Pinewood Derby (1 Viewer)

[St. Louis Bob]

I'm worried about the other kids (dads) cheating. What should I be looking out for and precisely how would they do it?

Do you have a copy of your Pack's race rules?Edit: Hmm... there's probably a better way of wording that.

I never got any rules. All I know is it can't weigh more than 5 oz.

I'm worried about the other kids (dads) cheating. What should I be looking out for and precisely how would they do it?

If you make this about winning, losing, and cheating, I am afraid you are not going to have a good time with your son unless you win; I think a lot is lost in translation there.

My goal is to not come in last.

 

[urbanhack]

I'm worried about the other kids (dads) cheating. What should I be looking out for and precisely how would they do it?

Do you have a copy of your Pack's race rules?Edit: Hmm... there's probably a better way of wording that.

I never got any rules. All I know is it can't weigh more than 5 oz.

I'm worried about the other kids (dads) cheating. What should I be looking out for and precisely how would they do it?

If you make this about winning, losing, and cheating, I am afraid you are not going to have a good time with your son unless you win; I think a lot is lost in translation there.

My goal is to not come in last.

Walk around and start taking pictures of all the cars with your phone. Bring a lap top as well. As soon as you are done taking pictures of the car, plug from your phone into the laptop and make it look like you are doing research or inspecting their cars. You may not find anything, but maybe some of them that cheated will take off.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

I'm worried about the other kids (dads) cheating. What should I be looking out for and precisely how would they do it?

Do you have a copy of your Pack's race rules?Edit: Hmm... there's probably a better way of wording that.

I never got any rules. All I know is it can't weigh more than 5 oz.

I'm worried about the other kids (dads) cheating. What should I be looking out for and precisely how would they do it?

If you make this about winning, losing, and cheating, I am afraid you are not going to have a good time with your son unless you win; I think a lot is lost in translation there.

My goal is to not come in last.

Walk around and start taking pictures of all the cars with your phone. Bring a lap top as well. As soon as you are done taking pictures of the car, plug from your phone into the laptop and make it look like you are doing research or inspecting their cars. You may not find anything, but maybe some of them that cheated will take off.

I was thinking more like using nanobots to make an undetectable motor.

 

[Disco Stu]

I'm worried about the other kids (dads) cheating. What should I be looking out for and precisely how would they do it?

Do you have a copy of your Pack's race rules?Edit: Hmm... there's probably a better way of wording that.

I never got any rules. All I know is it can't weigh more than 5 oz.

If that's the only rule, just watch for anyone sneaking off with their car. A young Evilgrin would add additional weights in the bathroom.If your car weighs close to 5 oz and the wheels spin fairly well, you won't finish last. Let's see a pic.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

I'm worried about the other kids (dads) cheating. What should I be looking out for and precisely how would they do it?

Do you have a copy of your Pack's race rules?Edit: Hmm... there's probably a better way of wording that.

I never got any rules. All I know is it can't weigh more than 5 oz.

If that's the only rule, just watch for anyone sneaking off with their car. A young Evilgrin would add additional weights in the bathroom.If your car weighs close to 5 oz and the wheels spin fairly well, you won't finish last. Let's see a pic.

I'll post one when it's done. The weight was way off so I drilled a hole in the bottom and added 3 nickles and a dime.

 

[shuke]

My goal is to not come in last.

Our pack awards last place. You might want to see if yours does also.

 

[shuke]

The weight was way off so I drilled a hole in the bottom and added 3 nickles and a dime.

 

[Dr. Awesome]

Pinewood Derby Allstars has reality tv written all over it.

 

[JaxBill]

Alaska Pinewood Derby Allstar Wives has reality tv written all over it.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

The weight was way off so I drilled a hole in the bottom and added 3 nickles and a dime.

 

[Mr. Ected]

My goal is to not come in last.

Our pack awards last place. You might want to see if yours does also.

My son's pack does - Safest Car they call it. The kid gets the same trophy as those that win their division. How do we know this? My guy won last year. He is proud - wants to try to win it again.

 

[shuke]

Today was the big day. My son got second in his rank (of about 20), which meant a trophy and a trip to districts if he wants to go.

Thanks to everyone for their help.

 

[Rustoleum]

Today was the big day. My son got second in his rank (of about 20), which meant a trophy and a trip to districts if he wants to go.Thanks to everyone for their help.

