In a message dated 7/31/04 11:29:19 PM, wesg@e... writes:

<< GG's It was Great. Garfield M-WTCA meet and more summation tomorrow.
Cheers, Wes >>

Hey Gang,

This year's was my first Galootapalooza event and this is my
first review.

I got up to St. Charles at about 6:30 PM Friday and checked into a
hotel. Got up at about 7:30 AM Saturday and made the 1/2-hour trek to
the Duchaj Family Farm just outside Hampshire, IL. When I got there
about 1/2 dozen galoots were hauling equipment into the shop building,
there were two fresh pots of coffee, several boxes of doughnuts, a
bunch of muffins and a loaf of banana bread to hold everyone over until
lunch time.

It wasn't long before the work began. Doug & Ben from the Shepherd Tool
Co. led a group of about 12 people in making infill planes from the kits
their company produces. Most of the guys were making shoulder planes but
there was at least one smoother and one panel raiser under construction.
I took a short turn at draw filing the sides of an almost completed
shoulder plane that Phil Cannon was making.

After a few hours of work it was time for lunch. Again it was quite the
feed with make-it-yourself turkey, ham, roast beef sandwiches, two
cheese & vegetable platters, chips & dips. Since I didn't have a plane
to make, I had plenty of time to study and partake of the food and
beverage selection.

After lunch it was back to work on the infills for those who were doing
them. The rest of us gathered outside for a real treat. Wayne Anderson
was there and there was a reunion of his planes displayed on a miniature
jointers bench that Slav had. It was quite a sight to see 10 or more
Galoots trying to get a photo of all these planes. Also attending was
Chris ? who works for one of the woodworking magazines. He set up a
photo booth in one of the sheds and one by one he photographed all of
Wayne's planes including the ebony, brass & steel shoulder plane he made
for Ralph and the "tiger paw" low angle bench plane he made for Wes. It
was nice to see so many of these planes in one place.

At one point in the afternoon, Mike's uncle drove into the yard in a
1929 Model A pickup truck. He had bought it after the previous owner
had taken it apart and couldn't put it back together. He did a fine job
of putting it back together, and it seemed to run just right. Mike
comes from a long line of gear heads, and the evidence was everywhere
on the farm.

It wasn't long before Wes and some other metal heads fired up a forge,
dug out a swedge block and an anvil or two and began making nails and
other little things. Gil even had a go at it. Soon it was time for yet
another meal. Some pork had been cooking all day in the house and Russ
turned it into pulled pork which we made into sandwiches & drenched with
barbecue sauce and washed down with a variety of soft drinks and malt
beverages.

In all there were probably 30 Galoots attending. I had a chance to
visit with the following: Mike Duchaj, Ralph Brendler, Slav (I won't
even attempt the last name), Russ Allen, Wes Groot, Mike Lindgren,
Gil Chebro, Doug & Ben from Shepherd, Mike's Dad & Uncle, Wayne
Anderson, Chris ? and a few others. Wes took some photos, so maybe
he'll post a few.

After dinner Ben gave a presentation on the history of the infill plane
and the Shepherd Tool Company. During the presentation someone dug out a
few gallons of ice cream and began dishing it up. Shortly after the ice
cream and one last piece of banana bread, I was headed back to St.
Charles for another night in the hotel.

Garfield Farm dawned early Sunday, and there were more dealers set up
and selling than I can remember seeing there in recent years. Dick
Chapman with help from his son and Ralph Brendler worked to hand out
registrations. I didn't see too many purchases being made by any
Galoots, but several were carrying tote bags that looked to be getting
heavier as the morning wore on.

Thanks to all the Galoots who worked so hard to make G9 so much fun.
I'll be back!

Scott Wells