Andrew'sMom
Well-known member
Andrew is getting ready to craft his first Pinewood Derby car for Boy Scouts! Anyone out there with some tips on how to turn this block of wood into a speed machine??? 
Calling All Former Scouts...!
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Everything you wanted to know and then some.
http://www.derbytalk.com/
We will be doing our third this year. It is fun.
Edit: removed extraneous information due to relevance.
http://www.derbytalk.com/
We will be doing our third this year. It is fun.
Edit: removed extraneous information due to relevance.
Both my brothers and Justin did the pinewood derby, they were alot of fun.My best hint is to make sure your car is as heavey as allowed, for speed, but make sure to weigh on the official scale in enough time to take some off if it is too heavey. It is funny usually a week or so before the race you'd see lots of cars at the post office asking if they would wiehg it,
Some years Justin went for speed other times he just made a car he really wanted to, and went more for looks.
Some years Justin went for speed other times he just made a car he really wanted to, and went more for looks.
They race them on a little pine wood derby track!
I am not sure how your pack will do it..but ours races LOTS of trials to see basically so that each boy has a chance to come in 1st or at least 2nd.
We don't make ours too competetive b/c it is just a fun day for the boys..and a chance to show off thier craftmanship!! some are pretty crafty.. some you can tell dad did the work LOL!
Each of our boys get an award for accomplishment..for building and racing the car. We don't give 1st 2nd or 3rd place finishers.
Some pack do..
Have fun with it. My ds' first year..his car wasn't much more than a painted block of wood LOL>. but he was sure proud of it!
I am not sure how your pack will do it..but ours races LOTS of trials to see basically so that each boy has a chance to come in 1st or at least 2nd.
We don't make ours too competetive b/c it is just a fun day for the boys..and a chance to show off thier craftmanship!! some are pretty crafty.. some you can tell dad did the work LOL!
Each of our boys get an award for accomplishment..for building and racing the car. We don't give 1st 2nd or 3rd place finishers.
Some pack do..
Have fun with it. My ds' first year..his car wasn't much more than a painted block of wood LOL>. but he was sure proud of it!
Marguerite53
Premium Level User
Oh FUN!! I remember those days well.
Not sure what David's website is about, but I imagine he's right.....someone has surely put all there is to know about derby cars somewhere on the internet.
I remember (way back in the dinasaur age before computers when we were helping our now 25 and 23 year old son's build theirs) that there was something about sanding the wheels abit to smooth them. The manufactured wheels are covered with little burrs that catch and don't perform as well. I also remember sanding the actual car down very slim and in a wedge shape and then adding as much weight as is allowed. Not so much to the front or rear per se, but to maintain a balanced little car. We did not decorate them. Just painted them. As a matter of fact, our oldest's never dried properly and was tacky when we put the graphite on the wheels....that bright red car turned a murky sparkly brown. He was so upset. But the darn thing turned out to be one of the fastest!
Some Cub Scout packs are VERY competitive. It can be somewhat daunting on race day. We ran lots of little heats so that there were many winners as well. You might want to talk to an older parent to see how things happen in terms of how the kids feel afterwards.
It's a fun day! Enjoy!
Marguerite
Not sure what David's website is about, but I imagine he's right.....someone has surely put all there is to know about derby cars somewhere on the internet.
I remember (way back in the dinasaur age before computers when we were helping our now 25 and 23 year old son's build theirs) that there was something about sanding the wheels abit to smooth them. The manufactured wheels are covered with little burrs that catch and don't perform as well. I also remember sanding the actual car down very slim and in a wedge shape and then adding as much weight as is allowed. Not so much to the front or rear per se, but to maintain a balanced little car. We did not decorate them. Just painted them. As a matter of fact, our oldest's never dried properly and was tacky when we put the graphite on the wheels....that bright red car turned a murky sparkly brown. He was so upset. But the darn thing turned out to be one of the fastest!
Some Cub Scout packs are VERY competitive. It can be somewhat daunting on race day. We ran lots of little heats so that there were many winners as well. You might want to talk to an older parent to see how things happen in terms of how the kids feel afterwards.
It's a fun day! Enjoy!
Marguerite
Andrew'sMom
Well-known member
Thanks for the tips guys & gals! Andrew is bubbling with excitement over this project! mntbiker, I'll check out that website for some pointers on how to get that block mobile -- thanks! Andrew's little Scout group gives awards in 2 categories on race day, 1st & 2nd in speed and also 1st & 2nd in best of show. He wants to make a SpongeBob Speedpants-mobile! If I can figure out how to do it (post a pic), I will post a pic of the finished car on here. When they race they do best of 3, but it is double elimination, so it seems that he's guaranteed to send his car down the track at least 4 times.
Marky -- you know, I always struggle with the "helping" part ... I tend to let my kids do their projects completely ... aside from the things they cannot do, such as using power tools, hot glue guns etc ... and often their projects LOOK like they did them. But like you said, other kids turn in projects/cars/etc. done almost entirely by the parents and they look fabulous ... and the kids always comment on so-and-so's projects that was sooo cool. But in the end, I always do the same thing, that is let my kids do the project themselves. Even though it may not look the best, they did it themselves.
Marky -- you know, I always struggle with the "helping" part ... I tend to let my kids do their projects completely ... aside from the things they cannot do, such as using power tools, hot glue guns etc ... and often their projects LOOK like they did them. But like you said, other kids turn in projects/cars/etc. done almost entirely by the parents and they look fabulous ... and the kids always comment on so-and-so's projects that was sooo cool. But in the end, I always do the same thing, that is let my kids do the project themselves. Even though it may not look the best, they did it themselves.
Andrew'sMom said:
That is great that you have the kids do it. What always amazes me is the number of people that will show up with derby cars (or other school projects) that they bought at the store, yes they sell the derby cars pre built. Like you, the only parts that I do are the ones that cause injury if not handled correctly. When they remark on this car or that car and how cool it is I always tell them their car is the coolest because they made it. And yes I have seen blocks of wood on wheels go down the track as well.
A couple of important hints that really help the cars. Don't cut the area where the wheels seat. Put the wheels in as straight as possible. Load the axles up with graphite (Andrew will probably work on that part for hours once he understands how much faster it can make the car) keep the weight as high and far back as possible and as close to the maximum as you can get it.
