Slide of the Month Extra - Philmont Miners Park

 July 2021

 Time to make: 3 hours
 
 Finishing: 1 hour

 Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

An staffed camp built in a meadow with  climbing wall, climbing cave, and a program area a short 30 minute walk away featuring rock climbing and repelling. It also features the much appreciated showers, purified water, and, for those rainy days, a large covered porch. Another thing of note, mountain lions are often seen hunting prey like mule deer

It is always a rewarding task when I see a patch or picture and think about how I going to turn it into something more rounded. This slide, carved from pallet scrap wood, is no exception.  One of the decision I make right off the bat was to remove the background to give the feeling of the ridge being high. The other aspect was the illusion of perspective using the rope. I think if I was to do it again, I would have made the rope thicker in the corner and thinner towards the climber.  I painted the slide with hobby paint, lettered with waterslide paper, and finished it off with a couple coats of poly.

Slide of the Month Extra-Philmont Urraca (Magpie)

 

July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

Urraca is Spanish for Magpie and the Urraca Mesa is full of these members of the crow family. Ah but the legends say the Magpies can open the portal to the underworld. There are many stories of people seeing many odd thing from blue orbs to a lost Boy Scout. 

Carved from maple, I like how this slide developed with the bird, the branch and the mountains. This is painted with hobby paints, labeled with waterslide paper and finished off with a couple coats of poly.

Hmmmm, these legends and ghost stories give me an idea for more Philmont slides...

Slide of the Month Extra-Philturn Lodge

 
July 2021

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont Millennium 1 / Bill Macfarlane

 Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

Based on some photos I found on Philmont Millennium 1, I've created some slides that are my interpretation of them. The first is the Philturn Lodge and I could not find any information on it but my best guest is it was the original base lodge.

Carved from southern (pallet) pine, it was a challenge to bring this one to life as there were lots of angles and levels to the building.  When I was happy with it, I painted it with hobby paints and sealed it with a couple coats of polly.

Slide of the Month Extra - Philmont Tooth of Time (Elevation)

  July 2022

  Time to make:         3 hours

  Finishing: 1 hour

  Original design:      Philmont /       Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

So many views of the Tooth of Time and this calls out the elevation of 9003 feet above sea level.

Carved from Southern yellow pine (pallet scrap) with different levels for each area of the area. Painted with hobby paints and sealed with a couple coats of poly. The lettering is done with waterslide paper and a inkjet printer.

One year till Philmont (the good Lord willing)

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

Well the count down begins again for me "the good Lord willing and the creek don't rise". (Yes I know that isn't the original saying but considering all the rain we have had lately...)

OK,  I admit started counting the day our crew was told we could not go to Philmont back in 2020.

Besides the weight loss, gym workouts, on trail training starting again, I also have the issue of lots of Philmont slides yet to be published before I hit the trail. With that in mind I'm going to try to publish them all before I leave. So keep an eye out for a slide each week or so for the next year. (Or more if I'm running out of time!)

I can't wait to get in the back country and yes, I'm going to bring my carving knife with me...

Slide of the Month Extra - Philmont 1976

July 2021

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

One of my favorite Philmont patches of the past partly because I think it is a beautiful view and secondly because I graduated in 1976. I bet the Bicentennial was quite something on the 4th of July in 76 at Philmont.

Carved from southern (pallet) pine, this slide has several levels including the stripes of the flag. The slide is painted with hobby paints using a layering method of paint. The lettering is done with a inkjet printer and waterslide paper. A couple of coats of polly finish it off.

I'm one year out from leaving on my Philmont trek and once again I realize, I have more Philmont slides than I have months before I go on trail. So I plan to publish as many of the Philmont slides as I can before I leave. So hang on this might be bumpy ride.

Slide of the Month- The Firecracker

 

July 2021

Time to make: 1 hours

Finishing: 1/2 hour 

Boy's Life July 1993, Page 87

Original design:  Jeff Springer




OK, admittedly not the safest thing we ever did as kids. It's a wonder any of us boomers are alive today with all the "unsafe" things we did back then. (Riding a bicycle without a helmet, chemistry kits, sling shots...etc)  

A quick and easy slide! The body of the slide is a 3/4 inch dowel cut 2 1/2 inches long and sanded at the ends. The fuse is a piece of cotton string painted with blue hobby paint and when it was dry I cut the string so the sting was held tightly together by the paint. Next,  I drilled a hole the size of the string in the dowel. I painted the dowel red with hobby paints and, when dry, glued the fuse in place. A couple of coats of polly finish it off.