Great job, now for all that is holy I urge you to find a conflicting event that you simply "must" attend in lieu of the district race. Can't speak for the Cincinnati Districts, but the Trailblazer one in Northern Kentucky has not been fun for us at all in the past - too crowded, too boring, and tooooooo long.My son's car is still in the box, but we have a few weeks still to accomplish our quest for third place.

 

[pittstownkiller]

The weight was way off so I drilled a hole in the bottom and added 3 nickles and a dime.

I guess that he is laughing at you dumping more money into that old jalopy .

 

[shuke]

Today was the big day. My son got second in his rank (of about 20), which meant a trophy and a trip to districts if he wants to go.Thanks to everyone for their help.

Great job, now for all that is holy I urge you to find a conflicting event that you simply "must" attend in lieu of the district race. Can't speak for the Cincinnati Districts, but the Trailblazer one in Northern Kentucky has not been fun for us at all in the past - too crowded, too boring, and tooooooo long.My son's car is still in the box, but we have a few weeks still to accomplish our quest for third place.

How long we talking here?

 

[Rustoleum]

I think it was a minimum of 3 hours,closer to 4.

 

[gameday]

Today was the big day. My son got second in his rank (of about 20), which meant a trophy and a trip to districts if he wants to go.Thanks to everyone for their help.

Great job, now for all that is holy I urge you to find a conflicting event that you simply "must" attend in lieu of the district race. Can't speak for the Cincinnati Districts, but the Trailblazer one in Northern Kentucky has not been fun for us at all in the past - too crowded, too boring, and tooooooo long.My son's car is still in the box, but we have a few weeks still to accomplish our quest for third place.

How long we talking here?

Congrats to Little Shuke! Our District derby generally has about 120 entries and takes just a bit over 2 hours. It's generally a blast.

 

[Rustoleum]

Is that 120 per rank, or total?

If every pack in our district had their 2 reps show up, they'd have that many in each group.

I think that's why the event suffers in Northern KY. It gets to be too unwieldy to host, and the extra time to run all those cars just kills off a lot of the fun when you are talking about a bunch of 7-10 year olds.

 

[Spanky267]

I am really surprised at how wide open some of the districts are regarding the derby. Our rules are pretty extensive. We have to use the wheels, axles and block that come with the kit. We can change the wheels out for other BSA wheels but they cant be shaved or grooved only "lightly sanded"

We have to use the original axle holes in the block, we cant lengthen the wheelbase.

Definitely recommend the graphite for the axles and wheels. One of our local scout stores holds derby days where you can essentially build your car in a day. They will do all of the cutting and rough sanding for you. I took my boys there this year to get the cars basic shapes cut. We have all of the other tools needed to finish the cars at home.

Lots of fun if you get your kids involved and make it more about the exercise than winning.

 

[gameday]

Is that 120 per rank, or total?If every pack in our district had their 2 reps show up, they'd have that many in each group.I think that's why the event suffers in Northern KY. It gets to be too unwieldy to host, and the extra time to run all those cars just kills off a lot of the fun when you are talking about a bunch of 7-10 year olds.

Now that I think of it it's probably closer to 150 entries, but that is for the entire District race (all ranks included). I don't know how many Packs make up our District, but I would guess that it's about 40 or so. A Pack generally just sends 4 or so Scouts, but a few Packs don't send anyone. Over time everyone has realized that the District is pretty competitive and most of the kids that aren't at a very high level don't bother entering. Our District uses a 6-lane track and every car runs just 3 times to determine Den level champs, and then the overall champ race is just another 3 runs.

 

[Reg Lllama of Brixton]

I am really surprised at how wide open some of the districts are regarding the derby. Our rules are pretty extensive. We have to use the wheels, axles and block that come with the kit. We can change the wheels out for other BSA wheels but they cant be shaved or grooved only "lightly sanded"We have to use the original axle holes in the block, we cant lengthen the wheelbase. Definitely recommend the graphite for the axles and wheels. One of our local scout stores holds derby days where you can essentially build your car in a day. They will do all of the cutting and rough sanding for you. I took my boys there this year to get the cars basic shapes cut. We have all of the other tools needed to finish the cars at home. Lots of fun if you get your kids involved and make it more about the exercise than winning.

