Pinewood Derby 2011

Browncoat

Senior Member
I was in Cub Scouts when I was a kid, and remember it being quite fun...until the Pinewood Derby of 1983. The Pack Leader's son was allowed to enter an out of spec car, which of course won the race.

Fast forward 25 years. Yes, I hold a grudge. My fiancee's son is in Cub Scouts and it's time for this year's race. The adults are allowed to race too, so I'm building a hot rod that will allow me to claim that trophy!

Progress pics coming soon.
 

ohkphoto

Snow White
so I'm building a hot rod that will allow me to claim that trophy!

This (and Danbo) confirms what I've always suspected about you, Anthony . . . you're just a big kid at heart! ;) Nice to see you haven't lost that. Can't wait for the photos.

Good luck!
 

Browncoat

Senior Member
Yes, I like my toys. :D

But this is more about righting a wrong. This car is going to be so fast, not even a cheater can beat it! And after the race, I'll have a nice shiny trophy to put on my mantle alongside my spiffy wooden car. Actually, I don't have a mantle...but I'll get one of those too, just to put the trophy on!
 

Joseph Bautsch

New member
Anthony, I was a Cub Master for eight years for my two sons. And in all that time it made no difference just how sleek or streamlined or how fancy the car was, they did no better than the ones that were just a block of wood with some paint on them. The secret to winning a pine wood derby is in the wheels. Pay close attention to how they are aligned and how freely they turn. Also make sure the car is at the max allowed weight. Good luck.
 

Ruidoso Bill

Senior Member
Anthony, I was a Cub Master for eight years for my two sons. And in all that time it made no difference just how sleek or streamlined or how fancy the car was, they did no better than the ones that were just a block of wood with some paint on them. The secret to winning a pine wood derby is in the wheels. Pay close attention to how they are aligned and how freely they turn. Also make sure the car is at the max allowed weight. Good luck.

Just not fast enough for aerodynamics.
 

johnwartjr

Senior Member
When I won the pinewood derby back in the day, we turned the wheels with a mandrel to make sure they were perfectly round and smooth, and used powdered graphite on the 'axles', along with making sure the car was the maximum weight.

Good times!
 

Browncoat

Senior Member
Forgive the crappy photo...was taken w/ my cell phone:


Pinewood.jpg
 

Browncoat

Senior Member
Aerodynamics...check. (Not that it matters, considering the low speed of these cars)
Rear-weighted design...check. The center of gravity on this thing is just in front of the rear axle.
Graphite for the wheels...check.
Axle alignment 90 degrees...check. Drilled with a drill press to less than 1/1000th of an inch specs.

Tomorrow's projects include polishing the axles and shaping the wheels.
 

fotojack

Senior Member
That looks awesome, Anthony. A suggestion for axles: if you have any old computer dvd or cd players around, look inside for the polished and super hard rods that are in there.
 

Browncoat

Senior Member
No-can-do. The rules prohibit the use of anything but official BSA axles that are found in the kids. They're basically just polished nails.
 

Browncoat

Senior Member
Yup, that's a great tip. I didn't even notice the machining marks and burrs upon first inspection. But there's definitely a little bit of flash leftover from the molding process that needs filed off. I'll probably just chuck them up in my Dremel or drill press and go to work on those today.

The weights are in as well. I took all 3 cars (my son and daughter are making cars too) and weighed them on a postal scale this morning.

  • Dad's car: 3.5 oz
  • Jr's car: 2.5 oz
  • Daughter's car: 1.0 oz
I'm actually glad I won't be racing against her car...it's a little bullet. Gonna be fun getting 4 oz. of weight in the back of that tiny thing. Will have to get creative. I might end up removing more wood from mine so that I can put more weight in the back of it.
 
Top