Slide of the Month extra - Smokey the Bear

June 2021

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour 

Source : online 

Original design:  Unknown












As we move into the Summer season, I'm always reminded of Smokey the Bear's slogan "Only you can help prevent forest fires."  The story of Smokey is an interesting one, BUT beware of how you celebrate Smokey's birthday

Carved from a solid and hard chunk of maple, this slide caused me to sharpen my carving blade many times.  Lots of sanding on this slide too! Painted with hobby paints and sealed with a couple of coats of polly. All and all, I like how it turned out!

Slide of the Month Extra-Philmont Ring Place

June  2021

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

Ring Place camp is on the old Ring homestead and is know for the clearest view of the stars. It is said on a clear night you can even see the rings of Saturn. Rumor has it, the staff at Ring Place is also the friendliest of all the camps (but your mileage my vary). The is a great article on Ring Place in the Phil News from August 2015.

An unique experience carving this slide for southern (pallet) pine as it is far more complex than it appears. The telescope, counter weight (at lease that is what I think it is), and the eyepiece are somewhat up to interpretation so I beg the readers pardon if I have it wrong. Painted with hobby paints for the main body of the slide and the lettering and starts were done by hand using paint pens. A couple of coats of poly finish it off.

Slide of the Month-Sundial

 

June 2021

Time to make: 2 hours

Finishing: 1 hour 

Boy's Life Oct. 1986, page 52

Original design:  George E. Haddad 

June 20, 2021 is the beginning of summer and the longest day of the year. What better time to make a sundial! It is simple to use and you can tell the time by simply looking at the shadow on the dial. I know what you are thinking, how do you know the time at night?  If it is dark out, its time to go to bed.

Simple to use but a bit tricky to set up as the slide has to be cut on an angle in accordance to the latitude where you are located. For example, the latitude of Boston, MA 42.3601° N, so with this in mind, the angle of the slide would be cut at 42 degrees. I used a block of pine and cut the angle for my area first before drilling a 3/4 inch hole in the top of the slide. For the scale, I screen printed the  from boys life and brought it into MS Paint to enhance the lines and numbers. Once I was happy with it, I cropped the scale and printed it to waterslide paper. The next step was to drill a hole and glue the dowel in place. I painted it with white paint and, when dry, the decal to the slide. Next, a couple of coats of polly were applied. To finish off the slide, I took a fine line sharpie marker and wrote instructions on the back of the slide reminding me to point the dowel to the north while holding the slide flat.

Slide of the Month Extra - Philmont Commissary

May 2021

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design: Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

Every wonder how all those tasty trail meal make it up to the back country camps? Pedro the pack mule? Hiked in by dedicated first year staff? No, its the job of the Philmont Commissary Staff who tireless work to make sure we are resupplied. Here we see our new staffer Barry loaded up and heading out on his first day.

This concept slide honors behind the scenes work the commissary staff does every day getting the many tons (yes tons) of food to the Scouts, Scouters, and Staff. Thank you, because without you I'd have to carry 14 days of food on my back. And the Bear you ask, well sometimes I just make myself laugh at my weird sense humor...

Carved from maple, the tricky part was trying to make the truck look like a loaded truck without making the bear look too small. As a result, the truck is a bit more of a Jeep or perhaps cartoon like. Painted with hobby paints, lettering with waterslide paper, and finished off with a couple coats of Poly.

 

Slide of the Month Extra - Wilderness First Aid

May 2021

Time to make: 2 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

A subject near to my heart as I have spent a good part of my life learning, practicing or teaching First Aid. I am proud to combine my love of Scouting and emergency medicine as a Wilderness First Aid instructor.

Carved from southern (pallet) pine this is another slide carved in layers. The top layer is the cross followed by the foreground. The Tooth is the next level and the background on the raised part of the arrowhead. The lowest part of the slide has the lettering which is done with waterslide paper. I used hobby paints to color the slide and a couple coats of poly to finish it off.

Slide of the Month - Knight's Sword and Shield

May 2021

Time to make: 3 hours

Boys Life "Slide of the Month"

August 1977, page 69

Original design:Wayne Mason












I've heard it said,  Lord Baden Powell used  King Arthur's Code of Chivalry and the Knights of the Round Table when writing his Scouting for Boy. What better way to honor the King Arthur legend by creating an inspired Sword and Shield!

Carved from a couple pieces of  maple, the shield was a quick and easy start. The sword was a bit trickier as the double edged blade and the handle took a steady hand to make. Finished with hobby paints and some painters tape. The royal lion was painted freehand. The sword was glued to the shield as was the coat wire loop. A couple of coats of poly to round this off.