I remember doing Pinewood Derby when I was in Indian Guides. They have very strict rules on what could be done to the car and who could do it. I remember my dad telling me later on that they actually had a "committee" of 3 regional big-wigs (or whatever) take a look at all of the cars ahead of time. If they determined that it looked like the dad had done too much of the building they would disqualify the car.

 

[Disco Stu]

Today was the big day. My son got second in his rank (of about 20), which meant a trophy and a trip to districts if he wants to go.Thanks to everyone for their help.

I volunteered to help with the track set-up for our Pack's race day, which means I need to be there at 8:30 in the morning. Mainly I just don't have much faith in the ability of the leader to get it done right. He's not the sharpest bulb.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

I am really surprised at how wide open some of the districts are regarding the derby. Our rules are pretty extensive. We have to use the wheels, axles and block that come with the kit. We can change the wheels out for other BSA wheels but they cant be shaved or grooved only "lightly sanded"We have to use the original axle holes in the block, we cant lengthen the wheelbase. Definitely recommend the graphite for the axles and wheels. One of our local scout stores holds derby days where you can essentially build your car in a day. They will do all of the cutting and rough sanding for you. I took my boys there this year to get the cars basic shapes cut. We have all of the other tools needed to finish the cars at home. Lots of fun if you get your kids involved and make it more about the exercise than winning.

I remember doing Pinewood Derby when I was in Indian Guides. They have very strict rules on what could be done to the car and who could do it. I remember my dad telling me later on that they actually had a "committee" of 3 regional big-wigs (or whatever) take a look at all of the cars ahead of time. If they determined that it looked like the dad had done too much of the building they would disqualify the car.

I couldn't be more safe then. Weigh in tomorrow night, race Friday night.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

I'm worried about the other kids (dads) cheating. What should I be looking out for and precisely how would they do it?

Do you have a copy of your Pack's race rules?Edit: Hmm... there's probably a better way of wording that.

I never got any rules. All I know is it can't weigh more than 5 oz.

Let's see a pic.

LinkIt doesn't look good but it rolls easy and straight and you can certainly tell Cal helped.

 

[Reg Lllama of Brixton]

I am really surprised at how wide open some of the districts are regarding the derby. Our rules are pretty extensive. We have to use the wheels, axles and block that come with the kit. We can change the wheels out for other BSA wheels but they cant be shaved or grooved only "lightly sanded"We have to use the original axle holes in the block, we cant lengthen the wheelbase. Definitely recommend the graphite for the axles and wheels. One of our local scout stores holds derby days where you can essentially build your car in a day. They will do all of the cutting and rough sanding for you. I took my boys there this year to get the cars basic shapes cut. We have all of the other tools needed to finish the cars at home. Lots of fun if you get your kids involved and make it more about the exercise than winning.

I remember doing Pinewood Derby when I was in Indian Guides. They have very strict rules on what could be done to the car and who could do it. I remember my dad telling me later on that they actually had a "committee" of 3 regional big-wigs (or whatever) take a look at all of the cars ahead of time. If they determined that it looked like the dad had done too much of the building they would disqualify the car.

I couldn't be more safe then. Weigh in tomorrow night, race Friday night.

This was Indian Guides...in the 70's. I think my dad had me join that because every other week there was a meeting just for the dads at a nearby pizza place. I think they just sat around and drank beer.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

I am really surprised at how wide open some of the districts are regarding the derby. Our rules are pretty extensive. We have to use the wheels, axles and block that come with the kit. We can change the wheels out for other BSA wheels but they cant be shaved or grooved only "lightly sanded"We have to use the original axle holes in the block, we cant lengthen the wheelbase. Definitely recommend the graphite for the axles and wheels. One of our local scout stores holds derby days where you can essentially build your car in a day. They will do all of the cutting and rough sanding for you. I took my boys there this year to get the cars basic shapes cut. We have all of the other tools needed to finish the cars at home. Lots of fun if you get your kids involved and make it more about the exercise than winning.

I remember doing Pinewood Derby when I was in Indian Guides. They have very strict rules on what could be done to the car and who could do it. I remember my dad telling me later on that they actually had a "committee" of 3 regional big-wigs (or whatever) take a look at all of the cars ahead of time. If they determined that it looked like the dad had done too much of the building they would disqualify the car.

