Slide of the Month Extra-Philmont Dean Canyon Cabin

 

January 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / 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. This is Dean Canyon Cabin and while I don't know much about this building, I think it might have been one of the buildings built in 1939. Maybe the cabin withstood the test of time but if it did there is a good chance it was destroyed in ether the Ponil Complex Fire in 2002 or the UTE fire in 2018.  

Carved from Southern (pallet) pine, there is something really enjoyable to this kind of carving. Notice it is not uniform like a Lincoln log toy but that lends to what you would expect of different sized logs someone would have used to build the cabin.  Painted with hobby paints, labeled (and nicked named Dean's Cabin) using waterslide paper, and a couple coats of poly finish it off 

Slide of the Month Extra - Philmont Clear Creek

  January 2022

  Time to make:         3 hours

  Finishing: 1 hour

  Original design:       Philmont /               Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

Clear Creek camp is patterned after a trapper camp important in the fur trading history. It features black powder shooting, tomahawk throwing, and demonstrations of beaver trapping methods as well a great evening campfire program featuring tall tales of the fur trading days.

OK, I never thought I'd ever be carving a bear skin rug so this was a first. Maple was the only choice for it's strength. This took a sharp knife and lots of patience trying to visualize how to make this seem like a rug. Painted with hobby paints and sealed with a couple coats of poly. The lettering was done with water slide.

Slide of the Month Extra- Philmont Double H VLA

 

January 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

Back in October of 2021 I posted a Double H slide and it got me thinking about one of the sights the Double H treks got to see. The VLA (Very Large Array) is an amazing radio astronomy observatory located in Plains of San Agustin, New Mexico.  Each of the 27 (and one spare) telescopes are mounted on train tracks so the telescopes can be moved to focus on different areas of the cosmos.  

A fun slide to make (once I figured out how to). Carved from reclaimed pallet wood, I need to create a basic bowel but also include the framework for the feed horn at the top. This took lots of time carving out the middle of the slide using a gouge tool. Lots of sanding on this too! Painted with hobby paints, lettered with waterslide paper, and finished off with a couple coats of poly.

Slide of the Month Extra - Villa Philmonte

January 2022

Time to make: 2.5 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

Villa Philmonte built in 1926 near Cimarron, NM by oil baron Waite Phillips. The name is taken from the first part of Phillips and the Spanish word "monte" meaning mountain. Though there were other retreats built on his ranch (Fish Camp, Hunting Lodge and Agua Fria Camp), the Villa Philmonte was the main home on the Ranch. In 1941, Waite Phillips donated the Ranch to the Boy Scouts of America. Today the Villa serves as a museum of the original furnishing and collections of antiques and weapons.

Carved from maple, this was a challenge because of the different areas (wings?) of the building and the various angles. I painted the slide with hobby paints. The lettering, doors and windows were done using waterslide paper. A couple coats of poly finish it off. 

Slide of the Month - Happy hound

January  2022

Time to make: 2 hours

Boys Life "Slide of the Month"

Dec. 1987, page 73

Original design:  Bill Fleming

What makes this hound so happy - it's the New Year!  So we enter the New Year with hopes, dreams, and with any luck no issues that will prevent a Philmont Trek. 

Carved from a piece of maple, I left some areas a bit rough (chip style) for some texture and other areas are sanded smooth (like the eyes and tongue). Painted with craft paints and given a couple of coats of poly to finish it off. I kind of looks like a cartoon character (he-who-will-not-be-named because I don't want the mouse network after me). Let's just call him a name like the one time 9th planet.