Slide of the Month Extra: Philmont Camping Arrowhead

 

July 2024

Time to make: 2 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont/Bill Macfarlane









Think back about my Philmont experience, I dream of pitching my tent between a stream and trail in a green meadow. The mountains in the distance and the sun high in the sky - very peaceful. 

Carved from pallet pine it contains several levels and as I was painting the mountains, each mountain was painted a darker color of green going back towards the back of the slide. The lettering was done using water slide paper and a couple of coats of poly finish it off 

Slide of the Month-Troop Number

July 2024

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

 
Boy's Life Dec. 1985,  p. 53 

 
Original design:  Jeff Springer

It's July and the excitement of summer camp looms. There is nothing like being with your troop at Summer Camp! No matter if you are a Scout participating in first year rank advancement, Merit Badges, or extra activities (shooting sports, waterfront, climbing, handicrafts, or the trading post) or an Adult watching the pride of accomplishment each Scout feels there. (Oh course Scoutmaster nap time is a definite plus too!) 

Carved from a 1.25 dowel, our troop number was carved before drilling a 3/4 inch hole down the center of the dowel. The background was painted with hobby paints and the slide was finished with a coat of shellac.

Slide of the Month Extra: Philmont Raydo Trek

 

June 2024

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Bill Macfarlane








The Raydo Trek is one of the unique opportunities where an individual can participate in a challenging personal trek. Lead by two Philmont Rangers, the crews are made up of Scouts from all over the country and possibly the world. This is a strenuous 20 day trek that hikes a good part of the Philmont Ranch. Participants can only do this once in their Scouting career unless they return as a Ranger for Raydo (even then they can only do it once). 

Carved from pallet pine, I really like the different levels that make up this slide. The mountain is ruff chip cut for texture and the hiker and backpack has lots of complexity. I painted the slide with hobby paints before continuing. The hiking staff is made from a skewer which was painted and stained before attaching to the slide. To attach the staff, I drilled a hole through arm and glued the staff in place. Next came the lettering with water slide paper and a couple of coats poly finish it off.

Slide of the Month - Tomahawk

June 2024

Time to make:  3 hours

Boys Life "Slide of the Month"

Jan. 2000, page 63

Original design: Jeff Springer












As I understand it, the Tomahawk was created by Algonquians peoples long before the arrival of Europeans. Used for many everyday tasks like chopping or cutting, they were also used for hunting and as a weapon of war.

I really liked carving this out of maple as it had several challenging layers. Lot's of fun! The slide was painted with hobby paints and finished with a couple of coats of poly.

Slide of the Month Extra: Philmont Black Mountain

  May 2024

  Time to make: 3 hours

  Finishing: 1 hour
  
  Original design:  Philmont/Bill Macfarlane







Black Mountain camp is a staffed camp where staffer portray soldiers at a post Civil War outpost. The camp features black powder shooting and blacksmithing along with the stories of the men of the outpost.

The trail leading to Black Mountain camp is also know as the third toughest hike in the entire state.

I carved this from a thick piece of maple and painted it with hobby paints. The lettering was done with waterslide paper and a couple of coats of poly finish the slide off.

Slide of the Month: Tabasco

  May 2024
  
  Time to make: 3 days

  Finishing: 0 hours

  Original design:  Bill Macfarlane













I was traveling for work many years ago and I ordered an omelet for breakfast one morning in the hotel dining area. When I asked for hot sauce to put on my eggs, I was brought this small bottle of Tabasco.  I knew right away this was going to become a slide because everyone needs some seasoning for camp food.

First a disclaimer, I did indeed use the Tabasco in this bottle at that meal. The thought of keeping food even in a bottle like this for many years just didn't seem right.  Using an eye dropper I carefully cleaned out the bottle with soapy water so I didn't get the label wet. When the bottle was dry, I filled the bottle with a red hobby paint closely matching the color of Tabasco sauce using the same eye dropper. I let the paint dry completely over several days and when dry I filled any voids with more of the same paint.  When all the paint was completely dry all I had to do was to screw on the bottle cap and epoxy a loop to the back of the bottle. A very eye catching slide! 

Slide of the Month- Rock and Mineral Specimens

 
May 2024

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

 
Boy's Life Dec. 1971,  p. 88

 
Original design:  John Taylor



    I've always been fascinated by rocks ever since I took Geology Merit Badge. Not to the level for obsession but there are times I pick up a rock I'm interested in and put it in my pocket. So when I say this slide has taken me three hours to make, this takes in account of the time I took to collect these rocks.

Now I'm not going to go into what each rock (but the red one came from Philmont) is but how the slide is made. I took the large flat stripped rock as my base and super glued the other rocks in place on the flat rock. I also glued a wire loop to the back.