Slide of the Month March 2017 - Mercury capsule

March 2017

Time to design: 2 hours
Time to print: 2 hours (your times may vary Finishing: 1 hour
Original design: NASA
Original designer: Michael Carbajal. NASA Headquarters
Try it yourself: Mercury capsule slide

Greetings, and welcome to the new Slide of the Month from Channeling Whittlin Jim. This month is for a new generation of neckerchief slides designers, those who want to design and print them on a 3D printer.

Being a kid during the space race, I always dreamed of being an Astronaut and one of my hero's was John Glenn. This slide is a design of Freedom 7 I found on NASA's 3D model resource page. The file was a 3ds file and what I needed was an stl file so I converted it using a free program called Spin 3D Mesh Converter. Next I loaded the converted file into Tinker Cad, a great free design program from Autodesk, and came up with the following model.

Now I could add the neckerchief ring to the model. Once I created the ring, it was a simple process to join the ring to the model

I then use the group function to make sure both parts became one model. Next I downloaded a stl file to import into another free program called Cura  which is what is used by the 3d printer I use called Ultimaker 2.

Once loaded into Cura the model can be converted into gcode that the printer can print from. In my case this file was copied to a SD card so I could bring it to the printer location. I also added supports to help stabilize the model while printing. One the printing was done the model looked like this and the supports were easily removed.

I  sanded where the supports connected to the model (around the heat shield and loop) and decided I liked the somewhat grayish look of the heat shield. Next was to paint the ring at the top and retro rockets silver with some model paint. I also painted the window to give it a operation glow with some paint pens. I also used a red model paint marker to paint the red ring between the heat shield and capsule. The final step was the marking on the capsule. For this I used white decal or water slide paper from Blinggasm.com and Microsoft paint to create a set of decals on my inkjet printer.

 
Once the decals had been treated with an acrylic clear spray paint, I could cut them out and water slide them on to the capsule to finish the slide.

A quick disclaimer here, I do not own a 3D printer (though any company who wants to give me one will be gladly accepted) but what I do have is a great local public library. The Berkshire Athenaeum
has 3D printers and classes to teach patrons how to use the printers. My thanks to Andrea Puglisi and everyone in the reference department for the patience and knowledge in helping me take a random thought and turn it into reality. Perhaps there is a local public library near you with the same kind or resources. For those who want to printing this design it is available on Tinkercad if you do a search of Mercury capsule slide

Bones and Horns (Horn - something special)

March 3/26/2017

Time to make: 2 hours
Finishing: .5 hour










...and now the final slide in this long journey.

When thinking about the last slide, I thought this would be a good time to both finish the Whittlin Jim slides and transition into other Slide of the Month projects along with my own versions.

This slide features a ram's horn I got from Petco that just fascinated me in the beauty of the contours of shape and color. I have also recently been experimenting with some decal paper so I thought of the idea of combining them both. I cut the horn to shape, using a bandsaw, being very careful not to cut all the way through on the sides. The shape of the horn lends itself as a natural neckerchief loop. I then sanded a smooth spot in the center for the decal and sanded the edges. I have my Troop's logo and printed it to some white Blinggasm decal paper using my inkjet printer. I then covered the decal with three coats of clear acrylic spray paint. A hint here, the paper is about a dollar a sheet so plan ahead and print several decals at once or cut the page into photo sized pieces (if your printer will take it) to minimize waste. After the coating dried overnight, I cut out the decal and placed into water into for a couple of seconds until the plastic decal loosened from the paper backer. I slid the decal onto the horn and made sure there were no air bubbles under the decal. A sweet slide if I do say so myself!

One addition note, when working with bones or horns, try to do it outside as cutting or sanding these items stinks to high heaven.

Bones and Horns (Bone Eight)

March 2017

Time to carve: 1.5 hours
Finishing: .5 hour










Another piece of bone given by a friend which the bone was quite thick and this is a one piece slide. I sketched out the 8 on the bone similar to the 7 Ben used, rough cut it on the band saw, and drilled the holes for the 8. I then used the dremel tool to cut, using a diamond bit, and sand the slide. Some wax polish for a finish.

Bones and Horns (Bone Arrowhead)

March 2017

Time to make: 1 hours
Finishing: 1 hour










So a good friend gave me some bones one day all cut up in neckerchief sized pieces and this is a slide made from one of the bones. I really have to ask him what animal it came from but I think it may have been a beef cow. I used a band saw to get the basic shape and then sanded it with a dremel tool to refine the arrowhead. A bit of wax to shine it up and its ready for wearing

Bones and horns (Bones Chris cross)

March 2017

Time to carve: .5 hours
Finishing: hour











Through out this odyssey one page of slides always eluded me, the June 1950 issue of Boy's Life was missing for years on both the wayback machine and on Goggle books. But as I was finishing the blogging last week, I decided to give it one more search and lo and behold there was the missing page. So I present to you the last Whittlin Jim slides.

