GopherJudy

Anniepoo, More great ideas! Thanks My dauaghter would paint her just pink! Kudu, Thanks for re-scanning & re-posting your link. Thank helped & the fact that what you said about the browser made me think; that was the smoke you smelled! There's a "magnifying glass" in the lower right that when I clicked on the different percentages, I was able to make the picture bigger! Why I didn't think of that earlier is beyond me! I guess my brain cell is getting old too! YIS Judy

Thanks everyone for your ideas! I really appreciate them as they help me learn too! YIS Judy

lol @ being English! I'm a true American Mutt - Irish, German, Dutch, Blackfoot Indian & on my father's side Norwegian! One more Bull Roar question! Is there any special type of finish or stain that should be put on either the flat board or the swinging stick (don't know what else to call it!)? If so, if the boys want to carve a design into the flat board, that should be done before staining or putting a finish on it, right? Thanks again! YIS JUdy

Thanks for the ideas Firekat! I will make a test model for myself first & let you know. I will PM you if more ideas pop into my brain! YIS Judy

Thanks again Pack! Now I have a better idea of what to do! I will make one first & keep your fingers crossed that I don't hit myself in the head with it! I will let you know how it turns out. This will take a little longer than the bow & arrow! I'm sure the people in Davis, CA wouldn't last on Long Island! We are polite but at times impatient while driving! YIS Judy

Thanks for the help on my Bow & Arrow carving post. Now I have a few questions regarding carving a hiking stick while on a campout. I want to test this out myself, as I always do in case things do work out right, I can figure them out before I have my boys do it! After I've carved off the bark from a good size stick, should I make the one end a little pointy or keep it the way it is? I've never used a hiking stick so I'm just trying to get ideas. Should I stain the stick after it's all carved & if so, any particular type of wood stain? Does anything have to be done to the stick before I stain it? Any other suggestions and/or ideas are welcome! I know that in my other post, someone posted a link from Kudu's site but it was hard for me to see the hiking staves as the pictures were small for my eyes that are getting older. Thanks in advance! YIS Judy

Hi Pack! LOL@ rats! The wildlife that I was talking about were actually some of the customers in the supermarket; nothing like 2 ladies fighting over the amount of items the other one had while waiting on line at the Express Checkout! On Long Island we do have real animals beside people! Deer, fox, raccoons, squirrels, oppossum; rats are only in the city! I like that design/shape as it seems simple to make & the photo was bigger so I could see it better, my eyes are getting older! I have another question. Can the flat board part be made out of a tree branch found on the ground? Would I have to split it in half with an ax? The round handle the boys can just carve the bark off of a small tree branch found on the ground. I don't fish that much, can you tell me what a fishing swivel is or a picture? Maybe I've seen it but didn't know what it was called. Another question & possibly be my last, about how much rope should the boys attach? I don't want them knocking down birds with it! Thanks! YIS Judy

Hey Pack! That sound's cool! Did your boys make them from any particular type of tree branch found on the ground? Any suggestions for carving tips, etc.! The only wildlife here on Long Island is in the supermarkets! LOL!!!

Thanks for all of your ideas & thoughts! I did make a bow & arrow about a week ago. All I did was carve the bark off of a small tree branch & tie string to each end of the bow. For the arrow, I carved the bark off of a small stick, made the end a little pointy & put a little notch at the other end of the arrow. The arrow either went anywhere from about 1 foot or between 15-20 feet! I did have a lot of fun making them & so did my 12 year old daughter! Our pupply had fun getting the "arrows" before we did! She ran around the backyard with the "arrow" in her mouth as my daughter chased her. I don't think I'll have my boys do this at our den campout. I'm going to have them carve hiking sticks instead. YIS Judy

Thanks everyone for your input & ideas! Since I have 1 mom who's a little overprotective & worries that her son my get Lyme Disease from going camping! I will ask the parents if they have any issues with making them before I say anything to my boys about the bows & arrows. I'll be 52 in May & "back then" girls weren's supposed to do sports, carving, etc.; I was a "tomboy" as I liked playing sports, etc.! We also used our imaginations more too! This might be a silly questions but with carving a hiking stick is there anything specific to do for the "handle" part? At times words escape me so I might not use the correct word! Should they make a grip for the handle & that could count as a non-wood project for Craftsman? YIS JUdy

