Pine wood derby

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Slanted66

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OK...so not the kind of racing you were expecting to find on this board...
A friend of ours (single mom) has an 8 year old boy. He called me last night asking for help with his pine wood derby, as his dad is not around to help. After asking me for help he asked if I could drive him to the race in the Dart...what a kid!!!!! I desperately want to help this little guy, but I was not in the scouts and know NOTHING about this event. Anybody got any ideas on how I can make this a fun project for my new car buddy?
Thanks!
Slanted66
Joel
 
My wife and I have built several cars for pine wood derby racing with much success, (several 1st place trophies for design and speed), with our 2 daughter's that were involved in Awanas church groups.

There are alot of sites with design and speed tips to be found by doing a google search. One thing we have found is you can never go wrong with a design theme that is patriotic. Our daughters have each won 1st place with the patriotic theme.

The key for speed, is to build the car to weigh as close as possible or right at 5 oz. I melted down lead wheel weights and drilled holes in the bottom center of the car, then poured the melted weight into the holes. Rounding the edges of the plastic wheels with sand paper will create less drag also. Try to put one of the front wheel axles into the groove deeper than the other so it will not touch the track, which is another trick for less drag. And most important, use a generous amount of powdered graphite lubricant on the axles.

Be creative and have fun.

Bill
 
See the link below....I know....it's a ferd web site but this link will (should?) take you to a guy that actually wrote a book on building Pine Wood Derby cars. Don't let it scare you off, because these are way over the top of anything you are likely to run into. The ffcobra web site in their OFF TOPIC forum is actually trying to stage a grown-up race. You must be a heck of a guy that a youngin' searched you out for such an important mission...KUDOS

http://www.ffcobra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95527
 
just remember its his car; let him build it and get your own so you can have the same fun as he is having even if you never race it. i was a cub scout and our pack used to run a a "parents" event afterwards. they didnt have the same rules but then again it helped the kids get more experience working on their own ride.
 
im proud to be amongst you great bunch of guys.My buddy died unexpectedly yesterday and had a 9 year old son. I was thinking when things get back to normal i might use him for a track buddy.
 
I helped my 2 boys build pinewood derby cars,they both won best design,of course not in the same race,but,one was a 32 ford roadster,the other was a i cut the shapes out,then let the boys sand,sand,sand.I took the cars to work,and primed them with urethane primer,then let the boys sand somemore.Gabriel wanted his 32 roadster painted black with orange fireflame(dont know were they heard that from)and noha wanted his t bucket painted yellow,with whit prearl ghost flames.In the t bucket we found a model car engine,hemi of course,and drilled,and screwed it from the bottom.Both cars won best of show trophies,and the boys learned a lot about painting cars,and sanding.if you would like pics of the cars,i could take some for ya,im sure the boys dont mind showing them off.Have fun!
 
Toby: I am planing on keeping the car simple for both our sakes, but I would love to see some pics of your cars!

Jaxle: I do not think I am going to build a car for myself as I really want this to be his event, but maybe next year! Thanks for the input.

Dead End: P prefeer to think of it as being in the right place at the right time...if he was playing Pop Warner I would be out of the picture...lol!

Thanks guys!!
Joel
 
Slanted66 - I started with my son two years ago and it's been a cool experience. His first car was the green one with the gold leaf. He took second in the race for his pack and first for appearance. Since that was his first year and he was only 7, he didn't operate the saw or drill press. But he did pick the design and color and he painted the primer on, sanded and painted the sublime green, sanded again but I added the flame and clear. All from a can though. The truck was my entry in the Dad's race, I ended up second (it was supposed to be a dodge ram). The next year we went for all out speed and he chose the wedge shape. He did a lot more, since it was a simple design. He (with my help) cut the block on the bandsaw, drilled the holes for the weight, set the wheels and painted it. He's a Bears fan, so he went with that theme. He won first in the pack and second in the whole district, where we got beat by a car that was "all dad built" but it was still lots of fun. The red car was my entry in the Dad's race. It was a last minute build and my son painted it but I ended up winning the Dad's race. Like others have said in this post, keep it simple. Tricks that I've learned that are legal - polish the axles. There is a ridge on the stamped nails that if you remove, will reduce the wheel friction. Graphite powder is legal and works great on the axles. Also before you put the wheels onto the car, rub some graphite right around the wood on the block where the wheel will touch the car. Cuts down on friction again. Pinewood 2.jpgMake the body as light as possible and position the weight with some of it behind the rear axle but most of it in front of the rear axle by a 1/2 inch. Use the axle furthest back from the front of the block as the front of the car. Lead is good but Tungsten is heavier and safer and you can concentrate the weight better. Before the race, run the car on a flat surface and see how it tracks. By playing with the axles, you can "align" the car so it runs straight. The straighter it runs, less friction running along the ridge on the track itself.
Check if you have a local Boy Scout Store. They have lots of good resources, books, decals, add ons like sidepipes, engines, even led lights now. This is the last year my son can compete before being too old but he is already drawing out designs on paper and talking about the color. He's learned how to operate a bandsaw, a drill press and to sand and paint. Some of the dad's can get out of control. One of the kids in his pack last year, his father bought his car off of ebay from one of those guys who claim to be a physic's teacher. They paid $100.00 bucks. But it got them second place, behind us. Anyway, it's a great thing you are doing have fun with it.

Pinewood 2.jpg
 
I used to polish the wheels themselves too. The only other thing I can suggest that hasn't been covered, if allowed, make the car to heavy, take a battery drill to the race with you and drill a bit at a time till you are right at legal weight. Not all scales are the same, and you don't want to be to light.

Most of all make sure he has fun.

TopHat
 
tophat i spot 2 sweptlines in the back grond of your sig! thats cool their the greatest trucks ever made. i have one myself.
 
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