While not technically a Whittlin Jim "Slide of the Month" the Bone and Horn was published in "Hobby Corner" by Ben Hunt.  So earlier I blogged about the Imbedded Arrowhead being made from a spiral cut ham bone. Well I still had a part of the bone left that still showed the cut marks of the spiral cut blade so I carved additional lines in the opposite directions. The coloring, and shine, comes from some show polish.

Armadillo

February  2017

Time to make: 3.5 hours
Finishing: 2 hour










One of the hardest slides to make because the Eastern Snow Armadillo is one of the hardest creatures to find as they only come out in the winter hibernating the rest of the year. Like their southern cousins, they also hate automobiles but unlike the Southern Armadillos they don't become speed bumps. Instead they are known for creating pot holes in the northeast but are gone by the first of April.

Cow Horn Indian Chief

January 2017

Time to carve: 3.5 hours
Finishing: 2 hour











A very tough slide to make as carving cow horn is very hard. First step was to cut the bonnet and expand the horn. The original article called for the horn to be boiled until the it was pliable. I found it really didn't work well and then found a different method. I soaked the cow horn in ammonia for a week. After shaping the horn it was on to the carving with a linoleum blade. Then I rubbed black shoe polish into the crevices then finished it off with a polishing rag.

Scout Hang-on (Chief Hang-on)

Summer 2016

Time to carve: 2 hours
Finishing: 2 hour










Same basic design as Chief Hang-on but this is a timid Scout climber. Carved from maple and painted with craft paint. Sealed with poly and the rope is 550 cord hanging his climbing belt.

Too Cold (Squaw Hang-on)

Summer 2016

Time to carve: 2 hours
Finishing: 2 hour










Same basic design as the Squaw Hang-on (from Tribe of Sides) but as a first year Scout on a winter campout.  Carved from maple and painted with craft paints. Sealed with poly this poor sap is so cold, he is wrapped in this sleeping bag. (Maybe he shouldn't have worn his sneakers.)

Overzealous First Aid (Footsie)

Summer 2016

Time to carve: 2.5 hours
Finishing: 2 hour










Same basic design as Footsie (In the Tribe of Slides) but with first aid spin. Carved from maple and painted with craft paint. This poor sap is wrapped head to toe with cloth bandages and tied to a backboard.

Snag-Tooth Clown (Snag-Tooth Charlie)

Fall 2016

Time to carve: 2 hours
Finishing: 2 hour










The same basic design as Snag-Tooth Charlie but as a clown. Carved from maple and painted with craft paints. Sealed with poly and when dry, the fake fur hair glued on.

The Great Pie Fight (Cannibal)

Fall 2016

Time to carve: 2 hours
Finishing: 2 hour










The same basic design as the Cannibal but I made it a clown instead. The head, arm and feet are carved from maple. The shield is a hobby plywood round and the pie tins are formed using a doming block and aluminum flashing. The whip cream, in the pie tins, is white silicon. the wooden parts were painted with craft paint and when dried the parts were glued together. I sealed it with a couple coats of poly then glued on the hair. The pies are glued to the shield using the silicon and the other is glued to the hand.

So I can sleep at night

I ran into a few slides that for the time they were published, they were socially acceptable. I could not make them in good consciousness so the following have my own spin on them.

Cannibal
Tribe of slides
Snag-Tooth Charlie
Chief Hangon

Chinese Figurine

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 3 hours
Finishing: 2 hour










Carved from walnut and I struggled as walnut is very hard. The slide has a couple of coats of poly and the symbols were written on with a modeling paint pen.

Whittlin Jim said this was the "God of Happiness"

Key Key Bird

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 3 hours
Finishing: 2 hour










This is a lot of fun to wear! So when people look at it you reach to the wire and all of a sudden the key-key bird moves. The "tree" was cut from a downed tree branch and hardest part is drilling out the hole in the trunk. If you look closely, the hole is drilled down a branch into the center hole for the neckerchief. I gave the "tree" a few coats of poly to get a good seal on the bark. The bird is carved from a scrap piece of maple and painted with craft paint. Small bits of feather were glued into a hole in the head and the wire was glued into a hole in the back the bird. The wire is run through the hole, out through the bottom of the slide, and then down your shirt and out the bottom just above your belt

Texas Longhorn

Summer 2016

Time to carve: 2 hours
Finishing: 2 hour





So one thing I discovered, there were a lot  of steer head neckerchief slides that were published by Whittlin Jim and by this time I'm a bit steered out. This slide is made from a pine sapling and the horns are the branches. I cut the wood sometime in 2015 and let it dry for a year. The carving was straight forward and I painted with craft paint. It's sealed with a couple of coats of poly.

