Cub Scouts : Programme Ideas

.Bamboo cane pioneering  

Basic Principles

Cubs and Scouts can build pioneering projects with nothing heavier than garden canes lashed together with elastic bands. You will need an assortment of garden canes of different lengths and a good supply of elastic bands. For very light work you can link two or three thinner bands together with reef knots but for general purposes you will find slightly heavier bands more suitable.

When lashing with elastic you must keep the band at full-stretch all the time. It is a waste of effort to work with a stack band, in the belief that you can draw it tight with ?a good hard tug? at the end.

The illustration shows how to put on a square lashing when working near the end of at least one cane. Simply loop the band round one cane, turn it round behind the other and follow on until you

have used up most of the band. The lashing can then be ?locked by stretching the last cm. or so and slipping it over the end of one of the canes. When no free end is available for the final ?lock?, a good idea is to push a spent match or piece of stick into the lashing and then loop the band round both ends of the match.

A Self Supporting Flagpole

Now that the principles of instant pioneering have been mastered, a simple self supporting flagpole is a good project to start with. This particular flagpole has two good points: first, it is easy to construct and second, it is self supporting so can be built inside.

Depending on the final height you want to achieve, you will need 8-10 garden canes about 1500mm in length, a supply of rubber bands and some twine to (the halyard as well as the guys. Don?t forget to attach the halyard before erecting the flagpole.

A word of caution; the pole itself probably needs more rubber bands that just one at each end of each cane to ensure rigidity. The overlap needs to be at least half of each cane using 3-4 bands on each half. When sheer lashing two canes together for strength, loop the bands over the ends of both canes and follow with a series of similar loops, working towards the end.

A Flagpole

With ordinary garden canes and elastic bands, Cubs and Scouts can build structures three, four, even five times their own height. For this Instant Pioneering project you will need 20 long canes (about 1.3 metres), 6 short canes (about 75 cm) a good supply of 80 mm elastic bands and a sheet of white card and coloured felt pens for your Six or Patrol pennant, which can be secured to the top of the tower with sticky tape. As this structure is quite light, all the building can be done on the ground before the tower is raised. The moment of truth will come when you try to balance it on its three legs. The butt ends of the three canes should be lightly heeled into the ground.

Great fun, and very impressive - always provided that your pioneering has been well and truly performed.

Remember the Golden Rule: Always work with the elastic band at full stretch

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