Slide of the Month Extra: Philmont Raydo Trek

 

June 2024

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Bill Macfarlane








The Raydo Trek is one of the unique opportunities where an individual can participate in a challenging personal trek. Lead by two Philmont Rangers, the crews are made up of Scouts from all over the country and possibly the world. This is a strenuous 20 day trek that hikes a good part of the Philmont Ranch. Participants can only do this once in their Scouting career unless they return as a Ranger for Raydo (even then they can only do it once). 

Carved from pallet pine, I really like the different levels that make up this slide. The mountain is ruff chip cut for texture and the hiker and backpack has lots of complexity. I painted the slide with hobby paints before continuing. The hiking staff is made from a skewer which was painted and stained before attaching to the slide. To attach the staff, I drilled a hole through arm and glued the staff in place. Next came the lettering with water slide paper and a couple of coats poly finish it off.

Slide of the Month - Tomahawk

June 2024

Time to make:  3 hours

Boys Life "Slide of the Month"

Jan. 2000, page 63

Original design: Jeff Springer












As I understand it, the Tomahawk was created by Algonquians peoples long before the arrival of Europeans. Used for many everyday tasks like chopping or cutting, they were also used for hunting and as a weapon of war.

I really liked carving this out of maple as it had several challenging layers. Lot's of fun! The slide was painted with hobby paints and finished with a couple of coats of poly.