Sunday, December 25, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra - The Nutcracker


    

     Christmas day 2022

     Time to make: 3 hours

     Finishing: 1.5 hour

     Original design:  Bill Macfarlane













A long time ago (last Friday to be exact), I thought I might like to try making a nutcracker slide for the holiday season. After researching learning how to make a working nutcracker in a size I could use for a neckerchief slide, I realized this wasn't that different from making the joined monkey slide. 

Make from different sized dowels, I started with a large dowel and carved and hour glass shape for the body. I cut a slot in the body and began working on the working jaw mechanism. After figuring out where to drill the hole, I used a long nail to drill through the body into the jaw and out the other side of the body. The nail was purposely long enough to also mount the arms (made from smaller dowels). A small drop of super glue  to secure the arms to the nail and when I use the lever to close the jaw the arms also move.  Next using the same large dowel, I carved the head and the hat then using pins and glue secure them to the body.  Using a slightly larger dowel, I cut out the legs and made feet which I glued and pined to the legs. The legs were then glued and pined to the body. The hands were make from some flat beads and glued/ pinned to the arms. I painted the slide with hobby paints before gluing the hair to the chin and head.

Happy Holidays and I be back next year!

Saturday, December 17, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra - Matchbox/Hotwheels


December 2022

Time to make:  1/2 hours

Finishing: 0 hours

Original design: Bill Macfarlane





When I was very young, Matchbox diecast cars and trucks were a mainstay with cars racing around and construction vehicles building roads in the sand box. A few years latter, it was a upstart company Hot Wheels cars racing down orange flexible tracks. A great number of years later, a collection of fire, rescue, and ambulance vehicles from many different companies in my collection. (OK, I have a few space ones too...)

The other day I happened to see this mini-sub and thought it might make for an interesting slide. I simply drilled a couple of holes into the back and crazy glued a wire loop into the holes. Quick, easy, and a good looking slide!

Thursday, December 1, 2022

Slide of the Month -The Viking



December 2022

Time to make: 2 hours

Boys Life "Slide of the Month"

Aug. 1998, page 54

Original design: Jeff Springer












Now there are two thing that come to mind when I think of Vikings. The first is a great series from the History channel and the second a silly reference from Monty Python's Flying Circus. (spam, spam spam, spam...)

I like this slide as it is somewhat chip carving and somewhat finished. Carved from maple and painted with hobby paint. It is finished with a couple coats of poly and it has a coat hanger loop.

Saturday, November 26, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra - Easter Island Head (Enhanced)


 


November 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour
Boy's Life
Original design:  Bill Macfarlane













So recently I came accross a slide I was doing as an example for a zoom Wood Carving merit badge a couple of years ago. It was a Easter Island Head slide and I already have a couple of these in my collection so I thought I would modify it a bit. 

 Carved from pine it started as the basic head. To enhance the head, I first cut elongated eye slots - easy enough. Next the mouth was opened and holes cut into the ear area. Lastly, I cut what was the forhead into more of a headdress - nice! I finished it off with hobby paints and a couple of coats of poly.

Saturday, November 19, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra - Philmont Urraca Challenge



 November 2022

 Time to make: 3 hours

 Finishing: 1 hour

 Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane








Urraca camp has a challenge area which crews work together to accomplish.  From high walls to spider web, crews have to use out of the box thinking to be successful. 

Carved from southern (pallet) pine, the slide contains one of the things is dislike carving - hands. After painting the slide with hobby paints and applying the lettering, I used "puffy" paint pens to make the net. A couple of coats of poly finish it off 

Saturday, November 12, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra - Philmont Harlan

 


July 2020

Time to make: 1 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane





So the funny thing about my Philmont slides is I never got the chance to publish them all before leaving for Philmont and the other weird thing is I've made more. So without further ado...

Harlan Camp was a great camp for shotgun shooting and reloading but it had to be shut down after the Ute Park fire in 2018. Because of this, Santa Claus camp was reestablished as a staff camp for shotgun shooting.  A great story was published on Harlan and Sawmill in a  2016 PhilNews story  

Carved from a piece of pallet pine, a simple slide to make. Painted with hobby paints and lettered with waterslide paper. The slide is sealed with a couple of coats of poly.

