Scoutcraft DIY

It is not a big secret in scouting that cotton balls coated in petroleum jelly make good fire starters.  They are messy though.  Here is a convenient way to package them so you can put them into a compact survival kit without making a mess. You will need: petroleum jelly cotton balls or makeup removal pads drinking straws needle nose pliers or multi-tool lighter scissors toothpick Cut your straw into pieces about 2" long.  Crimp one end with the pliers and fuse it closed with the lighter.  Let it cool.  Take about 1/4 of a cotton ball, dipped in petroleum jelly.and stuff into into the open end with the tooth pick.  Clean up any petroleum jelly residue from the open end with a tissue paper or a cotton swab.  Squeeze out any excess air and use the pliers and lighter to fuse the other end.  The finished product should look like this.  You should be able to get about 4 of these out of a single straw. 

Assembling a personal first aid kit is a requirement for the Tenderfoot rank and should be carried on all Scout outings.  Here are some tips on how to assemble a good first aid kit: 1.  See the Boy Scout Handbook for a list of items to go in the kit. 2.  Get 1 quart size ziploc bag and 2 sandwich size ziploc bags.  Everything goes in the quart bag.  The sandwich bags are to help organize the items inside.  Put the gloves in one of the sandwich bags.  Put everything flat in the other sandwich bag (gauze pads, bandaids, moleskin, alcohol swabs, etc.) 3.  Cut down a plastic card (like an expended gift card) and wrap your tape around it.  You can use some sandpaper wrapped around a block of wood to smooth the cut edge and round the corners.  Now your tape can go in the bag with the flat stuff. 4.  Use heat shrink tubing and a hair dryer or heat gun to create protective covers for sharp items (pencil, scissors, tweezers).  Now they won't poke through the bag.  You

You can make and learn to play a Native American flute to satisfy requirement 4c of the Music merit badge.  There are many sites on the internet that give information on how to make a Native American style flute, but what follows is a very simple method that will result in a functional instrument.  Materials ¾” SDR-21 PVC pipe wine cork electrical tape Tools Hack saw (a power miter saw or table saw with miter works better, but have an adult to this part if you are going to use a power saw) drill or drill press ¼” brad point drill bit, or sharp regular ¼” drill bit and an awl file sandpaper, various grits or green 3M scratch pad pencil scissors scrap of wood for a straight edge Directions It is important to use thin walled SDR-21 pipe, rather than the more common thicker walled Schedule 40 PVC pipe.   SDR-21 is used for irrigation systems and I was able to find it at my local Lowe’s store at $2.28 for a 10’ length.   You can make a flute out o

You can make your own woggle (neckerchief slide) out of paracord (aka 550 cord).   Neckerchief slides are easily and frequently lost.   A paracord woggle costs less than 1/10 the price of an official BSA neckerchief slide.   A scout is thrifty!   Since paracord comes in hundreds of different colors and patterns, you can make unique ones for each patrol, or use special colors as recognition for achievements.   To make one, you have to tie a complicated knot, burn it with fire, and then cook it.   What could be more scouty than that? The typical woggle is made using the Turk’s head knot.   There are different types of this knot, but I like the 3 lead / 5 bight version (3L/5B).   The best way to learn to tie it is by watching a video.   Picture diagrams can be confusing.   The following video from WhyKnot does an excellent job of demonstrating it:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71bHtsBkGKg You will need 40 inches of paracord for each woggle.   You can get paracor

A fid is a special needle used for lacing paracord.  It comes in handy for complex knots like the monkey's fist or Turk's head knot.  The hollow threaded end screws on to the end of your paracord.  You can buy one of these, but its cheaper and more fun to make it yourself.  You just need a 2" aluminum threaded binding post and 1" extension.  They are used for holding together albums and scrapbooks and other purposes.  You can find them in the specialty hardware section or in craft stores.  This should only set you back about a buck or two. Fid with paracord attached. 2" threaded aluminum post.  Discard the small male piece. 1" extension. Chuck the 2" post into your drill and grind the head off on a file.  Works better it you put the file in a vise.  Put a taper on the end to a dull point (like a knitting needle). Wrap sandpaper around the tip to put a finer finish on it. Screw on the extension and use the drill and sandpa

You will need one of these for rank requirements and for the Personal Fitness merit badge.  You could just tape a ruler to a cardboard box, but this is a more permanent solution.  Cut List 12' x 12 " x 3/4" plywood (2) 12" x 10.5" x 3/4" plywood (2) 12" x 21" x 3/4" plywood (1) 2x4's ripped to 1.5" x 1.5" x 12" (4) Other Materials aluminum yardstick glue 1.25" x 18g finish nails or wood screws clear polyurethane 3 small screws sandpaper Tools table saw pneumatic nailer cordless drill / driver drill bit hack saw or dremel tool w/ cutoff wheel file orbital sander or sanding block foam brush I used finish grade plywood for this, but you could use any kind you like.  You could even use OSB, but if you go that route, I would use full size 2x4's instead of ripping them down to 1.5" so the box will have a little more weight to it.  Also, use screws or crown staples with OSB as finish nails d

Now that I've made some patrol flags and poles, I need a stand to store all the patrol flags at the troop meeting site.  Cut List OSB or plywood 7" x 18" (4) 2x4's ripped to 1.5" x 1.5" x 18" (4) 2x4" (nominal) x 15" cut 45 deg on one end (4) Other Materials 1/4 x 1.25" x 18g crown staples 3" framing nails or 1.25" deck screws 3" deck screws Tools table saw miter saw hammer or framing nailer pneumatic stapler or cordless screwdriver    You can put this together with crown staples and framing nails like I did, or you could screw it together.  It should be pretty straight forward on how to assemble it if you look at the picture.  Make sure that your 3" nails or screws are going into one of the 1.5 x1.5" pieces.

This article is about how to make a patrol flag. Materials heavy cloth thread grommets paracord Tools sewing machine iron scissors yardstick fabric marking pencil grommet setting tool lighter I bought the cloth from Walmart for about $5 a yard.  A yard will yield 4 patrol flags.  A yard and a half will give you 6.  You can get a set of grommets and grommet tool from Harbor Freight for about $4.  I prefer a heavy denim needle on the sewing machine. First cut out your cloth.  See the diagram below for dimensions. You are going to hem the 2 long 16" sides first.  Fold over 1/2" and crease it with the iron.  Then fold it over 1/2" again and crease with the iron again.  Run a stitch down the length of the hem on the sewing machine.  Don't worry about locking the ends of the stitches, since these will be folded up into the corners anway. Now repeat this process on the two short sides that meet at the point of the flag. For the grommet side of

This article is about how to make a Scout staff or stave from lumber, as apposed to harvesting a small tree.  Scout staves have fallen out of favor as an item for each scout to carry, but they are still useful as a patrol flag pole or for pioneering projects. I made some from some hickory that came from a tree that died on my property that I had milled.  You could make these from a regular old 2x4.  Pine is not as strong as hickory, but would make a serviceable patrol flag pole, and you could make a bunch of them for about $1.75 each.  For this project you will need a table saw and a router table, as well as a 9/16" roundover bit.  I bought the bit on eBay for $9, and it performed well. First cut your board to 1 1/8" x 1 1/8" on the table saw.  The length is up to you.  The traditional scout stave is 66".  I think 72" is a better length for a patrol flag pole. If you want to have a hole in the end to secure a patrol flag tie, drilling this while the pie