isavem1 Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Just an invite to any of you old Cub Scouts. I have run the Pinewood Derby in Lake City, MN for 4 years and this is my last one. Any of you guys have memories of your races that you might want to share? Adam Link to comment
Knifemaker Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 6 years running in the 80s YMCA Indian Guide Indian Princess Program....UNDEFEATED.... Link to comment
Scribner Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 just started working with the grandson for his first pinewood derby. man these new kits have all the tricks!! we were not that sophisticated back in the day. Link to comment
Aluminum_Butt Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Doing it with my sons for the third year, both for Awana and Cub Scouts. On one hand, it's amazing to me what you have to do to be competitive. We spend hours polishing axels, coning hubs, sanding wheels, and doing alignments. I buy tungsten weights so we can concentrate the mass in just the right spot. It took us a year just to figure things out, and last couple of times out we won at the pack level. It's very satisfying when that happens. On the other hand, it always amazes me how somebody shows up with a car that looks like it was just thrown together, and they skunk all of us. No question that there is still an element of luck and humility to it all. It's a fine line to walk between trying to make sure the car is competitive, and just trying to enjoy the experience with your son. Don't know how I've done in that regard, but there are some great memories. Link to comment
Woodie Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 My son opted to not participate after the first year. Too many cars that clearly showed the use of power tools, not to mention parental handiwork. Link to comment
George Brown Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 My grandson, Cameron, a second grader, had his Cub Pack race this past Saturday. Judy and I attended. He won second place losing first by 0.05 sec. Timing is pretty sophisticated now -- done electronically with auto feed to a laptop. He won first place for "Best Theme Car" class and third place for "Best of Show" class. He designed his car to look like a football field. Basically the rectangular block with some green sandpaper glued to the top, with painted yard lines electrical staples for end posts. He glued a few miniture plastic players on the field. On the sides, he put Steelers logos. Looked pretty cool. I think it was unidirectional running about the same speed in either direction. I could see the starters being a little confused as which end was the front. I really felt bad for the scouts who had some really nice looking race cars. Must be hard to get beaten by a football field. Link to comment
ghaverkamp Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I really felt bad for the scouts who had some really nice looking race cars. Must be hard to get beaten by a football field. That's how I felt the one year I participated. My aerodynamics consisted of gold Krylon and a straight, angled chunk sawed off the length of the car. For weight, I had a metal plant hanger screwed into the top. I made it through several rounds, against much prettier cars. Link to comment
Mike Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I was an assistant cubmaster and, later, an assistant scoutmaster when my son was in the Scouts. My son did the bulk of the work on his Pinewood Derby cars, and it was always hard to restrain myself. But justice always seemed to prevail. There were inevitably some cars that were clearly built by adults--finely honed bodies, glossy paint, and wheels shaved to a razor's edge--and it was always great to see them get beat by the kid-built cars. One of the dads who was also a scout leaders really made his two boys do the bulk of the work. One year the younger of the two boys showed up with a car that was little more than a block of wood with some tempera paint slapped on it and some coins taped to the top. He absolutely dominated the competition and ended up the champion. It was great to see that, and I really got a kick out of watching the dads who had built the mini-Ferraris get to the point where their heads were ready to explode as they got their asses kicked by the splotchy block of wood with the nickels taped on top. Link to comment
russell_bynum Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 One of the dads who was also a scout leaders really made his two boys do the bulk of the work. One year the younger of the two boys showed up with a car that was little more than a block of wood with some tempera paint slapped on it and some coins taped to the top. He absolutely dominated the competition and ended up the champion. It was great to see that, and I really got a kick out of watching the dads who had built the mini-Ferraris get to the point where their heads were ready to explode as they got their asses kicked by the splotchy block of wood with the nickels taped on top. That begs the question: Does it matter? What makes a winning car....is there some skill involved or is it pure chance? Link to comment
ghaverkamp Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 That begs the question: Does it matter? What makes a winning car....is there some skill involved or is it pure chance? I don't imagine it makes a whole lot of difference. Maybe this thing of polishing the axles and stuff helps; after all, we're talking about some pretty light objects going relatively slowly. However, I just shot a bunch of graphite powder into mine. I think one would have to be more worried about imperfections in the wheels, imperfections on the track, and just dumb luck of whether the goings-on at the time rammed the car into the rails. Link to comment
BFish Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 i was disqualified for tampering with the restrictor plate. post race inspection was my downfall. Link to comment
Aluminum_Butt Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 That begs the question: Does it matter? What makes a winning car....is there some skill involved or is it pure chance? I'm of the opinion that a whole of it is proper alignment of the axles. If the car runs straight, there is much less bumping and friction going down the track. If it doesn't run straight, no amount of axle polishing and wheel prep is going to matter. This helps to explain why the cars which appear to have had no preparation still win sometimes - they got lucky when they put the axles on and the car runs straight. Link to comment
Bud Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Just found out my grandson won 1st place Sunday and has moved up to the next round. Link to comment
Dances_With_Wiener_Dogs Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 There was a race at a local bar last year. Here's my car...30 years old! I remember that I was the only kid that actually had a driver in the car. Getting ready for a heat. Photo Finish! Here's the link to the rest of the photos: Derby Linky I like the bacon car...real bacon too! Link to comment
Knifemaker Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 I'm of the opinion that a whole of it is proper alignment of the axles. If the car runs straight, there is much less bumping and friction going down the track. If it doesn't run straight, no amount of axle polishing and wheel prep is going to matter. Very Very TRUE....and very important! To be truly competitive wheels and axles (polish with buffer) are next... Weight placement depending on the track is important... Lots of practice runs very important... Silicone spray the axels and wipe off excess...if excess gets into wheels it can act as a restriction when the crap from the track starts to build up around the wheels after several rounds... Areodynamics really do not play much into these cars but it might be helpful if your car is being inched out by another. Car must be built to stand up to several rounds of racing....I have seen the fastest cars loose to slower cars when they fall apart during a race... Link to comment
isavem1 Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 We had our test night last night and we are slow. Gotta find some speed before Saturday. Link to comment
JerryMather Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Out here on the left coast, we have our very own knuckleheads that do monthly races and they're not teenagers. Last time they raced, all thirtyfive started at once and when it came to the first turn, it was full carnage. They even got written up in a recent Hot Rod magazine. Link to comment
jacksonwr Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Out here on the left coast, we have our very own knuckleheads that do monthly races and they're not teenagers. Last time they raced, all thirtyfive started at once and when it came to the first turn, it was full carnage. They even got written up in a recent Hot Rod magazine. I wonder who was the first guy that said "I have an idea"? Adult beverages and or some thing illegal had to be involved. They have rules (sort of) and too much time on their hands. Good for them Link to comment
isavem1 Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 Well the derby is over, javascript:void(0). My son placed 5th out of 33 cars. pretty good. Later! Link to comment
USAF1 Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 In ONE day......... Our AWANA kids design ALL their own cars.....I then cut them out, (cuz we just don't wanna see any little pink fingers laying on the floor) as per their drawing on the sides of the blocks. The kids sand'em down.....paint'em all up....glue the wheels in place.....and the appropriate amount of weights are added after they get weighed, so they ALL weigh the same, no matter what the design is........ Nothing is more priceless than the look on a young ones face when "their" car wins.....and they did it all by themselves........ Pat Link to comment
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