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Slide of the month - Clown



November 2022

Time to make: 2 hours

Boys Life "Slide of the Month"

Aug. 1984, page 53

Original design:  Fritz Hines












Another clown slide!

Carved from maple with a dowel nose. Painted with hobby paints and finished with a couple coats of poly.


Saturday, October 15, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra- Philmont Cimarroncito 8


 


October 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane











Cimarroncito is a great area for climbing and includes an indoor climbing gym in the old commissary building. After the 2018 Ute Park fire, the commissary function was moved from Ute Gulch back to Cimarroncito. 

Carved from southern (pallet) pine, the climbing 8 was an easy slide to carve. The slide was painted with hobby paints and sealed with a couple coats of poly. The lettering and climbing backgrounds were done with waterslide paper. 

Slide of the Month Extra - Glass Bead knots


October 2022

Time to make: don't remember

Finishing: none

Original design:  Corning Glass / Bill Macfarlane













So something a little different. I was out at Corning Glass and had the chance to make a couple of glass beads. My original thought was these would fit my wife's Pandora bracelet but when we received them in the mail (the beads had to cool) they didn't fit. It was then I thought these would make really nice neckerchief  end knots. 

 

Saturday, October 1, 2022

Slide of the Month - Howling Coyote



October 2022

Time to make: 2 hours

Boys Life "Slide of the Month"

June 1992, page 63

Original design: Jeff Springer












One of the things I like about Jeff Springer's designs are the simplistic elegance as in this howling coyote. (You might want to turn down your speakers if you click the link.)

Carved from maple and painted with hobby paints. Finished with a couple coats of poly.

Saturday, September 17, 2022

Slide of the Month - Acrylics (back to school)




September 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original designBill Macfarlane













One of the things I love about making neckerchief slides is experimenting with different materials and techniques. Each taught me something and even mistakes took on a whole other side of creativity.

I got the idea of casting some colored pencils with a pourable resin and set off to see what I could do. First off I needed a mold but, having some experience with turning pens, I knew I need a short piece of  2 inch PVC pipe. Next came color pencils and if you have been a parent or gone to school in the past few years, you probably have an abundance of colored pencils around. I cut the colored pencils to fit inside the PVC and then hot glued them into a stack like a round stair case. I also included a small square of wood underneath the stack so I had extra resin material to work with. To prepare the PVC pipe, I used a piece of plastic glove and attached it to the bottom of the pipe. The stack of pencils was inserted into the pipe before pouring in the resin. When the resin had hardened, I popped out the form from the PVC pipe using a dowel and a hammer. I then took the form over to the lathe and clamped in in. I should mention here that the wooden base and the extra material I poured at the top gives me the ability to work the form. Turning the plastic takes a certain pressure to make look uniform but this goes right out the window when the chisel hits the wood of the colored pencil. Yes, took a huge chip out of the form...start from scratch.  Take two and I am using very little pressure and got a cylinder ready to finish on the lathe with fine sandpaper and super glue. (I know that sound odd but it give a great finish.) After the finish coat, I set up the lathe to drill a hole down the center and I wasn't initially happy with the results. (see bottom slide)   The colors had streaked through the inside and I really wasn't satisfied with the outside either  because the wooden pencils were not uniformed so I set that one aside. On my third attempt, I didn't cut down to the pencils and left a thin layer of resin between the outside and the pencils. I cut the hole down the middle a bit slower spending a lot of time wet sanding and polishing.  (see top slide).  Taking what I had learned (and the fact I had left over sharpened pencil points) I did one last slide (yes the one in the middle above.)

Thursday, September 1, 2022

Slide of the Month - Bug eyed bird



September 2022

Time to make: 2 hours

Boys Life "Slide of the Month"

UNKNOWN PUBLISH DATE

Original design:  Jeff Springer





Another Boy's Life mystery afoot! If you follow the link above, the slide looks like any other Jeff Springer Slide of the Month but yet I can't find it published in a printed Boy's Life. Perhaps its in an issue not on the wayback machine? My guess is this was a slide meant for publication but the editorial staff of Boy's Life decided to do away with Slide of the Month  before it was published and put this one online instead. 

