Galootapalooza Recap

by Ralph Brendler

Gosh, it all went by so quickly. Seems like it just started, and it's over. The good news is that it was another incredible weekend of galoot debauchery with great friends, but the bad news...

I have to wait a whole 'nother YEAR for Galootapalooza!

All I have to console me now are my memories, and a bunch of pictures I took... ;-)

This year, the task of hosting Galootapalooza barbecue fell to Doug McLerran out in Naperville. Doug came through with FLYING colors-- the food was excellent, the venue was good, and the beer flowed nearly as well as the show and tell.

Mark Van Roojen, Mike Lindgren, and Lee Sudlow discuss the show and tell offerings over a frosty cup of Lee's awesome homebrew.

Jerry Serviss hams it up while Doug cooks.

Based on recent list discussions about the 2100 line of Yankee braces, Jerry Serviss came prepared to teach "Yankee Braces 101" (or would that be 2101?). It really was fascinating to see all of them together to study the differences.

The traditional Galootapalooza cake, courtesy of Jerry Serviss. This year, we had a little Shaker box on the top...

After an great supper (complete with Mike Lindgren's soon-to-be-famous garlic salad with potatoes), we retreated back to the garage for demonstrations.

This was the first galootapalooza ever where the host did not have a shop (Doug just moved, and the shop wasn't set up yet). Russ Allen saved the day by bringing his humungous emmert-clone-toting workbench, and setting up the garage.

Hoosier planemaker extraordinaire Tod Herrli gave a great demonstration of his technique for filling voids in wood with a lamp black/epoxy mix (a very stunning effect, particularly with his ebony wedges), followed by me doing my best NYW impersonation by bulding a Shaker box start to finish in 41 minutes (woulda taken less than 30, but there were digressions) ;-)

We finished up the demos with Tod using one of his incredible sash/coping plane pairs to make a raised panel door. With Tod's planes the job was effortless, and the joint was incredible. Seeing these in action really sold me on them.

Tod collects some lamp black to use for tinting his epoxy filler, while Jerry, Joe Palazzollo, Steve Kordik, Lee and Alan Graham look on.

Doug and Mark check out the joint in Tod's coped door.

After sleeping off Lee's homebrew for a couple of hours, we met again bright and early Sunday morning at Garfield Farm in LaFox for the MWTCA/EAIA joint meet. The weather was hot and humid, but there were enough tools to make everyone forget about the weather. There was an excellent turnout this year, and all of the galoots went home a little lighter in the wallet.

Steal of the show honors go to Joe Palazzollo for getting a superb #62 with a nearly imperceptible, well made repair for a song, and to Lee Sudlow for picking up a great user #140 for about 1/3 the going rate. As always, I left the meet thinking my $25 MWTCA dues are the best money I spend every year...

Fellow Galoot Alan Sadler's sale table and Starrett display.

I didn't stick around for the display judging, but if Alan didn't win the voting musta been rigged. His display of Starrett oddities could have easily won at a national meet. A truly outstanding collection in a great display.

A fairly typical table, showing the wide variety of offerings available.

Russ Allen checks out the trade tables.

And finally, a word from the Galootapalooza sponsors...

If you've never attended a galoot get-together, you really owe it to yourself. The camraderie and knowledge sharing of these events is a wonderful thing. You'll find out that those guys you talk to every day are even nicer and more interesting in real life!

If there's no galoot get-togethers in your area, then start one! It's easy to do. You'll be amazed at the people you meet, and the lasting friendships you'll make. Just do it, and you can thank me later... ;-)