And on a lighter note...

Boy Scouts Pinewood Derby Car
10 yr old Grandson's project. Only my 2nd... I did one several years ago for another Grandson.

I had no clue how involved some get into these things until I watched some Youtube videos! But we have to follow the basic BSA rules. We may get trounced but that's OK!

I just bought a pre cut kit and I cut/rounded the front corners off and drilled the holes for the weights. It is his paint scheme design and he did the painting himself, mostly. Scout leader said it was OK to provide as much help as needed to the kid. No expectation they do it themselves.

I have trial fitted the wheels and removed them for painting.

We have the weight to within ~1/2 oz of the allowed 5oz. I'm afraid my scales aren't accurate enough to add any more until race day and we can weigh on the official scales and possibly add. We glued in the other weights with wood glue but will need to use fast setting glue of some kind I guess if we add any more on race day. Super glue maybe? or would just taping them in be considered secure?

I filed smooth and polished the axles some as is allowed per the rules but the rules don't address bent axles so I left them straight for now. It only says they have to be inserted into the body straight. We have the only allowed lube, graphite.

I wonder if it would be a good idea or allowed to glue the axles in the slots to help secure them in place after an alignment test?

Anyone else do this as a Scout or with a kid now?


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This message has been edited. Last edited by: cparktd,

It's better to get your car to weight with the ability to remove some should it be needed. Our rules require the axles to be visible. I use a drop of superglue in each slot to hold the alignment.

It has been a long time. I was a Webelos Leader. But looking at the bottom side picture it looks like the front axle slot has been cut wrong. The slots should have been precut as I recall, and they should be perpendicular to the body length and parallel to each other.

Nice looking car

I made one with my son a while ago but didn’t think to look up all of the tips on YouTube. Have you seen this video by Mark Rober? https://youtu.be/-RjJtO51ykY

a1abdj... Nice! Got a chuckle out of the jack points.

quote:

Originally posted by ontmark:
looking at the bottom side picture it looks like the front axle slot has been cut wrong.

OK I just grabbed my tri-square and checked, guess it just distortion of the photo. The axle slots were precut and are square and spaced correctly, Thanks.

Now you parents can get your own going

Have you seen this video by Mark Rober? https://youtu.be/-RjJtO51ykY[/QUOTE]

No missed that one...
Wow, he says over 100 million have been built over the last 6 years!

Yep, still have my car my dad help me build in the mid 1960's.
A pride possession and great memories of my dear departed dad.

quote:

Originally posted by ontmark:
Now you parents can get your own going

I'm afraid those are outside the scope of the current project. LOL!

I love his car and the Patriotic Look.

You know we had two different winners in each place setting. You can really tell which cars are built by 100% kid power and which one has a lot of parent help. The only help our pack allowed was ruff cutting the starting shape by the parent. I even offered a friend that had a band saw to help with the ruff cutting.

They sad thing about it is some of the kids take it bad loosing. We even gave out a small home-made participation ribbon to all the kids. That is the only thing where there is a winner there is a looser. At that young of an age it is hard for some kids to take.

Our pack was invited to a Boy Scout weekend Jamboree each year. Saturday was physical endurance course against all the troops and packs. I had some Webelos that were not really the athletic type. You will find that in the Scouting Program because it is either sports or scouting on weekends for the kids. I had a meeting with my boys and we all agreed that each kid would help each other if needed to get thru the course. We did not care if we came in last it was all about the pack being able to get thru the course against the older teenage boys. Well we won one second place ribbon for opening tin cans up without using a can opener. We also won a real nice Special Mention Trophy for Spirt. We had a large kid and he wanted to go around the vertical wall. Two boys said no and pushed him up and over the wall. Each kid was able to take the trophy home until the next week’s meeting.

If it is all about becoming a Boy Scout and survival skills, then it is all about helping each other and staying together. Some troops and packs get to much into winning just like in the little league baseball and football games.

Have a great time.

quote:

They sad thing about it is some of the kids take it bad loosing. We even gave out a small home-made participation ribbon to all the kids. That is the only thing where there is a winner there is a looser. At that young of an age it is hard for some kids to take.

Welcome to real life.

I went as a guest to Pinewood Derby last weekend

Great event, things sure have improved since the day I was involved in the Pack

Aluminum track, electronic scoring, kids get called on deck their picture and car number on a screen, results flash up on the screen after the heat.

Everyone was having fun, winners and losers.

I made sure to tell my boy and his wife the real winners were the ones who had their Mom and Dad there cheering them on. That's what the kids remember most.

My son's pack had an Outlaw race after the kids were done for the adults and illegal cars. That was fun.

As Cubmaster and Den Leader I love PWD time!

It means more power tools

These are my kids’ and mine. My 5yo daughter (who does not want to be a Cub scout) and 8-yo son (Wolf Scout, has earned all the belt loops for all three years so far) use my scroll saw with me helping keep their fingers safe- belt and hand sand, use the drill to recess the weights, and hammer in their wheels after painting. We use hot glue to keep the nails for the axles in, and to secure the weights.

The only tool I don’t let them run ia the router setup for my Dremel. I do the same with the Scouts who come over to my shop for help with their cars. Their parents can’t believe I let them (5-10 year olds use the power tools- but as long as they act accordingly, they’re fine. It is so much better to let the kids use them. The pride shows through incredibly.

My son taped off and painted the racing stripes, and asked me to write on his car as he’s very self-conscious of his handwriting. They are his words though.

Mine’s the middle one with just polyurethane and wood wax.

We got them all to 4.995-4.998 oz on my powder scale (which is also the pack scale, calibrated to that .001 oz per another parent matching it to his work laboratory scale.

Race day is next Saturday for us!

Glad to see legit father son cars, instead of the perfectly engineered, crafted, and painted car done by a daddy for his 7 year olds.

My sons, with help, kicked ass in Pinewood Derby. Get it as heavy as you can. Set it up so it runs on three wheels. Get it tracking straight. Polish and lube the axles. Google how to do that.

What Jhe said. Three wheels touching, polished axles and wheels, graphite.
My kids (with a little help) won first place 3 times.

Have fun, Steve

There’s plenty of YouTube videos on how to slick up your derby car. I’ve helped my son build 5 and my daughter and i have built a few for our packs parents and siblings division. There is an axle straightening tool available. Maybe your pack owns one. Highly recommend. In addition to polishing those axles.

Also read your pack’s official race rules to see where they stand on 3 or 4 wheels touching the track. Friction and rolling resistance is the enemy of speed.

IMO Best place to put weight is the center of gravity of the car. Try balancing the car on your index finger moving it back and forth till It balances. Then Put the weight where your finger is. Better to be a bit heavy then on the day of the race take your cordless drill and just drill out a bit of lead at a time till you are dead on weight with your official scales.

Lastly. In case it wasn’t obvious, the best car design is the thinnest wedge shape you can make and still have enough meat to add some weight.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Set it up so it runs on three wheels.

Saw that on Youtube but...

From the applicable rules...

The most common issues that cause a car to fail inspection are improper weight, modified axles such that only 3 wheels touch or modified wheels. You can not bend the axles either.