Sunday, June 20, 2021

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!

Saturday, June 12, 2021

Slide of the Month Extra-Philmont Ring Place


June  2021

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane







 

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.

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Slide of the Month-Sundial


 


June 2021

Time to make: 2 hours

Finishing: 1 hour 

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.