UPDATE: The link no longer works but I still have it in my records.

Carved from maple and painted with hobby paints. It's finished with a couple coats of poly.

Monday, August 1, 2022

Slide of the month - Observation tester



August 2022

Boys Life "Slide of the Month"

Nov. 1971, page 68

Design by: John Taylor









How observant are the Scouts during a meeting? John tell the story of (former?) Scoutmaster Dr. Rizika of Troop 502 Miami, FL who would change the slide midway through the Troop meeting to see if anyone noticed.

This slide was carved using a dried limb from a sugar maple. The hardest part carving was trying to make both arrowheads as similar as possible before painting. Painted with hobby paints and finished with a couple of coats of poly

Sunday, July 24, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra - Philmont IWGBTP


July 2022

Time to make: 2 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane



When this slide goes live I'll be on a plane heading home. I can't believe the little things that have tried to stand in the way of me going to Philmont but all I can think now is 

On a redeye unable to sleep
full of jet lag
Tired, dirty and un-showered
after driving 5 hours straight
to the airport
full of gas station food
having to go to work tomorrow
and I can think 
I WANNA GO BACK TO PHILMONT

OK, poor excuse for a ranger chant but click the link above or search Philmont Ranger chant on Youtube to see it done right.

Carved from southern (pallet) pine and not being very good at letters, I wanted to give it a go. Not bad if I do say so myself after giving it a couple of coats of amber shellac. Now you know if you have seen these letters on a backpack or even on bumper sticker on the car ahead of you, the owner went to Philmont. They want the world to know "I Wanna Go Back To Philmont"






Saturday, July 23, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra-Philmont Hymn


 


July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane









It's our last morning at Philmont if all has gone well and we drive to catch a plane and head home, so I'm reminded the lyrics of the Philmont Hymn.

Carved from southern (pallet) pine a slide with several levels. I painted it with hobby paints, lettered with waterslide paper, and finished with a couple of coats of poly.


Friday, July 22, 2022

Slide of the month Extra: Philmont Crew 7-11C

 



July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design: Bill Macfarlane









By this point on our trek, day 12, we will be watching the sun rise on the Tooth of Time and will be hiking into base camp for the last time on trail in our Philmont 2022 experience.  The slide not only represents this early morning but the coming out of darkness for the Western Mass Crew. This is why we have chosen it for our logo. The 2018 crew could not attend because of the Ute Park Fire and in 2020 Covid canceled our trek. Our crew in 2022 has will finish what these crew could not but so desperately wanted to. I know Philmont will forever have a spot in our heart and maybe just maybe the crew will have made an impression on Philmont. 

Carved from maple similar to the one I did for the 2020 crew and just as difficult to create. Painted with hobby paints, lettered with waterslide paints, and sealed with a couple coats of poly.

Thursday, July 21, 2022

Side of the month extra: Philmont Tooth Ridge (dry) camp


July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 2 hours

Original design: Bill Macfarlane




































Day 12 and Tooth ridge camp is (hopefully) is the only dry camp we will be at. This may be the heaviest our packs will be as we have taken on food and extra water at Miners Park. Each of us will have an addition 2 to 3 liters of water strapped to us and, at 2.2 pounds per liter, with the 4 liters we will normally be carrying on the trail, that's 15 pounds!

Both of these are carved from pallet pine and and took on there basic form quite quickly. The hard part of these slide was figuring our the hydration tubes. After looking around my shop for awhile I found some gas line tubes left over from another project.  Well, shoot what am I going to do for mouth pieces? Back to searching the shop until I came upon an idea - spray can nozzle's. (I keep a few spare around incase I have a can with a blocked opening.) Cutting away the outside shell so I only had the inner part of the nozzle, I now had something I could shape into the mouth pieces for these slides. Mounting the tube on the water bottle was easy as I only had to drill a hole in the top and glue it in. The water bladder took a bit more thought. What I settled on was to both glue it on and to form the connection point using super glue gel and some baking powder . The combination of them both forms a hard quick drying bond. To finish the slides off I used hobby paints, waterslide paper for the lettering, and a couple of coats of poly.

