pinewood derby time!

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I should dig out some of my old pine wood cars from boy scouts.
Until I can find the box with them, this CO2 car I made should be good enough for the moment :roll:

Front and rear bumpers, push guard, antenna, the works
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When I was a kid, I was in 4 of the Pinewood Derby's. Took 1st place 2 times in my town. Went to the state finals and got killed. Not sure what they did better than mine, but I wasn't even close.

For what it was worth, the speed in my car was from the wheels. We had no wheel mod rules, but my dad had a guy just drop them in a chuck and true the wheels. Didn't make them any smaller, just made them round. Made a huge difference. The "axles" were just nails back then. Made sure they were straight and in line with each other. Not much else except weight distribution. I think we tried around 60/40 toward the back.

Now once I was all grown up and in high school, I was in a CO2 car build. The big secret there was the wood choice. We had a big list of rules/specs and the sheet said it had to be wood. Out teacher in school reccomended the use of balsa wood. Several guys build little thin, tiny cars right at the small end of the specs and a few of them snapped in half at the end of the race. I build mine with thin sheets of balsa wood in the shape of a wedge with blocks glued in for the axles and CO2 cartridge. Killed the rest of the school and won 1st place in the state finals. That car was FAST!

I should try and find them all and take a picture of them.

Dan
 
thatd be great if you guys could find them and take some pics!
so far all weve got done is picked out a color(he got metal specks shimmering green) and ordered a respirator for him(since my paint supplier only has med/lrg) so we can get some primer mixed up and get him to squirt it and block it.
hes already started messing around with my small gun :mrgreen:
 
this ones about wrapped up now(we had to rush it since he has to take it to his den meeting on monday and he wanted it finished for that)...
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hes done everything except shape the body,sand the glaze,sand the primer(although i did draw out the scallops so he could lay the tape over my lines),and ill stripe the scallops.
but over all im was really amazed at how well he did....(and i know whos gonna start painting my stuff soon.when he primed the car he didnt even run the primer or dry spray it :shock: ) he was a little scared of the drill press at first when we drilled holes for the weights and shaved the axles but he learned to pay attention and youll be fine...best part is hes starting to like making things as well as taking an interest in traditional cars now :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
 
When I did the pinewood derby my first year I drew out the shape and my step dad cut it out. Maybe I didn't read the all the rules and regulations or maybe there was no mention of how far apart the wheels needed to be so I couldn't run my car. I had asked my stepdad to cut wheelwells so the wheels were tucked and they wouldn't fit over raised center section of the track. I was bummed, I ran some loaner car and recieved one of those loser trophys they give kids that suck.
 
i made one that had a foil shape. But you really want the car to be as close to the regulation weight as possible. I love how it looks, lots of people i have seen say their car is more aerodynamic... but i saw a blank block with thumbtacks win one year.
 
well we finally got this finished since the race is tomorrow(hes been playing with it for the past 2 weeks but the scratches and dents make it look better in my $.02 :lol: )....
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well if hes lucky all his hard work will get him better than last place...
 
Looks great! You guys did a great job. How are you fixed for weight? We have a 5.00 weight limit in our pack. I've read that keeping the weight as far back as possible makes maximum use of gravity.

This year my son, who is in Webelos , had complete creative control. All I did was the axles. It was a 'Harry Potter' themed car.

Also this year we volunteered to help set up the track. He and I got there at 8:30 am and while I helped with the track, he cut the voting forms out and helped with the boundray ropes etc.. I then spent the day helping the kids with 'unskilled' parents get their cars to meet the weight rules. I only stopped to watch my sons races. Didn't get home until 4:00. It was awesome helping out. I strongly suggest it. :) :)

He made it to the 'King of the 'Hill' and is going to the district finals!