Slide of the Month Extra-Camp Quarantine

April 2021

Time to make: 2 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

 

Original design:  

Camp Quarantine/Bill Macfarlane

A year ago while the world tried to figure out how to continue on remotely, Scouting tied something new. A hybrid camping experience called Camp Quarantine which included camping in your backyard and participating online experiences.  While not the same as being in the quiet sounds of the woods, I don't like the sound of traffic when I'm tiring to sleep, but it was the only camping experience we had as Scouts until the fall but that's another story. 

Based off the patch for Camp Quarantine, this was carved from maple on the same weekend as Camp Quarantine sitting in front of my tent. (I did paint it inside though) There is something I really like about the solitude of the woods under the stars. 

 

Slide of the Month Extra-Philmont Blacksmith Forge

 

April 2021

Time to make: 2 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

The weather is getting warmer. I'm itching to heat, beat, and repeat. The black smith shops around Philmont use coal fired forges like this one to teach blacksmithing so this is my ode to them.

After doing a bunch of slides with different levels, it was nice to try something free hand. So after looking at a couple of pictures of the forges at Philmont, I carved this out of a piece of  bass wood and painted it with hobby paints. I finished it off with a couple coats of poly.

Slide of the Month Extra - Philmont Carson Meadows (Red Cross)

   April 2021

   Time to make: 1.5 hours

   Finishing: 1 hour

   Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

So shortly after I did my concept slide for Carson Meadows, I found this version and it impressed me both in it's simplicity and elegance. 

Carved from maple, it is a simple raised cross but it feels like so much more on the grey background. Painted with hobby paints, lettering with waterslide paper, and finished off with a couple coats of poly.

Slide of the Month Extra-Philmont Baldy Mountain

 

April 2021

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

What an amazing canoe program at Baldy Mountain! It reminds me of the story told to me by Clarke Green over at ScoutmasterCG.com. Two penguins are in a canoe in the desert (or mountain) and one penguin says to the other, "Where's your paddle". The other reply's, "Sure does"

OK, this all started with teaching wood carving merit badge virtually over Zoom. The project was carving a birch bark canoe and when I was done carving, I had a one ready for finishing. The canoe hung around my desk awhile then I came upon a thought for an April fools day slide.  I next I carved the penguins and finally the oar.  I painted the penguins and shellacked the canoe.  Next, I glued the penguins to the canoe and the oar to one of the flippers. The lettering is done with water slide paper and the whole slide is coated with a couple coats of poly.

Slide of the Month Extra-Philmont Carson Meadows

 

March 2021

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

Carson Meadows is known for a few things. First it is know as one of the newer camps at Philmont built in 2004. Secondly, the meadow has one of the finest views of the Tooth of Time. Carson Meadow is also know for it's program of search and rescue. My concept slide for Carson Meadow is a rescue basket.

After cutting out the basic shape, I hollowed out the the the inside of the basket and sanded the shape smooth. Next I painted the basket with hobby paints and applied the water slide paper decal before  sealing the basket with a couple of coats of polly. The handrail is made from some stiff wire and the connector are stainless steel wire wound around the handrail and the ends placed into holes drilled into the basket. The wires are secured with super glue

Slide of the Month Extra Tutorial -Everything else Loops

 

In the last of this tutorial series on loops comes everything else I've used to make a loop.  The reasons vary from it was part of the design to experimenting with something I had on hand.

Webbing  

Webbing is an interesting material to use because of it's flexibility and the weatherproof nature of the material.

Webbing attached with pop rivet

Bamboo

Lightweight and strong, bamboo can make some quick and easy loops for slides. (Besides, I had some leftover from making bamboo slides.)

Bamboo glued to Rocks and Mineral slide

Foam

While not my favorite, foam is an interesting material to work with. It's lightweight, easy to work with (think Cubs) and can be sewn or glued with contact cement. Maybe a possible alternative to leather but certainly doesn't have the same strength.

 

Foam loop glued

Pipe

Pipe is another material I've experimented with and 3/4 inch clear or PVC pipe works well

Clear pipe epoxied to Circuit Board slide

Fabric

Quite honestly, I don't do much with fabric when it comes to slide loops.  In the case of the slide below, it came with the mascot.

Fabric loop

Beaded

Wow, I really liked doing this beaded slide which is basically a 360 design. It's a MacLaren Tartan I did for Woodbadge.

Rainbow loom loop

Something fun to try and after I saw one of my Scouts with one of these I had to try it

Rainbow loom loop

Cardboard loop

Not a material I use often because of the strength of it, but a versatile material to work. Considering all the online ordering going on right now, there is a lot of cardboard available. (Which give me another idea for a slide.) 

Cardboard Loop

Well, that's my primer on loops so far (thanks Walt Whitman for the suggestion) but I reserve the right to come up with some other far fetched ideas for loops...

Slide of the Month Extra Tutorial -Strings, cords, and shoelace Loops

 What strings, cords and shoelaces as loops? Sure why not! Using these can be simply functional or decorative depending on what suits you.

