Chris wrote:
> ....discovered that one of the washers under the frog hold down
> screws was apparently made from a measuring rule - one side had inches
> and the other mm! Has anybody else experienced this? Does anybody know 
> if it's likely that Stanley did it? 

I remember this was mentioned with pictures of a few examples awhile
back in John Walter's "Stanley Tool Collectors News" aka. "STCN".
Apparently, according to that reference, it's not all that uncommon.
I haven't seen any first-hand yet, but since I haven't been buying 
any more bench planes lately, my experience is limited to my current
arsenal.

I understand that many were simple stamped out of the blades from 
old squares.  So it's quite possible that the washer is original.

> ....I did, however, see many other items that could esily
> have caused me to overspend....

A common realization we all must face.

Walter