OT - Pinewood derby (lots of pics)
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- Ysabel Kid
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OT - Pinewood derby (lots of pics)
Well, I know Jeremy and cubrock have kids in the Cub Scouts, and I'm sure others do as well. It is that time of year again - time for the annual "Pinewood Derby" car races.
The Pack my son belongs to has really grown quite a bit this last year. We are still relatively small - about 40 boys - double what it was last year, which was double his first year. They are really doing the Pinewood Derby up right this year, with lots of categories, and races for siblings and adults & leaders. So, we did three cars this year in my house - one for my son (a Webelos), one for his little sister, and one for myself (as a Den Leader). Other than the first rough cut, my son did all the work on his. I did my little girl's car (she's only 5, after all). And decided to do mine more for show than racing.
Well, here is the one my son made:
As you can see, we used inventive "weights" for the rear - 230-grain FMJ .45 ACP bullets!
The driver is a .44-caliber round ball for a black powder pistol.
Here's my little girl's car - which really ticked off her older brother!
For weights for her car, I countersunk holes over each axle. The rear has two 300-grain .45-caliber rifle bullets.
The front has two 115-grain 9mm FMJ bullets over each wheel axle.
Lastly, is the one I did. I was inspired by something I saw on the internet when surfing for ideas. My son and I love "Star Wars" - and so do the kids in the Pack.
R2D2 is a .69-caliber round ball that goes with the Pedersoli "Charleville" my wife got me for my 40th birthday.
The driver, like my son's, is a .44-caliber round ball!
Well, we had the weigh-in, test run and impounding this evening. Mine went the length of the track, but isn't going to win any speed prizes!
My daughter's has real possibilities - it was fast! She is on cloud nine, and can't wait for the real race this Saturday.
My son's didn't do so hot. One of the other scouts - a younger one - got a hold of it while I was helping register and weigh in the cars. I think he pressed down on it, as one of the axles blew out the wood. It was not like that when we arrived. His was the only one not to make it to the finish line, and he was really bummed. I fixed it as best I could, and he did finish the second run, but I think it doesn't stand a chance in the actual race...
Well, it was his first year really doing the car mostly himself. Many of the younger scouts cars did very well - but you know who did most of the work! Last year his car won best design, and came in second over all, so he can't complain. As long as it finishes the race he'll be happy.
Here's last years' car - "the hammerhead", and boy is it fast!
The eyes are two .31-caliber round balls (seeing a trend here, hey?); the rear is loaded with a couple 405-grain .45-70 rounds.
Here is the one from his first year in scouting: It was a slow-poke, but we had fun building it together!
Well, wish us luck this weekend!
The Pack my son belongs to has really grown quite a bit this last year. We are still relatively small - about 40 boys - double what it was last year, which was double his first year. They are really doing the Pinewood Derby up right this year, with lots of categories, and races for siblings and adults & leaders. So, we did three cars this year in my house - one for my son (a Webelos), one for his little sister, and one for myself (as a Den Leader). Other than the first rough cut, my son did all the work on his. I did my little girl's car (she's only 5, after all). And decided to do mine more for show than racing.
Well, here is the one my son made:
As you can see, we used inventive "weights" for the rear - 230-grain FMJ .45 ACP bullets!
The driver is a .44-caliber round ball for a black powder pistol.
Here's my little girl's car - which really ticked off her older brother!
For weights for her car, I countersunk holes over each axle. The rear has two 300-grain .45-caliber rifle bullets.
The front has two 115-grain 9mm FMJ bullets over each wheel axle.
Lastly, is the one I did. I was inspired by something I saw on the internet when surfing for ideas. My son and I love "Star Wars" - and so do the kids in the Pack.
R2D2 is a .69-caliber round ball that goes with the Pedersoli "Charleville" my wife got me for my 40th birthday.
The driver, like my son's, is a .44-caliber round ball!
Well, we had the weigh-in, test run and impounding this evening. Mine went the length of the track, but isn't going to win any speed prizes!
