it on his table. I say almost because I involuntarily snatched it out of his hand. He was asking $120 for it... I looked it over for about 5 seconds and my wallet got red hot so I pulled it out and started shelling out the bucks. I have been waiting a couple years for a 603 and I'm glad I did! He was a collector and pointed out the pits on the sole, which he had someone take about .002 off on a surface grinder. No apology necessary!
Took it home and dug out the nice thick laminated Union iron I set aside for just this occasion. This thing works like a charm! The union chipbreaker is a slimmer profile than the stanley, so I can get the mouth very tight. And the collector in me is thrilled with the condition... 99% japanning!
$120 is far from a steal, but certainly cheaper than BAY for a 603C...
The bad news is that now I've got to sell something else from the collection (working set?) to make room ...
Took it home and dug out the nice thick laminated Union iron I set aside for just this occasion. This thing works like a charm! The union chipbreaker is a slimmer profile than the stanley, so I can get the mouth very tight. And the collector in me is thrilled with the condition... 99% japanning!
$120 is far from a steal, but certainly cheaper than BAY for a 603C...
The bad news is that now I've got to sell something else from the collection (working set?) to make room ...