I couldn't be more safe then. Weigh in tomorrow night, race Friday night.

This was Indian Guides...in the 70's. I think my dad had me join that because every other week there was a meeting just for the dads at a nearby pizza place. I think they just sat around and drank beer.

Man, that's what I need. Oh and I finally got the rules. Thanks for the time guys.I'm sure there are a lot of 7-12 yo's that can make these fancy cars mostly on their own.

· Best Racecar (Indy, Nascar, etc.)· Best Government Vehicle (Tank, Police Car, Ambulance, etc.)· Most Patriotic(Car with best patriotic theme)· Best Animal Design(Any air, land, sea animal) · Most Creative Design(Pencil, Skateboard, Wii remote, etc.)· Best Wedge Car(Best decorating of a wedge car.)· Most Futuristic(Spaceship, Rocket, etc.)

 

[shuke]

Do they even have Indian Guide anymore, or is it too politically incorrect? I enjoyed it, and seemed like the "cooler" cub scouts, without the geeky uniform and popcorn.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

I'm worried about the other kids (dads) cheating. What should I be looking out for and precisely how would they do it?

Do you have a copy of your Pack's race rules?Edit: Hmm... there's probably a better way of wording that.

I never got any rules. All I know is it can't weigh more than 5 oz.

Let's see a pic.

LinkIt doesn't look good but it rolls easy and straight and you can certainly tell Cal helped.

Snazzy! Hopefully Cal embarrasses some overhelpful engineering daddies.

To each their own I guess. To me it just seems like this is more for the dads than the kids. Of course I suck at this kind of stuff so it could just be me.

 

[Disco Stu]

I'm worried about the other kids (dads) cheating. What should I be looking out for and precisely how would they do it?

Do you have a copy of your Pack's race rules?Edit: Hmm... there's probably a better way of wording that.

I never got any rules. All I know is it can't weigh more than 5 oz.

Let's see a pic.

LinkIt doesn't look good but it rolls easy and straight and you can certainly tell Cal helped.

Snazzy! Hopefully Cal embarrasses some overhelpful engineering daddies.

To each their own I guess. To me it just seems like this is more for the dads than the kids. Of course I suck at this kind of stuff so it could just be me.

Don't worry about it bud. The car looks good.

 

[Disco Stu]

The only thing we accomplished this weekend was hollowing most of the thing out with a drill and chisel. Dropped the block weight from 1.4 down to 0.8 ounces.

After making this modification, our design looks a lot like this but with a thin layer of wood on top.

Disco, of all the car designs we've used, that rail rider design by Stan Pope is absolutely the best. It's easy for the kids to do, it's easy to get great weight placement, and it's a quick car to make.

We had an issue with one hole accidentally being drilled all the way through the block. Fixed it with some wood filler though.Updated pics after sanding...

Top

Bottom

After applying primer

 

[Reg Lllama of Brixton]

The only thing we accomplished this weekend was hollowing most of the thing out with a drill and chisel. Dropped the block weight from 1.4 down to 0.8 ounces.

After making this modification, our design looks a lot like this but with a thin layer of wood on top.

Disco, of all the car designs we've used, that rail rider design by Stan Pope is absolutely the best. It's easy for the kids to do, it's easy to get great weight placement, and it's a quick car to make.

We had an issue with one hole accidentally being drilled all the way through the block. Fixed it with some wood filler though.Updated pics after sanding...

Top

Bottom

After applying primer

Your kid is Jewish?

 

[Disco Stu]

The only thing we accomplished this weekend was hollowing most of the thing out with a drill and chisel. Dropped the block weight from 1.4 down to 0.8 ounces.

After making this modification, our design looks a lot like this but with a thin layer of wood on top.

Disco, of all the car designs we've used, that rail rider design by Stan Pope is absolutely the best. It's easy for the kids to do, it's easy to get great weight placement, and it's a quick car to make.

We had an issue with one hole accidentally being drilled all the way through the block. Fixed it with some wood filler though.Updated pics after sanding...

Top

Bottom

After applying primer

Your kid is Jewish?

Of course not, you already know he's a cub scout. :gentilesonly:

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Don't worry about it bud. The car looks good.

