Well, eBay coughed up a very nice Wards Mastercraft 45. This is a Stanley #45 but sold through Monkey-Wards. This is a complete set, right down to the original box, instruction pamphlet and what I believe is the original purchase receipt fro $12.65. For me a bit more but still well under $200. And did a little checking against a friend's Stanley and the parts interchange no problem. This gives me the opportunity to try out some ideas I've picked up from other forum members (Jr. in particular).
That's the good news. The bad news is the original box is cardboard as is the slip cover for the original blade box. That cardboard got damp at some point and has caused corrosion on the blades. The plane body is in good shape but I won't be storing it or the blades in the original box.
I've made a new blade box and started the long process of rehabilitating the blades. I've got all the dado/straight blades done and started on the beading blades. Last to do will be the T&G and sash blades. The new blade box is poplar (1/8") that I used a box joint to fix the sides together. Then I decided to try veneering the box. I recently bought some hide glue and wanted to try hammer veneering. It worked but I don't recommend using white oak veneer for a first try! The grab-box of veneer I bought a while back to play with had mostly small pieces. Only the white oak was large enough that I wouldn't have to spend 20 hours piecing small bits together.
After that I combed through my scrap pile of poplar and other stuff. I wanted a larger box to keep all the plane parts in. I found some poplar and resawed it down to around 1/2". And I had some other stuff, aspen or sycamore that I had bought to experiment with handcut dovetails. Not enough poplar to do the whole box so I'll just mix it up a bit.
Obviously not the greatest grain match in the world, I think I may have three different woods in the sides! Next up a top. Running low on boards long enough I decided to stop at the local Home Depot on the way home from work one day. Lawrence, KS doesn't have a real lumber yard (yahd). So rooting around in the HD wood pile I found a funky spalted and quilted board. Just a little guy about 4 feet long, 5-1/2" wide and 1/2" thick. Perfect for a crazy looking raised panel for a seriously miss-matched wood box.
And just about the last of my whack-tacular green poplar leftovers to make the frame for the frame and panel top. The sides are more of the aspen/sycamore mystery wood. The top is a piston fit to the base. A little planning goes a long way.
So now my new #45 has a nice home. And I got to practice hand cutting through dovetails, milling small stock, more finish planing and a lot of scraper work for that quilted top.
The idea for a slip lid box came from looking at Jr.'s 1800's portable shop and how he has packed things away. Thanks Jr.! The blade box idea came from a friend at the Kansas City Woodworker's Guild, so thanks Mack!