Help! Its Pinewood Derby Time!

[Guest]

 

[JerseyBoy]

get him a new dad!

Seems like its an event for the Dads, not the kids...like any kid could make some of those

Hey Dad? Can I use the lathe again?

I feel bad for the kids that do try and make them for themselves

grrr

 

[Lost Cause]

Win or have fun...

http://www.nashville.com/~randy.foster/pinewood.htm


www.fastpine.com

 

[bknight2602]

I think it is the experience of trying that is best for the kids.

Lets them learn some lessons in life.

I can't offer much help, except make sure wheels don't wobble, takes a lot of energy to overcome.

 

[Dr. B Evil]

My son has done this every year forever it seems. He never makes the top three.

Anyone know how I can help him build a better car?

Unfortunately EE, Jersey Boy is right. Most Dads take over and do all the work (minus painting the car) for their kids. I'll try and get some hints from a few experts on my end.

 

[Weird Harold]

Anyone know how I can help him build a better car?

Loan him your tube of astroglide -- Seriously lubing the wheels will make it go faster.

 

[Killswitch]

Yeah...start dating or better yet marry an engineer thats good with his hands. I did the PWD for years too when I was a kid, and you aint doin top three unless you have engineering skills and cheats that cant be found. PWD is a scam. None of the kids build those cars.

Try Soapbox Derby....you have to be a rocket scientist and work for NASA to win one of those......

SCAM!

 

[someplace]

Whatever you do, DON't try to help the paint dry faster by putting it in the oven...BIG MISTAKE!

 

[Secret Kate]

Do the parents and the siblings get to compete too? In our old pack we had catagories for parents cars - which were usually very nicely done - very professional looking - except mine - which did win for something - most original or something - and then the siblings got to do cars too. Fun for big and little sisters!

Our son lays out how he wants the car to look - we usually go looking on the internet for design ideas - and then modify them for what he really wants. He does the drawing on the side of the block of wood - then my husband cuts it out - son does all the sanding and the painting (sometimes a little help from mom - but not this year - he's 10 now and he can do that himself!)

Definately grease those wheels - but don't use astroglide - use the stuff you are suppose to use!

Does your pack do a work day where lots of dads and their tools are there to help out - and they usually do a pre-weigh in and all that. My husband and son go to that every year - husband to help and son to look at everyone elses car ideas.

Not much help on suggestions - but there's lots out there on the internet - just do a google search!

 

[Guest]

 

[Ljbonobo]

This is my opinion, based upon what worked rather well from me and that first link given.

Since it appears all you have are the basic tools that first link would do you the best good. Make a wedge shape, then use sandpaper to smooth all the corners down to give it a more aerodynamic look. Make new axle holes. Buy some sandpaper to smooth the tires and axels out. Graphite the axels. Use a postage scale to add weight till you are extremely close to 5 oz. My suggestion for weight is to go to a fishing shop and get some cheap lead weights or something similar. Put the weight just forward of the back wheels. Once you get all that done. Remove the axels and the wheels, buy a can of glossy spraypaint and have fun. Then go to a hobby store and find some nice decals and such to make it look "cool". Then just have fun with it.

 

[Guest]

 

[Ljbonobo]

IM not sure we can make new axel holes, and the weights have to be Boy Scout only weights, I have some from lst year, should I mount them under the car? Or on the side?

It must have changed that you can only use the scout weights. On the bottom generally seemed to work the best, but you may want to hollow a space out for them so that they don't limit the ground clearance and cause any drag.

 

[Harbinger]

Forget speed, and let him go for design. It's an underated category, and more fun.

 

[Neftoon_Zamora]

Emerald, I have 2 boys doing the derby again this year. Last year my oldest placed 3rd in his pack and in the top 20 for the region. I asked my husband what tips he had, as he and the boys were the ones who built the cars.

1) Polish the axels with a very fine sandpaper.

2) Buff the wheels, but they have to stay flat, they can't come to a point in the center, like a wedge.

3) Putting the weight toward the front may also help. The car can't weigh more than what, 5 ounces?

4) Powdered Graphite for the tires. The finer the better.

Myself, I'm one of those moms who holds my breath and watches through my fingers.

Good luck to your boys!

 

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

 

[Neftoon_Zamora]

they dont judge at this scout place on that, its speed and speed only!

That's too bad. We give prizes for the best looking cars as well. Is it something you could mention to the cubmaster?

 

[Guest]

 

[Problem Child]

My dad basically built all my pinewood derby cars, and I won two years in a row.

The first thing he did was get rid of those nails they give you for axles and machine new axles from brass rods and polish them down so there was about five thousandths clearance between the bore in the wheel and the axle.

After that, he polished the wheels so there would be as little friction with the track as possible.

For weight, he cut a rectangular hole in the bottom of the car and poured in lead shot. He covered this with candle wax. He then weighed the car on a triple beam balance scale and scraped away wax and shot until the car was to the exact weight limit.

The body was carved to look like a formula one racer, so it had very little wind resistance (if it even matters at those slow speeds).

I got to sand it and paint it.




edit: I was trying to remember exactly what my Dad did, and it occurs to me that he didn't make entire new axles from brass rods.

What he did, rather, was get nails that were a larger diameter than the wheel bores and turn and polish them down so that they were very close in diameter to the wheel bores. He may have also drilled new bores in the wheels too.

Then, he inserted the polished nails into small diameter brass tubes to ensure that the wheels were perfectly parrallel, and then he inserted those tubes exactly parallel to each other in the car body.

 

[Neftoon_Zamora]

maybe, but of course you got the kid whose dad spent 50$ on making it look awesome.

Its so not fair!

<grrrrr> don't you hate that??

 

[Harbinger]

they dont judge at this scout place on that, its speed and speed only!

A bunch of speed nazis, eh?

Well, do everything that Neftoon said, especially #1. Get all those little burrs off the underside of the nail heads. Also, I understand that making the car as narrow as allowed will bring the wheels as close together as possible, so the car doesn't bang back and forth as it goes down the track. That really slows it down. And find out if anybody gets to try out the track ahead of time for trial runs. They shouldn't, but if they do it gives them a chance to fine tune their car. If they do it you should too.

 

[Harbinger]

And one more mistake to avoid. Don't paint it right before you race it. Make sure you give it plenty of time to dry (days) otherwise the paint can still be a little tacky where the wheels touch.

Good luck.

And PC, your Dad sounds just like mine. But I had a hell of a paint job!

 

[Problem Child]

And one more mistake to avoid. Don't paint it right before you race it. Make sure you give it plenty of time to dry (days) otherwise the paint can still be a little tacky where the wheels touch.

Good luck.

And PC, your Dad sounds just like mine. But I had a hell of a paint job!

My dad was great at that shit. He did 90% of the work, but he always let me "help" and explained what he was doing and why.

 

[Harbinger]

Yeah, you never forget those times.