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Slide of the month extra - Philmont Trail Peak B24 Liberator


 


2022

Time to make: 1.5 hours

Finishing: 2 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane









It's day 11 and we are on the way to Miners Park but I hoping for a side hike to Trail Peak to see the wreckage of a B24 Liberator. On April 22nd, 1942  the B-24D Liberator 41-1133 crashed into Trail Peak during a raging thunderstorm. This slide to honor the men of the flight and I recommend the story of Liberator Flight 41-1133 which can be found here.

Carved from southern (pallet) pine it is a relatively simple slide to carve as it is only the mountain and sky. The reason it is so simple is that I didn't want to take away from the B24 and the wording beneath it. All the lettering and the plane were done with waterslide paper and the coloring was done with hobby paints. I finished it off with a couple coats of poly.

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra-Philmont Beaubien


 


July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane









It's day 10 and it's our 2nd day at Beaubien and I'm looking forward to tonight's chuckwagon dinner. Why you might ask, well we have been living trail food and I'm craving some good vittles. 

Named for French trapper Charles Beaubien (also known as Rincon Bonito in the 1940's), Beaubien camp is well known as a waypoint for almost all southern treks known for it's cowboy program, chuckwagon dinner, and a fantastic evening campfire. I probably brand something while I'm there ... maybe a new slide.

Carved from a piece of pallet pine, the horse shoe was an easy carve but what made this an interesting slide for me to make was the placement of the sign and the flag pole. The poles are make from toothpicks and the sign was make from a popsicle stick. I drilled holes for the poles for mounting and super glued the poles in place. The sign poles were also glued to the background  before gluing the sign to the poles. The flag pole was glued both to the hole in the slide and to the sign. Once the glue on the flag pole was dried, I also built up the base of the flag pole using super glue. The slide was painted with hobby paints and the brands were done with a paint pen. The lettering and the flag were done with waterslide paper. A couple of coats of poly finish it off.

Special Note: For those on Facebook,  this is the last post before I leave for Philmont so if you want to see the rest of my Philmont slides during my time on trek, check out my website channelingwhittlinjim.com as I will be scheduling my slides to publish in my absents. Unfortunately, I can't seem to figure out how to automate Facebook posts from the blog.  








Monday, July 18, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra- Philmont Phillips Junction Commissary


  July 2022

  Time to make: 3 hours

  Finishing: 1 hour

  Original design: Philmont/Bill Macfarlane


It's Day 8 and we are starting off with a lighter pack because we need to pick up three days of food at Phillips Junction Commissary on our way to Beaubien. We might even get some fresh fruit there if we are lucky. Speaking of getting lucky, will the showers be running because well you can embrace the stink for just so long...

One of the things I love about making neckerchief slides is being able to try new method and materials! This can is made from a single piece of PVC pipe. I first put a length of pipe into a wood lathe and carved away the middle of the can just deep enough to form the top and bottom ridges of the can. I sanded the middle of the can, while still on the lathe, and used a saw blade to cut it off at the bottom. I had left about an inch and a half of pipe above the top of the can for the next part. I made the lid of the can by cutting the top part of the pipe 95 % through the width of the pipe then a second cut vertically splitting it into two sections held together only by the uncut area in the horizontal first cut. Next I applied heat to this top section and carefully pried it apart until it was somewhat flat. I did not want to make it completely flat because I wanted it to look a bit bent like it had been opened.  I need to then sand the top round to look like the top of an opened can. To fill the pipe or body of the can, I used some epoxy "plumbers" putty which was easy to use and quick curing. I painted the can with plastic model paint and lettered it with water slide paper. 

Sunday, July 17, 2022

Slide of the month extra - Philmont Rocky Mountain Fur Company Trap


 


July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design: Bill Macfarlane



On our 7th day and we are on our way to Red Hills camp. We have a lot of options here as we might take a side hike to Mt. Phillips, the second tallest mountain at Philmont,  or hike up to Clear Creek camp and see the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. Since I've already published a slide for them, here is a different take as trapping was a way of life of some early settlers and traps like this caught many animals. One thing of note, Philmont does not allow trapping today and the only reason they are at camp is for historical purposes. 


