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Pinewood Derby?
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:08 am
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:08 am
Well, it's that time. We got our first pinewood derby car a few weeks ago and are working on it. Since my boy is a big NASCAR and specifically Kevin Harvick fan, when I asked him what kind of car he wanted to build, he told me "Kevin's car". Ok.
So we bought a preformed car body, it's plastic and slides over a cutdown version of the pinewood block. I was going to 3d print it, but this seemed WAY easier. We also go the stuff to make your own water slide decals. He lettered it up last weekend.
But coup de grace is what we did next. For about $2-$3 you can buy a small MP3 player board off the web. We hooked it up to an old 3.7 v lithium battery and some up-cycled laptop speakers. It now plays "Racecar sounds" and a few songs we've stuck on a micro SD card.
Gentlemen Start your engines
So given all of our mods, I know we're going to be down on speed (that's ok, we were going for "looks" and the "cool factor"). Anyone here every built one with their kids? We've been working on our wheels, axles (polishing) and weight placement. Any tips for speed will be much appreciated.
So we bought a preformed car body, it's plastic and slides over a cutdown version of the pinewood block. I was going to 3d print it, but this seemed WAY easier. We also go the stuff to make your own water slide decals. He lettered it up last weekend.
But coup de grace is what we did next. For about $2-$3 you can buy a small MP3 player board off the web. We hooked it up to an old 3.7 v lithium battery and some up-cycled laptop speakers. It now plays "Racecar sounds" and a few songs we've stuck on a micro SD card.
Gentlemen Start your engines
So given all of our mods, I know we're going to be down on speed (that's ok, we were going for "looks" and the "cool factor"). Anyone here every built one with their kids? We've been working on our wheels, axles (polishing) and weight placement. Any tips for speed will be much appreciated.
This post was edited on 3/7/19 at 8:13 am
18
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:11 am to Lonnie Utah
Get the burrs off the axles and polish, polish, polish. The weight should be right in front of the rear axle.
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:16 am to LSUlefty
quote:
Get the burrs off the axles and polish, polish, polish. The weight should be right in front of the rear axle.
Yup. That's what we've been working on. We got some 3000 grit sandpaper and are finishing that off with steel wool and graphite in a polishing cloth.
The hardest thing so far is 1). Getting the "judges" to send me a copy of our pack's official rules, and 2) finding 4 wheels that are "true" and not somewhat elliptical. I can't tell you how many "spin tests" we've done trying to get the best axles paired up with the best wheels.
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:24 am to Lonnie Utah
Your son did a great job.
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:29 am to Lonnie Utah
I used to wreck shop at pinewood
Graphite and sand the axles. I always trimmed down the car height as much as possible. Lead as far back as you can.
Graphite and sand the axles. I always trimmed down the car height as much as possible. Lead as far back as you can.
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:29 am to hob
quote:
Your son did a great job.
Thanks.
Considering he's 7, I would agree. He did get dad's finger with the (hand) saw when we were using the Miter box and that lost him brownie points.
He even soldered the battery wires to the board.
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:31 am to Lonnie Utah
The Science of Making the Fastest Pinewood Derby
quote:
A former NASA engineer explains 7 steps that are scientifically proven to help you build a fast Pinewood Derby car for your next race.
This post was edited on 3/7/19 at 8:32 am
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:32 am to jimbeam
quote:
Lead as far back as you can
This, you want the weight to be as high as possible when lined up on the track.
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:38 am to Lonnie Utah
I won the Pinewood Derby two years in a row. I still have the trophies.
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:40 am to Lonnie Utah
That car should be DQ’ed. A piece of plastic over the wood block should not be allowed.
Nice paint job but sand carving and sanding needs to be used.
Nice paint job but sand carving and sanding needs to be used.
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:41 am to Lonnie Utah
Do you have to scout to do derbies. I don’t hear about them around cenla.
But I would want to do the carve from a block of wood like we did as kids
But I would want to do the carve from a block of wood like we did as kids
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:45 am to Lonnie Utah
Sand axle. Get rid of burrs next to cap. Make sure you install axles as straight as possible. Put graphite or molybdenum powder on axles liberally!
Weight it to exact limit. I always dremeled out body to paper thin. Melted tire balance weights or fishing weights to fill void then removed lead till I (we) got weight exact.
Weight it to exact limit. I always dremeled out body to paper thin. Melted tire balance weights or fishing weights to fill void then removed lead till I (we) got weight exact.
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:47 am to Walt OReilly
quote:
That car should be DQ’ed. A piece of plastic over the wood block should not be allowed.
The body we used is officially sanctioned pinewood derby part made by Revell for the BSA. Look at the photo below, you can clearly see the BSA hologram on the box. (and your reaction is exactly why I was trying to get a copy of our pack rules BEFORE the race. We'll be taking the car in the box our body came in for this very reason.)
If you read the rules boy's life they state: "Details, such as steering wheel and driver are permissible as long as these details do not exceed the maximum length, width and weight specifications"
The body is simply an "accessory detail" that still conforms to the length, width and weight requirements.
Any other questions?
This post was edited on 3/7/19 at 8:54 am
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:49 am to Lonnie Utah
Can we get a OB Pinewood Derby car?
Grease that thing up
Grease that thing up
Posted on 3/7/19 at 8:50 am to tigerfoot
quote:
Do you have to scout to do derbies. I don’t hear about them around cenla.
But I would want to do the carve from a block of wood like we did as kids
Apparently, in some places the have "beer league" pinewood derbies for adults....
Posted on 3/7/19 at 9:01 am to KemoSabe65
quote:
PWD travel team???
Thinking about it, this could be a really fun thing to do at a tailgate (as opposed to cornhole). It would be really, really fun to do at a Nascar race like Dega....
Posted on 3/7/19 at 11:27 am to Lonnie Utah
I'm not sure if it has been outlawed but back in the day people would put round stickers on the wheels. Being young and not knowing I thought it was just for looks but they would basically use the sticker as a hub cap and fill it with graphite before the race.
Not sure if it was/is legal but said cars would haul arse.
Not sure if it was/is legal but said cars would haul arse.
Posted on 3/7/19 at 11:29 am to Nannyslayer
Make sure it runs straight. That is one of the biggest issues. If it drifts to either side you are done
Posted on 3/7/19 at 11:49 am to Lonnie Utah
I don’t care about the legality of the body kit, I think the kid should be getting blisters from sanding and then painting his own car rather than gluing a piece of plastics and putting on some stickers.
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