My daughter's has real possibilities - it was fast! She is on cloud nine, and can't wait for the real race this Saturday.
My son's didn't do so hot. One of the other scouts - a younger one - got a hold of it while I was helping register and weigh in the cars. I think he pressed down on it, as one of the axles blew out the wood. It was not like that when we arrived. His was the only one not to make it to the finish line, and he was really bummed. I fixed it as best I could, and he did finish the second run, but I think it doesn't stand a chance in the actual race...
Well, it was his first year really doing the car mostly himself. Many of the younger scouts cars did very well - but you know who did most of the work! Last year his car won best design, and came in second over all, so he can't complain. As long as it finishes the race he'll be happy.
Here's last years' car - "the hammerhead", and boy is it fast!
The eyes are two .31-caliber round balls (seeing a trend here, hey?); the rear is loaded with a couple 405-grain .45-70 rounds.
Here is the one from his first year in scouting: It was a slow-poke, but we had fun building it together!
Well, wish us luck this weekend!
Those are awesome. Ours isnt until March so we still have time to work on Logans. Last year I missed out and he built his him self. This year I get to help out . Best of luck in your derby this weekend
Jeremy
GySgt USMC Ret
To err is human, To forgive is devine, Neither of which is Marine Corps policy
Semper Fidelis
GySgt USMC Ret
To err is human, To forgive is devine, Neither of which is Marine Corps policy
Semper Fidelis
- Ysabel Kid
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Jeremy -JReed wrote:Those are awesome. Ours isnt until March so we still have time to work on Logans. Last year I missed out and he built his him self. This year I get to help out . Best of luck in your derby this weekend
Thanks! Be sure to post a picture of Logan's when you two are finished with it! I expect to see/hear that the additional weight was ballistic in nature!!!
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- 2ndovc
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Very cool!
I still have mine somewhere that my Dad and I built. We hollowed out the underside and filled full of glue and #4 shot!
I saw the kits out at Lowes a couple weeks ago. I almost bought one just for kicks!
I still have mine somewhere that my Dad and I built. We hollowed out the underside and filled full of glue and #4 shot!
I saw the kits out at Lowes a couple weeks ago. I almost bought one just for kicks!
jasonB " Another Dirty Yankee"
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" Tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"
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With six kids, we had a lot of years in these derby's. After my first boy finished poorly the first year, I decided to maximize the potential energy of the car at the start point by putting all the weight at the back. As a result, my kids' cars always looked similar to your 'hammerhead' except even thinner .... basicly just a front axle attached to the back with a long, thin backbone. We found we couldn't put the weights behind the rear axle, because the front end would almost lift off the track causing sideways instability, so the back axle was moved as far back as possible, then the weights added directly over the rear axle. Bottom line: my kids's cars won every year for about 10 years at the local level. When or if there was a regional race the boy would usually win there, and one year (the only year we went) two of my boys won first and second in the provincial championships. The secret was simply to maximize the potential energy. On the other hand, none of these cars looked so great, so they never were considered for the 'design' prize. This isn't a guarantee of winning, however. Axle alignment can slow things down.
Win or not, there's a lot to be learned from participation in a PW Derby. Great experience, memories, and life lessons.
Your daughter's car is quite sleek and eye-catching.
The Star Wars car is pretty cool, but there's too much drag-inducing add-ons. No matter, it's all part of the fun!!!
Noah
Your daughter's car is quite sleek and eye-catching.
The Star Wars car is pretty cool, but there's too much drag-inducing add-ons. No matter, it's all part of the fun!!!
Noah
Last edited by Noah Zark on Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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My one entry...prolly about 1957 or so.... Took First for speed and last for Looks; all I did was put the wheels on the block of wood I suppose all the weight made it go downhill faster.....
The Rotten Fruit Always Hits The Ground First
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Yaz must be a lost twin of mine (sorry for him for the news); last year my son's PWD car was made to look like it had twin 'rocket' engines in the rear - made with two 45-70 jacketed hollow points glued onto the 'trunk' area. Mostly we were just experimenting by the reloading scale to see how much the car weighed, so did what comes natural.
