Tom tom

Late October 2010

Time to carve: 0 Hours
Finishing: 2 Hours

The ring is made from a 2 1/4 PVC cap, I had hanging around my workshop, I cut the end off and sanded the edges. The top is made from some thin white leather cut in an X pattern with the center big enough to cover the ring. The arms of the X are thin so they can be tied behind the ring. The leather is soaked in water before attaching it to the ring and while still wet, I took thread and needle to sew up the sides which cinches up the leather. The designs were painted using paint pens and the whole slide was coated with a couple of coats of poly.

Compass

Mid October 2010

Time to carve: 0 hours
Finishing: 2 hours

When I look at the original pattern last spring I thought, hey I seen that kind of brass compass this should be easy to make. The funny part is I looked and looked for one of those and could not find one no matter where I looked. Oddly enough, I was packing my backpack for a hike on the AT and discovered a compass I found at summer camp. The compass was tossed in the wood by someone because it would not turn on it's base. Not wanting to leave it there, I put it in my pack to throw it away later. Now I had an idea, I broke the compass away from the base and cut a piece leather for the slide. Next I needed to fasten the compass to the leather. I could have just glued it to the hole in the leather but I wondered if I could make it so it would turn. I needed to find something strong enough to whole the compass in place but thin enough so I could use it with the leather. Cutting some plastic from an empty orange juice container, the plastic worked like a charm since it was pliable enough to fit over the flange in the back of the compass. I also decided to sew the plastic to the leather for more support. Now I have a workable compass slide.

Korea

Sept. - Oct.  2010


Time to carve: 12 hours
Finishing: .5 hours

Sometimes there is a slide that just "kicks your butt" while your trying to make it. Well this is one of those slides. I roughed out the cylinder back in September then spent the next month trying to figure out how to carve this pattern. Night after night erasing the pencil marks and redrawing the weaving pattern only to becoming confused when it was time to put knife to wood.  Finally one night the pattern made sense and I began to carve. I can tell you first hand if you try this slide, take your time, have a sharp knife, and concentrate when carving. Finished with shellac it stands out as a favorite in my collection. But why is it named Korea? According to Whttlin Jim, "that's where it came from".

A What's It

Late August 2010

Time to carve: 1.5 hours
Finishing: .5 hours

An interesting slide because it raises an eyebrow when people see it but also scratching their heads when they see what it can do. Carved from maple and the dot attached with fishing line. I finished it off with shellac.

The science behind this is the slide, despite the weight of the belt, transfers the center of gravity to the tip of the slide.  By focusing this to the tip, I can balance the belt on my finger.

...flag, totem, and Wood Badge

Sept. 2010

Time to carve: 3 hours
Finishing: 1.5 hours

Now if you follow my inconstant posts, you might have wondered where have I been? Well the answer is that I've been busy with Wood Badge. In fact I write this on the eve before my second weekend. Yeah, I should be getting some sleep. Anyway I wanted to post these projects before going because there is a good chance I won't see them again. Without further ado...

"I use to be a bear and a good old bear to..." So sitting around with my patrol we where trying to think of how to leave our mark on the service patrol emblem. I saw an unusual stick on the ground, picked it up and started to carve. In no time flat there was a Bear tooth (colored with permanent marker) hanging from the shovel. (Setting the bar high on the first day.) I took the same stick home and carved four more teeth for our patrol flag. What you don't see (because I have that side down) is each bear tooth has our name painted on it. I still am not sure what kind of wood it was but they should look great hanging from our flag!

The second project will don the program patrol emblem and is based on our totem drawn on the first day we were a patrol, Made from maple, it was a piece I messed up on with the Monkey slide but worked well for this slide. The ears are made of leather and the fish was carved separately and glued on. Painted with craft paints and sealed with a few coats of poly.

and now its "Back to Gilwell, happy land, I'm going to work my ticket when I can"

EDIT: I'm pleased to say, the bear totem slide is now on it's way to N2-66-11-1 August 26-28th 2011 at Camp Tadma. Good luck with the course Mark and thanks for bringing the spirit of the Bear Patrol and NE-II-192 with you.

One year later

A year ago...

I was the new scout master of our troop
I had just come back from Outdoor Leader Essentials training
and I had found a passion of carving neckerchief slides

Some reflections as I go forward...

So far, cow horns are more difficult to find than I thought
Butterball does not include neck bones with its frozen turkeys
As much as I tried, finding a armadillo tail in New England still eludes me and I understand they may carry leprosy.
I still trying to learn to bend wood. (But can't wait to try out the new steamer I made.)
I'm always on the lookout for items for the slides.

Going forward...

I going to Wood Badge training (which I wanted to do for years)
I look forward to this year with the troop
and I still carry the passion to carve towards my goal

Life Preserver

Late August 2010

Time to carve: 0 hours
Finishing: .25 hours

While not an Whittlin Jim pattern, I wanted to make this "Slide of the Month" for a Scout who earned his BSA Life Guard award this summer at camp. The ring is a pre-painted white curtain rod ring I found at Home Depot. The rope is nylon cord and the red is duct tape. This slide takes literately 15 minutes to make and by far is the easiest to date.

EDIT: As it turns out, there was a Whittlin Jim column also on this slide.