Thanks GB

 

[Reg Lllama of Brixton]

The only thing we accomplished this weekend was hollowing most of the thing out with a drill and chisel. Dropped the block weight from 1.4 down to 0.8 ounces.

After making this modification, our design looks a lot like this but with a thin layer of wood on top.

Disco, of all the car designs we've used, that rail rider design by Stan Pope is absolutely the best. It's easy for the kids to do, it's easy to get great weight placement, and it's a quick car to make.

We had an issue with one hole accidentally being drilled all the way through the block. Fixed it with some wood filler though.Updated pics after sanding...

Top

Bottom

After applying primer

Your kid is Jewish?

Of course not, you already know he's a cub scout. :gentilesonly:

Good point. I do like his Yamaha though.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

I'm worried about the other kids (dads) cheating. What should I be looking out for and precisely how would they do it?

Do you have a copy of your Pack's race rules?Edit: Hmm... there's probably a better way of wording that.

I never got any rules. All I know is it can't weigh more than 5 oz.

Let's see a pic.

LinkIt doesn't look good but it rolls easy and straight and you can certainly tell Cal helped.

Snazzy! Hopefully Cal embarrasses some overhelpful engineering daddies.

To each their own I guess. To me it just seems like this is more for the dads than the kids. Of course I suck at this kind of stuff so it could just be me.

Don't worry about it bud. The car looks good.

Awesome job.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Awesome job.

I don't if you guys are busting my balls but thanks. We nailed the 141 grams too.

Spoiler

after I glued another quarter on it/

Oh and got the following e-mail today:

The forecast for this afternoon and evening is calling for some ice and maybe a little snow.Pinewood Derby will happen, no matter the weather. Please be careful as you make your way out this evening.We hope to see you tonight! We have 57 Scout cars entered and ready to race. They look awesome!

We are supposed to get freezing raing until midnight.

 

[gameday]

Awesome job.

I don't if you guys are busting my balls but thanks. We nailed the 141 grams too.

Spoiler

after I glued another quarter on it/

Oh and got the following e-mail today:

The forecast for this afternoon and evening is calling for some ice and maybe a little snow.Pinewood Derby will happen, no matter the weather. Please be careful as you make your way out this evening.We hope to see you tonight! We have 57 Scout cars entered and ready to race. They look awesome!

We are supposed to get freezing raing until midnight. Results? Was the derby this weekend?

 

[GroveDiesel]

You really should have him clamp down his piece while using a drill press. Keeping that other hand in there is just asking for trouble.

But very nice job by your son.

 

[Godsbrother]

Nice to see your son doing the work!

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Awesome job.

I don't if you guys are busting my balls but thanks. We nailed the 141 grams too.

Spoiler

after I glued another quarter on it/

Oh and got the following e-mail today:

The forecast for this afternoon and evening is calling for some ice and maybe a little snow.Pinewood Derby will happen, no matter the weather. Please be careful as you make your way out this evening.We hope to see you tonight! We have 57 Scout cars entered and ready to race. They look awesome!

We are supposed to get freezing raing until midnight. Not messing with you at all. I think it looks great. Hope your son finished well.

 

[Disco Stu]

Awesome job.

I don't if you guys are busting my balls but thanks. We nailed the 141 grams too.

Spoiler

after I glued another quarter on it/

Spoiler

Oh and got the following e-mail today:

The forecast for this afternoon and evening is calling for some ice and maybe a little snow.Pinewood Derby will happen, no matter the weather. Please be careful as you make your way out this evening.We hope to see you tonight! We have 57 Scout cars entered and ready to race. They look awesome!

We are supposed to get freezing raing until midnight.

Results? Was the derby this weekend?I still haven't heard how Catfish Cal did.

 

[Disco Stu]

Our weigh-in is tonight. I think we're probably a little over but can easily remove putty to get down to 5.0.

I forgot to take a picture showing the easy access to putty holes, but here's one of the finished product.

 

[walnutz]

We had our derby last week end. My son finished 5th in his pack of about 15 kids. he was upset he did not do better. I will have to figure out how to post pics and can show the car.

 

[Disco Stu]

Our weigh-in is tonight. I think we're probably a little over but can easily remove putty to get down to 5.0.

I forgot to take a picture showing the easy access to putty holes, but here's one of the finished product.