A little metal working for me as I got the thought of building a leg hold simular to the kind that might have been used during the time period. I found some plans our on the web and set to work using a thin piece of metal I had hanging around here. Not really sure what it's original purpose was (maybe a lamp hanger or a nail on strap of some kind) but it fit the bill for the pieces I  needed. The first thing was to print out a templet of the parts and carefully cut them out. Next I glued the templates to the metal and traced them with a fine tipped laundry marker. I punched and drilled the holes before using a metal cutting wheel on my Dremel to cut out the parts.  Following the direction, I assembled the parts and before I knew it, I had a mini trap! The base of the slide was made from a piece of pine and I screwed the trap to the base to hold it tight. The wood is finished with golden shellac and the lettering done with waterslide paper. 

But I know there is one question in your mind right now...Does it work? Well I dare you.



Saturday, July 16, 2022

Slide of the month extra - Philmont Comanche Creek


 


July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1.5 hours

Original design:  Bill Macfarlane





Day 6 and we are on the trail heading for Comanche Creek a non staffed trail camp next to a stream. The good news is we will have plenty of water but the downside might be a swarm of mosquitoes. Perhaps the furthest campsite away from the stream might be in order. We just might take in the Homesteading program at Crooked Creek while we are there.

Made from a piece of southern (pallet) pine the stream was made by hollowing out the area and then using super glue gell to place the rocks. Once the glue dried, I used regular super glue to fill the area and then sprinkled sand into the area to form the stream bed. Again a period of waiting for the glue to dry. To finish off the stream I used a couple of tubes of regular superglue to fill the area forming the water in the stream. I allowed 24 hours for the glue to dry which formed several ripples as it dried. (Nice!).  I used hobby paints to paint the scene, waterslide paper to letter, and a couple of coats of poly to finish it off.

Friday, July 15, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra - Apache Springs decision


 


July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Bill Macfarlane





It is going to be a great day on day 5 (hopefully) as our pack will have only one lunch in it and we are heading to Apache Springs for the night and food pickup. I'm also looking forward to the sweat lodge (hopefully it is not closed because of Covid) and seeing the Teepees both which I've covered before in slides. One of the other programs at Apache Springs is 3D archery and this slide depicts a choice the archer will make. Shoot the bear and let the deer run free or shoot the deer and give the bear an easy meal. Well for me, I use to be a bear, and a good ol' bear too...


Carved from some really hard maple, I needed to keep my knife really sharp because this took some time and effort to carve. I painted it with hobby paints, lettered it with waterslide paper, and sealed it with a couple coats of poly.

Thursday, July 14, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra- Philmont Fish Camp

 


July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane





Day 4 and we are headed to Fish Camp was one of Waite Philips remote camps (called Rayado Lodge) for well...fishing. It is said, the area was one of Waite Philips favorate areas. While you can fish here with gear furnished by the camp (if you have a New Mexico fishing License ) the best part is you can use a fly you tied yourself. You can bet I'll have a hand tied fly attached to my hat! (But at $56 for a non-resident fishing license, I won't be fishing.)

Carved from Southern (pallet) pine there, are several levels to this slide with the fish being the top level and the background being the lowest level.  The slide is painted with hobby paints and the lettering is using waterslide paper. A couple of coats of poly finish it off.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra-Philmont Abreu (Cantina)

 



July 2022

Time to make: 1.5 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane















Day 3  and we are heading to Carson Meadows, which I've highlighted here and here, yet all I can think of is the nearby Abreu Cantina. 

It's hot, the sweat is drenching your clothes, the pack feels so much heaver than yesterday, and you've hiked too many "ranger miles" to count. Yet at the end of this part of the trek you know a there is a mug of refreshing root beer that awaits at the cantina.  Abreu is one of the period staffed camps at Philmont repersenting the Abreu homestead.

Ok I have to admit, if our crew picks a southern route, I'm looking forward to getting to the Abreu site not only for the cantina and program but for the meal and shower that I will so desperately desire by this point in the trek.

EDIT: We didn't get to see the Cantina do to a "Bat infestation" but did get to go to a makeshift store in a lower building. The mugs of root beer ended up being cans of "Mug" root beer. 