In the Bowie Knife slide, the cord loops I used are simply functional so I wasn't taking away from the knife and sheath. It was also simple to attach.

Cord loop

In the case of the Shovel and Pick side, I wanted a loop that would add something extra. In this case I used mason's line to fashion a Solomon's ladder woven loop.

String loop

When making the Fusion Knot slides I thought, why knot (sorry) use the excess cord to form loops

Paracord loops

Speaking of Paracord, in my updated survival kit slide, it would have been a crime not to incorporate a loop into the design.

...and let's not forget the age old tied and true (sorry again) the Turks head woggle. I've tied countless amounts of theses and every year a Webelo scout receives one of these during the cross over ceremony with their first troop neckerchief. So where does shoelaces come into this? Well, shoelaces (the round ones make for boots) have made for some of my most interesting designs.

Shoelace Turks Heads

Slide of the Month Extra- Philmont Dean Cow

 

March 2021

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1.5 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

I'm told that Dean Cow was an amazing climbing and repelling camp at Philmont. Sadly, all the buildings at the camp were destroyed by the Ute fire in 2018. 

Admittedly, I was fascinated with the thoughts of trying to create this slide. I laid out my plans and redesigned the plans several times before I started. I started with southern (pallet) pine and decided the climber and emblem would be the top level. The background (sky) was carved first followed by the rock face so it would give me the room to work on the climber. My focus on the climber became my next priority because if I could not carve the climber, there was no sense continuing. As you can see, I was happy with the climber and went on to sand the slide. The only part un-sanded was the rockface  because I wanted to keep it rough. Thinking ahead, I drilled holes for the rope then painted the slide with hobby paints. Next came the emblem which was printed on waterslide paper and then I sealed the with a couple coats of polly. Lastly, I took some mason's twine  passed it through the holes, tied a figure 8 knot and ran the lead of the rope above the rock ledge. Both the knot and the top of the rope were secured with some crazy glue.

Slide of the Month Extra Tutorial -Thru Loops

I call "thru loops" any slide that either naturally has a hole in it or a slide that I have drilled or carved a hole through. There are quite a few Whittlin Jim and others who had designs in the round that encompassed a 180 to 360 degrees which required having a hole down the middle of the slide.

Natural hole loops 

Bone

Horn

Cow horn

Bamboo

Drilled holes

Drilled as part of the slide

Drilled as part of the slide 2

Drilled as part of the slide 3

Drilled but in the background

Holes carved 

Carved

 (Neckerchief goes through the mouth and out the gills)

Carved 2

Carved 3

(OK, carved and glued)

Natural and Carved

Bamboo 

Bone

Slide of the Month - Bow Legged Cowboy

March 2021

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour 

Boys life: May 1983 p. 67 

Original design:  Fritz Hines 

When thinking about what to write about cowboys, I came across a couple of interesting quotes. 

The first is from Gary Benton.

  "Cowboys are my heroes and always have been. They are a complex mixture of compassion, honesty, integrity, and bluntness. They're not the simple folks they project and deep thinking often takes place behind the unblinking eyes. Often they speak little, but listen a lot, because a closed mouth can hear better and learn more." 

The second is from History.com, "Cowboys were mostly young men who needed cash."

With the neckerchief passing through the arms of the cowboy and back threw the legs, I knew right away that the wood for this slide was going to need to be tough. I chose maple because it would take the outward force of the neckerchief without splitting.  Once the shape was roughed out, I used a drill and bit to start the holes for the arms and legs. Then it took a fair amount of whittling to get the holes looking somewhat normal for the character. After sanding, the slide was painted with hobby paints and given a couple coats of poly.

The one thing I didn't carve was the face. I have two reasons for this. First I didn't think I could capture the real identity and soul of a cowboy and secondly I don't like to carve faces. (My carved faces never look right to me!) 

Slide of the Month Extra Tutorial -Metal Loops

 Metal loops take on so many different forms depending on your needs and imagination

Metal Strip

Metal strips can be made from just about anything from aluminum flashing to and old tin can. The tools I've used to make the cut range from tin snips to a sturdy scissors. 

Pop rivet attachment

Wires

Wire is great because it has so much flexibility (pun intended? you be the judge). No really, I can shape it any way I want and can attach various ways.

Copper wire soldered

Steel wire glued

Steel wire friction fit

Stainless steel wire wrapped around wood

(hidden by thread wrap)

 Steel wire - Free form 

(the wire holds it's form while floating in slide)

Copper electrical wire - In the body of the slide

 

As a part of the slide

The first of these have extra length "ears" that form the slide.

Aluminum metalworking

Iron - Blacksmith style