Pinewood Derby

[lyonsacc]

Time for the Pinewood Derby. Our Pack has a parents & sibs race in addition to the scout race. At left in metallic silver is my daughter's entry. The flaming #109 is my 9 year old's (Weeblo) - he won the district race last year. To the right is my entry - with a veneer of highly figured black walnut burl. In front is "Chickens dancing around a fire" - my 6 year old's (tiger cub) entry.

Lots of fun building these. My 9 year old did most every step on his. He even managed to push a little off angle on the table saw and the block of wood went for a little flight across the workshop.

Dave

 

[Buzzzz4]

I'm doing the same with my 4th grade troup. Lots of fun. For us, parents aren't allowed to help. Bit nervous seeing the 4th grader using a band saw. But we go through all the safety education and 1:1 adult supervision.

Those look great!

 

[mredburn]

My grandson needs to get started on his. This will be his last year in Cub scouts and he already has a design he wants to do. We also have parents and sibling classes.

 

[penmaker1967]

very nice cars i was in scouts from cub thorogh boy scouts and then i moved into the learders role till 2004 glad to see that parents are getting involved with their kids in these things again.

 

[juteck]

My boys should be getting their kits this Monday. I'll have to go to scout store and pick up one for me and one for daughter. My daughter's cars are most creative - she's done a sub sandwich, ice cream cone, oversized crayon, and does very well in the family race for speed too. Last year I made a half length body in an arch like the VW beetle, added a tail to make total length and painted like a mouse- I took 2nd place and they wanted to disqualify mine for a short wheelbase. I simply said there weren't any prizes for family race to be won anyways, so other than bragging rights of 2nd place, the pack wasn't out anything. They let it stand, but said they'd enforce the rules this year....

I wonder what I can do on the lathe with it????

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

 

[lyonsacc]

I thought about turning my car on the lathe - just leaving the axle area square. Maybe putting a hole all they way through. But the local Woodcraft had these little pieces of veneer on sale and I thought that piece was really neat, so I went with a more traditional design.

I was suprised with my daughter's paint job this year. She usually has lots of sparkle and color on her's.

One year we made a hammerhead shark design and another year we did a Lego style car. But he has wanted to go for speed the last 2 years (and has done quite well at that).


Dave

 

[sbell111]

Nice paint jobs. Next year they'll be asking for a hydrodipping kit.

That kinda gives me an idea...

 

[Smitty37]

It's been a long time

I don't remember the rules real well, it seems my son got involved in this about 38 or 39 years ago. As I recall the key was pretty much weight with the cars that were heavier being faster as well. I seem to remember a weight limit and that you really wanted to be close to it.

 

[Lenny]

What Smitty said! :good:

We would provide for adding or removing weight (bb's or lead pellets) with a hollowed out area and a plug. The scale at the local Post Office did extra duty on the days leading up to the race!

 

[lyonsacc]

Yep - our District limits weight to 5 ounces. And that is right were you want to be. I use the postage scale at work when I add weight (melt plumbing solder into an area in the top of the car that we routed out - then cover with wood putty). Then we add a few small weights to the bottom, in recessed areas, to get it right up to 5.

Maybe some physics person can explain this. The cars seem to accelerate faster if you have the weight toward the back of the car. However too far back and the car really slows down at the end. So we put the center of the weight about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in front of the rear axle.

Once the cars are officially weighed on the Pack's scale (about 2 weeks before the race) they are impounded and will only be touched by the "race officials" until the race is over - except they do allow a fresh coat of graphite before the main race.

Dave

 

[Triple Crown]

I LOVED PINEWOOD DERBY!!!

Great cars Dave!! You all are going to have a fun time racing them!

My memories of Pinewood Derby go back to 1976 when I made a Red White and Blue car completely built with hand tools. Thirty or so years later, my sons and I built cars together for their seven wonderful Cub Scout years. They are now in Boy Scouts and I miss the Pinewood Derby.

They designed and built some pretty exotic racers winning both in the design and speed categories. I had thought before about posting some pictures in the Other Things We Make thread. I'm so glad that you did!

Our rules were that you do build the car together but let the child do as much as he/she could. Cub Scouts are from 1st thru 5th grades so as they get older, they can do more of the tool work. I held a few workshops in my little shop for the kids of the parents that did not do much with tools. Each of the boys (and some sisters of the boys) used the scroll saw and electric sanders to shape their creations, but I was right there ready to keep their hands safe and power off... Safety is a very serious matter with the BSA (and woodworkers!) but even after kids have been prepped, they can get distracted pretty easily...

I'll see if I can find some of the pictures of our cars this weekend and post.

Smitty, you have a great memory! The goal is to get it right at 5.0 oz.

Have fun! And thanks for posting!
Greg

 

[flyitfast]

Interesting thread - and lots of memories!!

 

[lyonsacc]

Greg - We had a safety issue 2 years ago. The leader of our pack (the pack includes grades 1-5 at our kid's school) severly cut, but did not lose, 3 fingers when he was cutting the cars for his sons on a table saw. It was either 20+ or 40+ stitches and a number of months of PT for him - and a loss of some pride.

I'll try to take a pic of the shark and Lego car over the weekend.

Dave

 

[Fishinbo]

What fun and beautiful cars! Like the kids' paint job and creativity. These kind of parent and kid bonding is great for the family.

BandSaw Blades Online - Custom Welded Band Saw Blades

 

[D.Oliver]

That "chickens dancing around a fire" artwork brings a grin to my face.

 

[Smitty37]

Greg - We had a safety issue 2 years ago. The leader of our pack (the pack includes grades 1-5 at our kid's school) severly cut, but did not lose, 3 fingers when he was cutting the cars for his sons on a table saw. It was either 20+ or 40+ stitches and a number of months of PT for him - and a loss of some pride.

I'll try to take a pic of the shark and Lego car over the weekend.

Dave

Easy to do ---- I have done almost the same thing nearly lost 3 fingers too. An excellent hand surgeon by the name of Dr. Benjamin Cooper managed to save the fingers and I probably have about 85% use of two of them and full use of the other.

 

[wiset1]

Really awesome! Nothing better than doing stuff with our kids and teaching them something new that they will keep with them the rest of their lives.