A few weeks ago I went up to the cabin without the family (they had a couple friends' birthdays to go to) and I decided to go to an estate type auction. My first one! and it was really fun. Really long, but really fun. (lasted about 5 hours or so).
I picked up some old school cross cut saws. Mostly to "decorate" the cabin, but if I needed them I could certainly use them. They are in decent shape and would only require some sharpening. I got really lucky on one of them without even knowing it. It is a 4 foot saw (the one on the right) that is about a 100 years old an even a little order. Based on the medallion, it was manufactured between 1896-1917.
http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/medv2.htmlI know it would lose some value, but I cleaned it up. Got rid of all the rust, sanded the handle, stained, and sealed it. Polished the medallions and pins. Final result is below.
Also picked up two old time sleds for the kids. Last year I was pulling them on their plastic, sit-on-the ground type of sleds, behind the atv, and inadvertently hit a small tree stump which resulted in a busted sled and my son's sore butt. So these should do the trick. In the process of restoring these as well.
Overall I was really happy with the auction experience and will want to go again. I got most of the items I wanted. I lost on a really cool ice saw, but it went for over a hundred bucks.