Chris Dodson isn't just blowing hot air.

He found a rare set of bagpipes at an out-of-town estate sale, a discovery some are comparing to finding a Stradivarius violin at the curb.

"You see an old set of pipes in a box and you just sort of go, well OK, those are old and dusty and nasty looking," he said.

"You started looking at some of the bits and saying, hold on a second, there might be something interesting here."

Dodson said his friends told him there was a set of bagpipes for auction outside of Ottawa.

But he had no idea it was an extremely rare instrument likely made by legendary Edinburgh maker Gavin MacDougall as long ago as the 1890s.

Some of the bagpipe's parts alone could be worth a lot. Dodson said he had to outbid one other person with an amount he isn’t going to release.

Despite that, Dodson said he’d never think of selling his "new" bagpipes with a tone he calls "steady as a rock."

"I feel like I've won the lottery," he said.

"I'm walking on air right now with these things, it's just so nice to have such a quality instrument."