GOOD LUCK!
 
yeah his packs limit is 5 oz as well(thats exactly where its sits as well :wink: )
well this is his first since hes just a tiger cub so we went with weights in the rear higher up and some in the center so if you lift it in the center with a pencil it will balance so it should do okay(after we see the track ill know where he should put the weight next year but for now...better safe than sorry)....
as for volunteering were going in as soon as they open for the weigh in so im sure well stick around and help the others who need it...
CONGRATS TO THE KING OF THE HILL AND GOOD LUCK ON THE FINALS!!
btw post some pics of his car if you would!
 
well my son was almost king of the hill at his pack race as well :shock:
got 1st in his den and 2nd out of the whole pack(much to my surprise) and was going to regionals(until he found out he wouldnt have his car to play with until the end of may) so he dropped out and brought his car home...but that was my fault....i told him he could play with his car after the race since i didnt know they took the winners cars after the race...oh well live and learn :oops:
mr. second place face :mrgreen:
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and all the cars...
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my personal favorite was the indiana jones riding the crate of snakes :lol:
 
All Right!!! :) :) :) :) :)

That's great, looks like one proud scout. I'm sure he'll remember the entire experience, from making the car with his dad to getting his trophy. I'll bet your already thinking about next year, huh? :D

Here's some pics of my son's stable of racers.

From left to right: Tigers entry Mooneyes racer we won 1 race and were eliminated in 2nd. Wolves entry: The Mystery Machine Same as the other. Bears entry: Aero racer Won a few races but didn't make 'King of the hill. Also won 'Best Paint'. Webelo's 1 entry: Harry Potter Book Made it to 'King of the Hill' and we go to the districts next week!

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I really thought this one would do better in the races. We wanted a sleek design so I gathered 4 oz's of weight and we chiseled the hole accordingly. Then we cut away as much wood as we could and gave her a little belt sander treatment.

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Here's 'Harry Potter' With a shot of cylindrical weight placement. A simple wedge design. It's supposed to look like an open book. My sons an avid reader.

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Like I said this year was the first I volunteered and it was great helping the kids who's dad's weren't around or aren't that handy. I regret not doing it in the past years.

I like the checkered flag staging area you guys have. I'm gonna suggest to our den to build one as a den project. We use a couple of our meetings to work on our cars together as a den. We have our meetings in one of the dad's heated garage/barn and he has a band saw there. Great team building exercise.

Congratulations!
 
for the past 3 years ive been helping my girlfriends little cousin build his cars - his dad means well but has no business with any sort of tool in his hand. last year was his last year in cub scouts and i was kind of upset that i couldn't help him this year - as i clicked on this thread i realized im building a LARGE version of a pinewood derby car for design school! form/wood working class:

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ill post more when its done.
 
That would take up the whole track! Our pack has a parents/siblings class I'm gonna enter next year. Not sure if it'll be Harley or Hemi powered!
 
tell you boy he did a great job on the cars(really like the mystery machine) and maybe next year will be the year
and please post some finished pics of yours when you get a chance(lobsterboyx and for that matter you to ej599)
 
I should find a picture of my old pinewood derby cars

Cool, but i dont remember doing any of the work, Maybe just building.
Believe it or not, it was my mother who did the work.

My cousins won 1st and second

they were the ones to worry about, I geuss they were talked about "Were not going to beat them...The dad builds real cars!"
 
The Pinewood Derby was one of the highpoints of my scouting experience...both as a scout and the parent of a scout.

To give back, for what I received from that experience…I wrote and just released a book about the Derby called "Pinewood-Winning by the Rules" ISBN 978-1-60911-153-3. It shows that the “BIG race” can be won by sticking to the rules…Isn’t that what scouting is all about?

My son was district champ for 3 years in a row and he did that by following every rule and doing his best. It is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Borders websites…also through my website http://www.PinnacleCarRacing.com
 
I will have pics of all the cars we have built in the past.....I go for the best in show trophy over the speed but im sure you will get a kick out of what we have thrown together in the past...
 
Well he won 3 races but then got beat by one of his fellow den members. Our Webelos 1 den actually had the only 3 boys there, out of all the 2 Webelos 1 dens in our pack. The boy that my son went on to the district 'King of the Hill'. I'm not sure how he did.
 

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