Sorry I don't think I have a photo.
Sorry I don't think I have a photo.
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"first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
Want REAL change? . . . . . "Boortz/Nugent in 2012 . . . ! "
"first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
Want REAL change? . . . . . "Boortz/Nugent in 2012 . . . ! "
My daughter's church had a similar race for boys and girls alike. So I helped her build several cars. They had a category for the teachers and leaders so I built a car a couple of years.
There are a lot of people that get deep into the science and technology of building these cars, and every little trick they can think of to make the cars faster. There are a few things you can do that make the car faster without too much work, but after awhile it takes a lot of work.
I used lead bullets glued into holes in the bottom of the wood body for weight. I would let it weigh a little bit more than the upper limit according to my scale, then carry a cordless drill with me to the weigh-in and make adjustments right there to match their scale.
There are a lot of people that get deep into the science and technology of building these cars, and every little trick they can think of to make the cars faster. There are a few things you can do that make the car faster without too much work, but after awhile it takes a lot of work.
I used lead bullets glued into holes in the bottom of the wood body for weight. I would let it weigh a little bit more than the upper limit according to my scale, then carry a cordless drill with me to the weigh-in and make adjustments right there to match their scale.
- Ysabel Kid
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Ran the races this morning. Our Pack made enough money on our popcorn fundraiser this fall to purchase a new track with a software system that is state of the art. We had 47 entries all told - 30 scouts, and 17 siblings, parents or leaders. The track has four lanes, so we used my son's car from last year as the pace car, since it was so fast.
I was worried since my son's was the only one not to finish the course when we weighed and tested them all Tuesday. However, a little tape over the blown-out wood around the front right axle, and he was good to go. Not only that, he ended up being one of the fastest cars, and finished 6th overall. The difference between him the the leader was less than 3/10ths of a second overall. It was a good think we had the software, because the race was so competitive that we would never have figured it out without it. Each car raced one time on every lane, to neutralize any advantage the lanes might have imparted. We raced the first set in order of sign-in. The software then automatically grouped them, so that the slowest cars would race one another and the fastest cars would do the same. This kept all the races competitive. My son won most of his individual heats, but the final score was the best combined time from all four heats.
He also won "Best Webelos Design". My daughter won third place for best design in the "non-scout" category, and she had a ball - winning several of her races as well. My "Star Wars X-Wing fighter" was a big hit with the kids, and actually was a fast little sucker - much to my surprise. Even had a kid and his father offer to buy it off me after the race - for the design - but it is going onto the shelf in my son's room where it belongs.
I'll post some additional pictures soon. All told it was a 3 hour event, and every boy came home with some trophy, certificate, patch and/or ribbon. It was a ton of fun!!!
I was worried since my son's was the only one not to finish the course when we weighed and tested them all Tuesday. However, a little tape over the blown-out wood around the front right axle, and he was good to go. Not only that, he ended up being one of the fastest cars, and finished 6th overall. The difference between him the the leader was less than 3/10ths of a second overall. It was a good think we had the software, because the race was so competitive that we would never have figured it out without it. Each car raced one time on every lane, to neutralize any advantage the lanes might have imparted. We raced the first set in order of sign-in. The software then automatically grouped them, so that the slowest cars would race one another and the fastest cars would do the same. This kept all the races competitive. My son won most of his individual heats, but the final score was the best combined time from all four heats.
He also won "Best Webelos Design". My daughter won third place for best design in the "non-scout" category, and she had a ball - winning several of her races as well. My "Star Wars X-Wing fighter" was a big hit with the kids, and actually was a fast little sucker - much to my surprise. Even had a kid and his father offer to buy it off me after the race - for the design - but it is going onto the shelf in my son's room where it belongs.
I'll post some additional pictures soon. All told it was a 3 hour event, and every boy came home with some trophy, certificate, patch and/or ribbon. It was a ton of fun!!!