Thanks Stosh! It's good to get input/ideas from others. I don't remember how well the bow & arrow that I carved worked, I think the arrow maybe went about 2 feet! That idea is scrapped! I'll think of something else for them to carve or whittle! If you have ideas I'd like to hear them! Judy

When I was around 9 or 10 years old, I would use my father's pocketknife & carve a bow & arrow out of small tree branches. I would carve off all of the bark, notch the ends of the "bow", tie string & shoot the arrow I made. I don't remember how well it worked but I did have fun making them! Now for my question! I am a Den Leader for Webelos I's & we will be going on a den campout in June or July. My boys have earned their Whittling Chip & I was wondering if they were allowed to "whittle" a bow & arrow like I did when I was a child! Is this allowed or not? Thanks. Judy

Wow! Eagle 92 I do hope that the boy is doing better. As a person who has felt like ending my life on many occassions, the 1st being when I was 10 years old; I really feel for this boy. Most people don't understand depression & don't know what it's like to feel like absolutely nothing & feeling like that so bad that you want to die. I've gone to weekly therapy off & on for about 11 years & been on medication for the last 10 years & if I wasn't, I wouldn't be here. I'm a single mom, widow, my husband committed suicide back in April 1997 & that has affected my children as they got older, especially my son. My gut feeling is that he's been depressed since his parents marriage ended, his dad isn't around & probably worsened since his mom re-married & has a new baby. I'm guessing that going to Scouts was the only constant thing in his life. I'm sure that he has a lot on his mind, too much too handle & he's probably not able to concentrate in school. (My 14 yo son has depression & anxiety & when things get too much for him, he can't concentrate. He been on medication for almost 2 years & going to therapy too) Too bad his guidance counselor didn't call him to his/her office to talk to the boy to find out what's going on. Since this young man "lived & breathed" scouting, it was wrong for his mom to take that away from him. Was he involved in sports too? If so, was that taken away from him too? Scouts was probably the only place where he felt "normal" so to speak & I'm sure he had good male role models there that he needed. It might have been the only activity that he really enjoyed too. People with depression, don't do a lot of the activities that they used to do; this might have been the last activity that he enjoyed & to have it taken from his was not right; I'm sure it made him feel more like "nothing" & wanting to die. I would say that he could really use a good adult friend to talk to. Don't keep asking "how are you doing?" though as that might make him think of what happened, etc. Tell him that he can talk to you anytime about anything. If you can, play a game of catch with him, he might open up & talk while throwing the ball. The same might happen with a game of chess, checkers or anything else, where you can have a friendly, casual conversation. If the other boys in the troop know that his dad isn't around & it bothers him; make sure, at least for a little while, that none of the other boys talk a lot about their fathers. I know this bothers my son & daughter at times when other kids are constantly talking about their dads. My children will get over it & so will this young man. He should go for counseling, even if it's talking to the school social worker or guidance counselor on a weekly basis at least. It does help. Remind him that they're there to help him & that it's ok to talk to someone when you have a lot of stuff on your mind that interferes with your daily living. He could also keep a journal of how he feels, that helps too! Me, I do that on-line & I write songs & poems about how I feel & it does help. I show them to my therapist so she knows how I was feeling. OK, I hope that I've made sense & haven't just rambled on. If I did, I apologize. YIS Judy

I do hope that things get more organized & soon for you! I have the whole year on a spreadsheet & made additions as necessary (pack events, field trips, etc.) & I hand them out to the parents. My den meetings are always on Monday nights at the same time & location. If there is a change, I notify the parents by calling them & e-mailing them! If I have to cancel due to bad weather (snow & ice) or a family emergency, I call the parents & if I have their cell phone # I'll call that too! Have you talked to the CC or CM about this? Maybe the DL needs some help! There are times that I've had a family emergency & I had another DL run my meeting for me so I didn't have to cancel it. Good luck!

One of my boys' father is a paramedic in our fire dept. so he will be teaching the boys along with possibly a few other EMTS/AEMTS/Paramedic that work with him. We will be going to the fire dept when we work on this. I will give the dad a copy of the requirements & find out when his schedule will permit us to visit! Good luck!