Slide number 1

October  1970?

Time to make: unknown

Finishing: 1.5 hour


Design: unknown








I'm often asked about my first neckerchief slide so I wanted to take this time to talk about it. Sometime in the late 60's or early 70's, as a young Scout, I saw a picture of a Turks head somewhere. Now I'm not sure where I saw it (Scout handbook, Field book, Boy's Life, World Book Encyclopedia  or somewhere else) but I figured out from the picture and description how to tie the knot. Tied from some spare clothes line I found in our basement, I must have kept going until I ran out of line. (Four wraps in some places and three in other places.) I wanted to harden the slide because it was very loose so I coated with some old fashion shellac my Grandfather had in the basement. The shellac was old, thick and dark but it was still absorbed by the cotton cord. It took a couple of days to dry and I have worn it a good many times since then.

Since that time I tied a good many Turks Head slide using everything from leather to paracord (and even a few boot laces in between).  In fact, every year I tie a Turks Head for each of the Webelos crossovers that joins our Troop and in a different color. Just some of the ones I've tied...

Slide of Month - Wood Water Bucket

October  2017

Time to carve: 2 hours

Finishing: 1.5 hour


Design: Greg Firestone








I really like this slide! It reminds of wooden buckets at my grandfather house. I'm not really sure if held water or maybe it was just the way my brother and I pumped water from the old well but it was a guarantee we both would be wet in the end.

I made this one from oak because the grain in oak give the slide a weathered look. The seams are v-cuts and an additional v-cut was used for the wire bands. I stained the bucket with some dark walnut stain which further brings out the grain. The bands are stainless steel wire used in the phone industry to lash phone cables to the support wire. The rope is an end pieces of 275 paracord to give it some color. 

Slide of the Month extra! - Scoutmasters run on

Fall 2017

Time to make: 1 hours

Original design: Bill Macfarlane












OK, I can't all the credit for this one since Dunkin' Donuts made it so easy for me but in honor of the first day of fall. I was in a Dunkin Donuts and saw a novelty coffee and pumpkin spice lip balm which looked like the makings of a slide.

The first step was to open the tops and to clean out the waxy material inside. Next I trimmed the labels to remove the lower part so it would look like a regular cup of coffee. I glued the tops on the cups with some super glue. When dry I drilled a couple of small holes on the side in the top and bottom of the cups. Next I super glued a small piece of wire in each hole to hold the cups together. When dry, I drilled a hole in the back of the cups for a wire neckerchief and glued the wire in place.

From old to new: First Aid Kit

September 2017

Time to make: 1 hours

Boys Life "Slide of the Month"

Sept. 1951, page37

Original design: E.F.S

The last of the film can slides from Boys Life  (that I know of) is a quick reach when you need a band-aid. While it's no replacement for a full first aid kit, I can appreciate a handy place to grab something for small cuts. The original kit carries finger band-aids, a gauze pad, some first-aid tape...

An aluminum loop is pop riveted to the back and the cross is painted on with model paints.

A plastic film can version

My updated version uses an Altoid Smalls tin which I painted white with spray paint. The decal on the front was a picture I found and printed on my home printer to water slide decal paper.  The contents of this kit are as follows;

Band-Aids

gauze pad

Tylenol 

first aid tape

Slide of the Month - Space Shuttle

  September  2017

Time to design: 2 hour

Time to print: 2 hours (your times may vary

Finishing: 3 hour

Original designer: DigitalSpace Corporation 

Try it yourself: Space Shuttle

The last slide in the American manned space program (for now). The Space Shuttle was the first reusable spacecraft and there were 6 built.  Although only 5 flew in space, they completed 135 missions for a total of 1322 days, 19 hours, 21 minutes and 23 seconds. (The Enterprise only flew in sub orbital missions for approach and landing tests.) Between 1986 to 2011,  Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour  served as a platform for the deployment of several satellites, the Hubble Telescope, the launching of deep space probes, conducted a slew of experiments. They also transported section for the building the international space station. In 1986 Columbia was lost during launch and Columbia was destroyed during reentry in 2003 resulting in the death of 14 astronauts. 

This slide is based on Atlantis which flew the last mission July 8, 2011 after which fleet was retired. I used the design from DigitalSpace Corporation because it was the only design I found with the cargo bays open. To be honest, I had a bit of problems with this print. The rocket nozzles did not print completely and the cargo bay doors were barely connected to the shuttle. I ended up using some more UV glue to help build up these areas. I used a sharp knife and sand paper to shape the nozzles and smooth the places I had to re-enforce the cargo doors. I painted the slide using white spray paint and the heat shields as well as the detail with a black paint marker. The cargo doors and nose of the shuttle were painted with silver paint. The decals were printed using markings I found on the Internet and printed on water slide paper. The Rassvet ISS module in the cargo bay was made from a barrel from a ball point pen and the end was painted with a gold paint marker.

Slide of the Month - Backpacks

Scout Camp 2017

Time to carve: who cares it's Scout Camp

Location: Rotary Scout Reservation #rsrbsa

Finishing: at home 1.5 hour


Summer Camp is one of those times when time passes effortlessly and I can just let the whittling knife take me to the things hidden in the wood.

I brought a piece of  9 x 1 3/4 x 3/4 inch piece of scrape maple from another project with me to summer camp with the intent of making a slide while I was there. Well three slides later I present the Backpack series. The first was a design in the Feb. 1984 Boys Life  Slide of the Month ( page 68) by Bill Andrews and consists of the carved backpack and an attached dowel for the sleeping bag. I painted the typical khaki color of BSA backpacks of the time and yellow  to match  the trim in the picture.




The second was a design found on the Internet but I can no longer find it so I cant give you the link. Based on a 60s backpack (I think) a sleeping bag strapped to the top and tent on the bottom. Its carved from a single piece of wood








The third design is based on the pack I used as a Boy Scout and still have today. If I remember correctly, this pack was a present and purchased in the early 70's most likely at the Big N (anyone remember those stores?).  An external frame nylon workhorse that has seen many miles and outlasted many a pair of boots. A brown dome tent (bought in the 80s in first go round as a Scoutmaster) is secured under the top flap. My sleeping bag in a stuff bag is strapped underneath. The one other item of note is the Knox Cannon Trail Relay patch. This slide is also carved from one piece of wood.


All the backpacks were carved from maple, painted with craft paints, and given a couple of coats of Poly.

Preview Backpacks

Scout Camp 2017

Time to carve: who cares it Scout Camp

Location: Rotary Scout Reservation #rsrbsa

Finishing: TBD










Just a quick preview of a set of backpack slides coming up that are being carved right now while at summer camp with our Troop. Its being carved from a piece of maple I had from another project and you might notice I haven't  cut the slide off the stock yet. This allows for a good hand hold and keeps my hand away from the carving. This slide is one off the Internet and the author wasn't sure where he had found it. Another pack (not shown here) is a Bill Andrews "Slide of the Month" #boyslife from February 1984. The final pack is one of my own design and mimics the pack I use as a youth.