Kind of a simple slide to carve as it only has three levels (the door header, the building, and the inset door). Carved from southern (pallet) pine, painted with hobby paints, lettered with waterslide paper, and finished off with a couple coats of poly. 

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra - Philmont Kit Carson Museum at Rayado



July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane








It is the first day of the trek and we should have taking a short 2 mile hike to Olympia camp. But then came the Cooks Peak fire so  there is a change of plans since Olympia camp as well as some of the trails we would be using have been affected by the fire. As of the time I'm writing this, we will get bused to Rayado  to take part in some activities then spend our first night at Toothache camp. For some reason, I got the feeling it is going to be one of the hardest because we will still be getting use to the altitude and learning all we can from the ranger. One of the nearby attractions is the Kit Carson Museum at Rayado which we might take a chance to see. 

Back in 1848 when Lucien Maxwell decided to found the first American settlement in New Mexico, he asked his friend Kit Carson to provide security. From 1848 to 1853, Kit built a ranch at Rayado where he raised cattle, horses and sheep. In 1950 the Boy Scouts of America built an Adobe Museum to portray his time at Rayado.

Carved from southern (pallet) pine the carving of this prairie schooner had a difficult challenge in that I probably come back to sometime in the future - the wheels. Trying to make the spokes, felloes, and hubs look right will probably take a microscope and miro carving tool. That being said, the slide was painted with hobby paints, lettered with waterslide paints, and sealed with a couple coats of poly. 

Monday, July 11, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra: Philmont 2022


 


July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 2 hours

Original design:  Bill Macfarlane









Day 1 and we are arriving at Philmont Scout Ranch. So much to do today getting ready for us setting out on our trek. The slide today is the buffalo's head which is the symbol of Philmont 2022.

Carved from a piece of red maple and the horns are made from plastic. I used a wood burner to make the hairs on the head and then stained the head a dark brown. I painted the horns black and drilled a couple of holes to glue the horns in place. The nose and beard is also painted black. The eyes were done with paint pens. Though hard to see, the lettering is done with waterslide paper and a couple of coats of poly finish it off. 

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra: St. James Hotel

 



July 2022

Time to make: 1.5 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane









 

It's the day before we arrive at Philmont but we are in Cimarron, NM and one of the places we will be at is the St. James Hotel. Now I know what your thinking, why a door? I'll get to that...

The St. James has a long history in Cimarron as famous and infamous have stayed there such as Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill, Bat Masterson, Zane Grey, Clay Allison, Black Jack Ketchum, Annie Oakley, Jesse James, and the outlaw Davy Crockett (a descendant of the original) just to name a few. It is said there are so many bullet holes in the celling that the roof had to be replaced and a double layer of hardwood floor placed in the rooms upstairs to keep sleeping guests from being shot by some downstairs.  You can still see 20 bullet holes in the dining room alone. The door? I'm getting there. 

One other thing, the hotel is haunted. From Mary Lambert, the wife of the original owner,  who's favorite haunt is to stand at the end of a guest's bed until they become aware of her presence to the little boy who giggles and runs through the halls. But one of the most active ghosts is T.J. Wright who won the hotel in a poker game one night. The following day he was going to collect his winnings but was shot by an unknown assailant. The wounded cowboy was carried to a room where he died two days latter. Yes, the room was room 18 which he believes is his room in his hotel. In the past when room 18 has been rented to guests, TJ goes on a rampage roaming the halls and breaking things. The owners decided that room 18 would be locked and kept for TJ Wright as his own. Every month the staff changes the linens, leave a fresh bottle of Jack Daniels whisky, and tobacco to keep him happy.

Carved from a piece of pallet pine, a simple slide to carve and finish. I first painted with a white primer first and then painted with a thin brown hobby paint to give it a wood grain look. The door knob is a black tack and the lettering is done with waterslide paper. A couple of coats of poly finish it off.

