Slide of the Month Extra: Turks Head with special beads

March 2024

Time to make: .5 hour

Finishing: 0 hour

Original design:  Bill Macfarlane

With the other length of leather cord I had did the same turks head slide but with a twist. The beads I used were either color changing in the sun or glow in the dark. Neat upgrade to the previous slide

Slide of the Month -Windmill

 

March 2023

Time to make: 2.5 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

 
Boy's Life August 1976, page 44

 
Original design:  Wayne Mason







March when the wind blows so hard and cold when you are a kid sick of being inside and just trying to get a kite in the air. Yet windmills harness the wind so effortlessly not caring if it was cold or hot.  But I'm not here to tilt with giants so on with the slide...

I use a few different kinds of wood for this slide. The structure was done using a wooden dowel described by Home Depot as "Raw Wood" and there didn't seem to be any other description. The blades of the windmill were carved from maple for strength. I carved two sets of blades and joined them in the  center. I painted the base and blades with hobby paints before pinning the blades to the structure. A couple of coats of poly finish it off

Slide of the Month- Basketball

 

January 2023

Time to make: 1 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

 

Boy's Life: Feb. 1978 p. 52

Original design:  Wayne Mason







January reminds me of days past when in high school gym class it was basketball time. The good glass hoops were raised and the practice hoops were lowered so I saw this time of hoop almost every day. 

Made from a thin piece of hobbyist plywood painted white. Ring of the hoop is made from a thing piece of wire and a couple of holes were drilled into the plywood to hold the wire. Before attaching the wires, I threaded some netting I recycled from a bag of vegetables (onions I think). The wires were then passed through the holes and one wire was bent 90 degrees upwards and the other 90 degrees downward. I then glued the wires to the back of the board. The "targeting" rectangle was done using waterslide paper. A couple of coats of poly finish it off   

Slide of the month - Square Knot (1)

May 2022

Time to make: 2 hours

Boys Life "Slide of the Month"

Dec. 1987, page 73

Original design:  Bill Fleming






The original intent for this slide was to show one's rank by carving a square knot. (Green and yellow for Second class, red, white and blue for Eagle for example.) This square knot represents the Heroism Medal Award and though I never received this award, I wanted to tell you my "Scouts in Action" story as a teen. (Yes, there are others stories but those are as an Adult.)

One summer vacation I was working for Berkshire Farm Center for Youth in the maintenance department. As we were leaving the paint shop, the was a commotion another shop over and our boss yelled for the driver of a rack truck to stop. Several men loaded an unresponsive  co-worker on the open tailgate of the truck and yelled at the driver to get to the infirmary. I don't what processed me  but as the truck started to move, I ran and jumped onto the truck. Having learned First Aid in Scouting, I checked this man's vitals. CRAP, I thought - he wasn't breathing and had no heart beat. I tilted the man's head back and got two breaths in before we arrived at the infirmary. Before I knew it, the head nurse was at my side with oxygen and started bagging as I performed CPR. When the volunteer ambulance arrived, there was only a driver and one crew member. The nurse and I continued CPR all the way in to the ER (approx 1/2 hour). Happily, the co-worker survived and live many more years. Though I was a teen at the time, it was the start of my path of working with volunteer Fire Departments and Rescue Squads.

Carved from maple, this took a sharp knife and a steady hand. Lots of sharpening because the knife had to be razor sharp. The slide is painted with hobby paints and sealed with a couple of coats of poly.