O A Slide 3

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to make: 1.5 hours
Finishing: 1.5 hour



This one hold some nostalgia for me as I had a neckerchief slide just like this when I finished my ordeal. I had bought it at the camp store and brought it home to paint. I think it was made of plaster and with many moves, somewhere it got lost. Well this one is made out of maple and I used a coping saw to cut it out. The arrow is made from a dowel and the arrowhead and fletching is made from some reflective plastic tape.

For Specal Award

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to make: 1 hour
Finishing: 1.5 hour






It seems to me this use to be called the one match fire for the Scout who started a fire using only one match. A really easy slide to make requiring only a spare piece of wood, some wood putty to form the head, sand paper to sand the wood putty smooth, and craft paint.

Reflector Oven

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to make: .5 hours
Finishing: 1.5 hour






Does anyone remember these? It seem like when I was a Scout (and suddenly Scouts stopped paying attention) we used reflector ovens quite often. Made from some aluminum flashing, wire a couple of dowels and a couple of scrap pieces of wood. Painted with craft paints and sealed with poly.

But how do you cook with it? Here's how

The Tenderfoot Camper

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 2.5 hours
Finishing: 1.5 hour







This poor sap is either to tall for the tent or too big for the sleeping bag. At least he changed out of his wet socks. The Tenderfoot Camper is one of those fun slides that generate so many questions and comments from Scouts. Carved in maple and painted with craft paints. A couple of coats of poly to seal it off.

With apologizes to E.M. Snickering

The tall Scout

There was a tall Scout in the Troop
Whose length exceeded his tent.
“My body fits in it
But my feet won't have it
and no telling where my buddy went!”

You name it

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 2 hours
Finishing: 1.5 hour







Well Whittlin Jim  was right when he called this one "you name it" because I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was called. Carved from maple and painted with craft paints. Its got a couple of coats of poly and glued on fake fur for hair.

Clip Board

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to make: .5 hours
Finishing: none







Sometimes slide take time to gather the right materials and so was the case with this slide. I had the counter top sample and the waterproof paper but where do you find a clip like this today. Well in my case it came as we were cleaning out an office. I have no idea how old it is but it was heading for the trash when I claimed it.  It's really good with the waterproof paper and a pencil on those rainy days camping when you need to jot down a note.

Memory Slides

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to make: several hours
Finishing: 1.5 hour







"Don't you often wish you had somethin' to recall that trip you took a couple o' years ago?" wrote Wittlin' Jim. Heck I wish I could remember how to tie these.

The wood is maple finished with a couple of coats of poly while the knots to a while to research then tie. The materials I used to tie with range include paracord, thread, mason's cord, leather and a boot lace.

Emergency Slides

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to make: 2 to 5 minutes
Finishing: got a match? Nevermind, I'll fray the ends.

So your at a court of honor and you forgot your neckerchief slide but you have some paracord or light rope? These literally take just a couple of minutes to tie and you will spend more time trying to figure out how to wear them.

Guitar

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 2.5 hours
Finishing: 2.5 hour







So a lot of parts to this one and some assembly required. The body is white maple and the hole was painted with black craft paint. The sides and back have a one step stain/poly coating. The rest is a cut down screw filed flat in the back and glued to the body. The neck is red maple and the frets are small pieces of wire glued to the neck. Once the neck and body were glued together, I gave it a couple of coats of poly. Once that was dry I "strung" the guitar using thread and super glue to keep the strings taught.

One of my favorite songs on the guitar

Hoop Dancer

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve/make: 3 hours
Finishing: 2 hour







This is a great slide both for the challenge of making it and the simple enjoyment of wearing it. It's carved from  maple and painted with craft paints. The hoops are brass and connected together with solder.

Hoop dancer

The Black Kight

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 2 hours
Finishing: 1.5 hour







Carved from maple and painted with a semi-gloss black paint. Gold modeler's paint was used for the highlights. Finally, the end of a red feather is glued into a hole in the helmet.

Tis merely a scratch

Jackknife

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 2.5 hours
Finishing: 2 hour




Boy this one is fun to wear! So many people think it's real. Carved from maple the rivets are made using a nail punch a light tap of a hammer. It's painted with craft paint and finished with poly. There is also a piece of scrap brass inset into the handle.

yacht

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 1 hours
Finishing: 1.5 hour



A quick little slide with a piece of scrap wood, a dowel, a pin, a toothpick, and some cloth. Painted with craft paint and a couple coats of poly.