Saturday, July 9, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra: Koshare


 


July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 2 hours

Original design:  Bill Macfarlane










 

Its 3 days till Philmont and we should be at the Koshare Kiva in La Junta, Co. The Kiva was built by La Junta Boy Scout troop in 1949  as a museum  having a large collection of  Native American art and artifacts. It is also has the worlds largest self-supported wooden log roof and was built without any nails. We will get to stay here overnight but best  of all we get to see the world-famous Koshare Indian Dancers. This slide represents the Koshare the sacred clown of the Hopi which I hope we will see during the show.

Carved from a stake I found in a hardware store while traveling for work. Odd piece of wood which was hard in some places and soft in others. Despite that, carving away in my hotel room with no other tools but an X-acto knife. Now you might be thinking, how did I pack a whittling knife and get through security. The answer is quite simple, I bring an X-acto handle or two with me and buy blades in the city I'm in. Before leaving, I throw the blades away but I digress....When I got home I painted the slide with hobby paints and sealed it with a couple coats of poly. When the slide was dry, I drilled small holes in each side of the hat and another hole in the hand. The cornstalk hair was made by super gluing pieces of yellow insulated wire into the ends of the hat and when dry, triming/shaping them. The stick is a toothpick glued and finished with super glue.

Friday, July 8, 2022

Slide of Month Extra: Rubber Duck


 


July 2022

Time to make: 1/2 hour

Finishing: 0 hour

Original design:  Bill Macfarlane











 

It's days until we offically step foot on Philmont and after today it might be a soggy foot for today we are white water rafting at Royal Gorge in Canon City, Co. But fear not because I have my Rubber Duck with me.

OK I admit sometimes my sense of humor gets the best of me...

A very easy low cost slide to make. Dollar store rubber ducks (3 to a package) and a sharp knife is all you need. I cut a rectangular slot  about 1/2 inches into the back of the behind the head and before the tail. The I cut a similar slot in the bottom of the rubber duck - easy peasy,

Thursday, July 7, 2022

Slide of the month extra: Penny Arcade


 


July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design: Bill Macfarlane







 

OK I've got to admit I looking forward to on our way to Philmont is the penny arcade in Manitou Springs. Being a kid enjoying pinball machines and being at the beginning of quarter sucking video games like pong, space invaders, and pacman (yeah I'm that old), I was amazed when I saw my first penny arcade. One of the games that stuck out was a Williams 1957 baseball game. It was a two person game (one if you were really coordinated) in which one person pitched and one person batted. The pitcher would press a button and a steel ball shot out from underneath the game right around the pitcher mound. The cover would quickly close and the "ball" would streak towards the batter. The batter had a lever and when the lever is pulled the bat would swing and depending on how hard the lever was pulled the bat hit the ball with more force. The ball would then roll up the game, hopefully hit one of the ramps sending into the double, triple, or home run areas. 

What a fun slide to design! I started off gluing a picture of the bed of the game to an angled piece of maple I had as scrap. I don't know the angle I used as I just kinda winged it. Next the the scoreboard area and that was made from a piece of a heavy cardboard material which I glued the scoreboard picture to. The sides some 1/8 inch thick scrap I had just cut off another project and I glued them to the bed and when they were dry, I sanded them down till they were approximately at the same angle as the bed. Next came gluing the scoreboard to the bed. The bat was carved from a small piece of pine and the ball is a steel bb both glued to the bed with super glue. I did something a little different for the coloring of the slide as I used brown and black permanent markers. I like how the brown marker gave a look of wood grain. A couple coats of poly finish it off.

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Slide of the month extra: Red Rocks

 



July 2022

Time to make: 1.5 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design: Bill Macfarlane




 

One of the sites we may take in our first day traveling by van (mini bus?) to Philmont is the Red Rocks park and open-air amphitheater. The amphitheater was built into the rock structure  but seems to fit among the natural features. If you we seated there, on your left is a large tilted rock formation represented by this slide. It has been the site of many famous performances as well as film and TV recordings. But on of my favorites was by a group called Elephant Revival and their rendition of "White Rabbit" .

List this as one of the easiest slides I made. Using a well weathered piece of pallet board, the raised grains of this board worked well to imitate the rock structure. All I had to was to cut it out at the right angle and carve in the area in the upper center. It's painted with hobby paints and sealed with a couple coats of poly.