This car was fast.

 

[Jason Wood]

Hey gang, this thread has been awesome.

As a dad building his second Derby car ever (well, I'm building two this year, but you get the idea), this thread has been terrific. As far as I can tell, our Troop is very conservative. Not only can you nod add anything in terms of mods, but you even have to use the pre-drilled axle holes or face disqualification. That's fine, because ultimately I don't care if we win as long as the cars look good, the boys had fun, and they're proud. But after a great weekend where the car design and painting came out perfect, I had some issues with the axles last night.

I put the first car into the vice, figuring that would provide a tight fit to hammer the axle into the wheel base. But the axle/nail was going in crooked. When I took it out of the vice, and tried pushing it in, the wood around the axle splintered away. :( Luckily this is for my non-scout son's entry (he's entering the sibling category), and it's not a huge deal. But before I put the axles onto my cub scout's car, I want to make sure I can avoid a similar issue.

What's the secret? I worried about getting the axles on, at all, much less getting them balanced. Help would be greatly appreciated.

Woodrow

 

[gameday]

Hey gang, this thread has been awesome.As a dad building his second Derby car ever (well, I'm building two this year, but you get the idea), this thread has been terrific. As far as I can tell, our Troop is very conservative. Not only can you nod add anything in terms of mods, but you even have to use the pre-drilled axle holes or face disqualification. That's fine, because ultimately I don't care if we win as long as the cars look good, the boys had fun, and they're proud. But after a great weekend where the car design and painting came out perfect, I had some issues with the axles last night.I put the first car into the vice, figuring that would provide a tight fit to hammer the axle into the wheel base. But the axle/nail was going in crooked. When I took it out of the vice, and tried pushing it in, the wood around the axle splintered away. :( Luckily this is for my non-scout son's entry (he's entering the sibling category), and it's not a huge deal. But before I put the axles onto my cub scout's car, I want to make sure I can avoid a similar issue.What's the secret? I worried about getting the axles on, at all, much less getting them balanced. Help would be greatly appreciated.Woodrow

Hmmmm . . I have not seen that kind of problem with using the pre-cut slots before. When we have to use those slots we still use a drill press and drill the hole right at the very top of the slot. That provides a much truer axle alignment. If you have access to a drill press that would be my suggestion. Just be careful to not make the hole too large. If you do, you can drop a dab of glue into the slot at the very end of the axle. Good luck.

 

[gameday]

Our weigh-in is tonight. I think we're probably a little over but can easily remove putty to get down to 5.0.

I forgot to take a picture showing the easy access to putty holes, but here's one of the finished product.

This car was fast.

Woo hoo! Did he win a trophy?On a side note, I've had almost a dozen kids use my shop to build their cars so far this year. Two of them have had their race; one took 2nd overall and the other placed 3rd in his Den level. Both of them move on to Districts.

 

[Disco Stu]

Hey gang, this thread has been awesome.

As a dad building his second Derby car ever (well, I'm building two this year, but you get the idea), this thread has been terrific. As far as I can tell, our Troop is very conservative. Not only can you nod add anything in terms of mods, but you even have to use the pre-drilled axle holes or face disqualification. That's fine, because ultimately I don't care if we win as long as the cars look good, the boys had fun, and they're proud. But after a great weekend where the car design and painting came out perfect, I had some issues with the axles last night.

I put the first car into the vice, figuring that would provide a tight fit to hammer the axle into the wheel base. But the axle/nail was going in crooked. When I took it out of the vice, and tried pushing it in, the wood around the axle splintered away. :( Luckily this is for my non-scout son's entry (he's entering the sibling category), and it's not a huge deal. But before I put the axles onto my cub scout's car, I want to make sure I can avoid a similar issue.

What's the secret? I worried about getting the axles on, at all, much less getting them balanced. Help would be greatly appreciated.

Woodrow

Hmmmm . . I have not seen that kind of problem with using the pre-cut slots before. When we have to use those slots we still use a drill press and drill the hole right at the very top of the slot. That provides a much truer axle alignment. If you have access to a drill press that would be my suggestion. Just be careful to not make the hole too large. If you do, you can drop a dab of glue into the slot at the very end of the axle. Good luck.

