

ABOUT The GILSON Snowblower Shop In the beginning…..

It all started in 1972 when I worked at a local hardware store. Among my duties was setting up and servicing snowblowers. These weren't just any snowblowers, they were GILSON's, nice sturdy machines built in Plymouth, Wisconsin. The owner of the store had an infectious enthusiasm for these machines that got into my blood and never left. As he once said, "Gilson with the big G for Goodness". I stayed with that job for 7 years through college and headed off into the world. In 1987 we got a place of our own and for the first time in a long while had to deal with my own snow, and I had a lot of it. There was an older Gilson at my folks house that was not being used, I talked dad out of it and put it back to work. Years of in town use including curbstones and road salt left it in pretty sorry shape. After two years, in 1989 I tore it down completely and refurbished it, the magic was still there. It wasn't long after that I came across another model in the "graveyard" of a local equipment dealer. I bought the machine and got it into tip top shape. That was my 1971 55002, it's a favorite and is the one machine that is always in the garage waiting to work. From there the hobby grew. In November of 2015 the 100th Gilson walk behind snowblower came home with me. Of these, 18 are presently working front line machines, as seen in my gallery, The Gilsonian Institute. Dozens are operable or at least candidates for restoration and some that came to me beyond salvage have been parted down to support the collection and other owner's machines. There are still many models that I'd like to acquire.



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Then came the Internet…..

Along the way I also became interested in web-site creation with my Family Camping Site an early project. That project had pretty much run its course as the Gilson's began to fill the garage and I soon found myself sharing this new hobby with the world. Through the Internet I began sharing information that I thought owners would find helpful. The sale of an occasional surplus used part allowed me to invest in archival materials as former dealerships cleaned house. Things snow-balled (no pun intended!) and as critical parts became discontinued I began applying my engineering skills to bring some items into small scale production. In 2009 I started with digitizing the parts lists and added the Idler Roller Rebuild Kit. There seemed to be enough interest to take a chance and with diminished parts for an aging fleet it seemed like it was a "now or never situation". I began to have other parts machined and fabricated adding more as ideas, designs and cash allowed. In addition to what I now offer for parts I have a number of new items in the pipeline and I am always monitoring common wear items for availability. In 2015 I began to add support for Gilson's legendary roto tillers starting with some snowblower parts that were common. I now offer many exclusive, custom produced tiller parts as well. By day I'm an engineering manager and in season I come home and put my Gilson hat on. There is no shop to call or visit during the day and communication is best done by e-mail. I do not repair machines for customers as my available time is consumed with parts and technical support. I almost always respond to Gilson e-mail the same day and pack stock part orders to go out the next day. When I get hit with snow, the responses may fall behind for a day or so but I strive to get the paid orders on their way first. I do not sell machines, they get parted down, refurbished or stashed away for future projects. I continue to acquire and refurbish machines. I hesitate to use the term "restore" since mine is a working collection. One of the most gratifying aspects is the discovery of the "heirloom Gilson". An amazing number of machines that belonged to a father, grandfather or spouse are being kept in service in loving tribute. It's especially rewarding to help these owners. It's a pleasure to work with Gilson owners here in the United States and around the world. I have found that Gilson exported many more units than the records suggest. I can tell who is having a rough winter just by watching my inbox! One of the interesting things about Gilson is that they were a brand name in and of themselves, but they also did a tremendous amount of private brand work. The features of the private brands typically lagged the Gilson machines by a year or so, giving the Gilson dealers some advantage. Here are some of the many brands Gilson built snowblowers for.

Gilson snowblowers are commonly found in the United States, Canada and the Scandinavian countries.

In 1988 Gilson was acquired by LAWN-BOY. In 1989 LAWN-BOY was acquired by TORO and that was the end of the Gilson designed models. Currently LawnBoy is handling the GILSON parts and archives. The LawnBoy dealer network is your source for OEM parts. See my FAQ for more info on locating parts. This site is dedicated to providing the resources needed to keep these machines working. You will find resources pertaining to parts and service procedures along with historical information throughout this site.