Forgive me for this but if you click the link it will be in your head all day.

Minature Mounted Trophy

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 2.5 hours
Finishing: 2 hour






Carved from maple and painted with craft paints. The mounting board is also maple with a one step stain/poly finish

I'll be honest I don't remember which bass I was making when I painted this slide so ...

Moose

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 2.5 hours
Finishing: 1.5 hour







This is another slide where I really like the expression of the face of the moose. If you have ever seen one in real life you know they have a bad attitude. Carved in maple and finished with a dark stain. I picked stain for this because I was looking for a mottled  look. I also really like the natural wood look of the antlers. Cut down pins make of the eyes and poly finishes it off.

MOOSE!

Iron Kettle

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 2 hours
Finishing: 1.5 hour

Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold,

Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old;

Some like it hot, some like it cold,

Some like it in the pot, nine days old

 

Oh, how I believe that when I see how some of the Patrol cookware is cleaned  (or not). Carved in maple with toothpick legs. The handle and pot rings are made from some stiff wire and the whole think is painted with black semi gloss spray paint.

By the way, no it's not Peas, prorridge... the correct version is Pease porridge

Sawed Sumac

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to make: 1 hours
Finishing: 1.5 hour




Whittlin Jim originally called for sumac, walnut or red ceder for this slide but I happened to find a good example in maple. While there wasn't much carving in this, lots of sanding produced a mirror finish when the poly was applied. 

A quick note, I recently found another bush that had excellent contrast in grain so look forward to it in another post.

Paul Bunyan

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 2 hours
Finishing: 1.5 hour







There is something about this slide that makes me smile. Maybe it's the simple expression or slight smile. Carved from maple this is a chip design so not much sanding but that just adds to the weather look of a wood chopping guy. Painted with craft paints and sealed with poly.

 The story of Paul Buyan
and let's not forget his flapjacks

Elephant

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 2.5 hours
Finishing: 1.5 hour










Carved from red maple I like how the slide came together. The tusks are made from some plastic scrape and the eyes are pins that have been cut down. A couple of coats of poly finish it off.

South Sea Island

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 4 hours
Finishing: 2.5 hour










Funny story about these two slides, I carved these slides while traveling for business as my company was a "go-live" of a new system a couple of years ago. (We replaced this system last fall.) I was on hand for troubles but there really wasn't much to do for hours at a time so I carved. It took a sharp knife and lots of sanding. Also, the eyes on the second called for pearl shell but I used a couple of buttons I got at a local retailer. I sanded off the back of the buttons and glued them to the slide after I painted both slides. A couple of coats of poly finish them off.

Hawaiian-Aumakuas

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 3.5 hours
Finishing: 2 hour










A great slide to carve with lot changeling parts. Carved from maple with a sharp knife with lots for breaks for sharping the blade. Painted with craft paint and sealed with poly.

I understand the word Aumakuas means "family god" in Hawaiian.

Pine Cone

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to make: .5 hours
Finishing: 1 hour









A quick and easy slide to make. The best part of this is picking up a pine cone some time when your are attending an event you want to remember. A couple of coats of poly and a leather loop to finish it off. This pine cone was picked up on a camping trip with the Troop.

Emblem of Freedom

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 2 hours
Finishing: 2 hour










Another slide I really like! I seem to remember carving this at summer camp in between lunch and Scoutmaster nap time. Carved from maple and painted with craft paints. A couple of coats of poly finish it off.

Hey, are you familiar with the eagle nest cam in DC?

Seahorse

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 2 hours
Finishing: 2 hour










A seahorse carved from maple and painted with craft paints/finished with poly.

I remember asking my parents about ordering seahorse out of the back of Boys Life Gift and Gimmicks section. They would never let me but I'm over it (kinda).

Goal Kick

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 1.5 hours
Finishing: 2 hour










My first thought was when was the last time goal posts like this was used? So it's a bit dated but the idea is there of kicking a field goal. Carved from maple the football is painted with craft paints and the goal is natural white maple glued together. When the goal is dry the football is glued to the goal. A couple of coats of poly finish it off

Pedro

Sometime between 2012 and 2015

Time to carve: 3.5 hours
Finishing: 2 hour

A two part slide, the head wobbles as you move. The body has a hollow area drilled into it and the head has a heavy bolt glued into it which extends into the body hole. It acts as a counterbalance for the head and the head is suspended by a loop on the head on a hook on the body. Painted with craft paint and given a couple coats of poly. The hair on the head and the tail is made from some black fake fur.

I was sorry to here about Pedro sidekick passing. Rest in Peace Tom