Painting the car may have made the slots too small for the nail. You shouldn't have to (and don't want to) use a hammer to install the axles/wheels.Agreed on drilling holes. A #44 bit worked perfectly, especially combined with this tool. That was $12 well spent this year.

 

[Jason Wood]

Hey gang, this thread has been awesome.

As a dad building his second Derby car ever (well, I'm building two this year, but you get the idea), this thread has been terrific. As far as I can tell, our Troop is very conservative. Not only can you nod add anything in terms of mods, but you even have to use the pre-drilled axle holes or face disqualification. That's fine, because ultimately I don't care if we win as long as the cars look good, the boys had fun, and they're proud. But after a great weekend where the car design and painting came out perfect, I had some issues with the axles last night.

I put the first car into the vice, figuring that would provide a tight fit to hammer the axle into the wheel base. But the axle/nail was going in crooked. When I took it out of the vice, and tried pushing it in, the wood around the axle splintered away. :( Luckily this is for my non-scout son's entry (he's entering the sibling category), and it's not a huge deal. But before I put the axles onto my cub scout's car, I want to make sure I can avoid a similar issue.

What's the secret? I worried about getting the axles on, at all, much less getting them balanced. Help would be greatly appreciated.

Woodrow

Hmmmm . . I have not seen that kind of problem with using the pre-cut slots before. When we have to use those slots we still use a drill press and drill the hole right at the very top of the slot. That provides a much truer axle alignment. If you have access to a drill press that would be my suggestion. Just be careful to not make the hole too large. If you do, you can drop a dab of glue into the slot at the very end of the axle. Good luck.

Painting the car may have made the slots too small for the nail. You shouldn't have to (and don't want to) use a hammer to put install the axles/wheels.Agreed on drilling holes. A #44 bit worked perfectly, especially combined with this tool. That was $12 well spent this year.

Really? That shocks me as this is the 2nd year in a row (and 3rd kit), where the axle nails come nowhere close to fitting in without problems. Hmmmm, I must be doing something terribly wrong.

 

[Disco Stu]

Our weigh-in is tonight. I think we're probably a little over but can easily remove putty to get down to 5.0.

I forgot to take a picture showing the easy access to putty holes, but here's one of the finished product.

This car was fast.

Woo hoo! Did he win a trophy?On a side note, I've had almost a dozen kids use my shop to build their cars so far this year. Two of them have had their race; one took 2nd overall and the other placed 3rd in his Den level. Both of them move on to Districts.

At the weigh-in Friday, I happened to see one car from a new scout that looked really good. My assumption was proven correct in the first set of races Saturday, as it smoked the rest of the Tigers. At that point we figured we were playing for second overall (at best).But then my son's first heat happened. His car flew down the track, winning all four heats by at least a car length each. That made us feel like we could give the Tiger a run for his money.

After all the dens were done, the boys voted on the cars... "Most Creative", "Silliest", and "Best in Show". To our surprise, his got Best in Show. I'm pretty sure the fact they just saw it dominate four races swayed some voters.

Then came the finals. All 15 trophy winners advanced, which was a third of all entries. Last year only the 5 first place winners advanced. This was probably more fair, since you could potentially have two or three of the best cars in one den. But watering down the field did have the undesirable effect of limiting the "marquee" matchups.

My son's first heat may have included the Tiger threat, but we weren't sure... eventually deciding the relatively easy win meant he wasn't one of the other three. We started paying attention after that, as heat after heat featured one of the two running away from the pack. Only in the final heat did a car come within a car length of ours.

At that point the only question was "1st or 2nd". Then it was announced the combined times had us in first by 4 hundredths of a second.

Since they apparently didn't go head-to-head, the top two cars were then run in two exhibition races. We edged him both times, thereby removing any doubt.

His haul.

I also brought three old cars to use in testing out the track after we got them setup. So during the open races after the real races were complete, we put them up against his new car. These were his past two cars, plus one from when I was a kid. All were trophy winners. I even added graphite to them the night before. But they got their doors blown off. :shocked: Really illustrated the improvements we made.

Thanks for the help here guys. Also, I strongly recommend Max-V-Lube graphite. Much better than the standard graphite we used in the past. Side note: we were the only ones not applying additional graphite right before the first race. My son even put a sticky note next to his car to make sure no one "helped" by adding some like they did last year. I'm guessing others may follow our lead next year.