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Pinewood Derby


Rob Peters

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Our grandson's Pinewood Derby race was tonight.  They also do sibling races and our granddaughter wanted to do hefs as a light blue Monte Carlo like Pap-Pap's..... here it is

rob

 

20190125_173647.jpg

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Nice job.  Wish my son were in the Scouts so I could have an opportunity for him (me) to make one.  Was always a fun night when I was younger.  I was more after the show than the go!  But I did sand the ridges off nail just under head and insured I had plenty of graphite on the nails before wheel install.  I am sure there are many better lubricants to use nowadays,

Dan

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29 minutes ago, Dans '70 Z20 said:

Nice job.  Wish my son were in the Scouts so I could have an opportunity for him (me) to make one.  Was always a fun night when I was younger.  I was more after the show than the go!  But I did sand the ridges off nail just under head and insured I had plenty of graphite on the nails before wheel install.  I am sure there are many better lubricants to use nowadays,

Dan

Dan,

They still only allow dry lubricant.  Let me tell you, very few of these cars are even touched by the kids, mostly their fathers or grandfathers.  You are right about the axle nails but it does not stop there.  Regarding the axle nails... we put the nails in a drill to spin them and a vine file to dress those ridges followed by several different types of sandpaper.  It is amazing the number of different tools the scout store sells to help "cheat"  During the setup there was one dad who is an engineer telling us all the things "they" have done to make the car go faster.  Things like making it so the axle's are inserted at a slight angle which allows the car to run on the wheel edges rather than the flat portion of the wheel thus reducing friction of the wheels on the track.  Also with the wheels he stated "They" constructed the car so one wheel never touched the track, also to reduce the amount of friction.   

Exact placement of the weight is crucial, how much streamlining etc. etc., etc.  I remember when I was in scouts the parents rarely touched these cars during the building process.  I remember my brother and I as cub scouts spending hour after hour carving and sanding our cars.  That's right, my brother and I handling pocket knives at that age.

rob

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