Posted on 03/07/2019 10:34:00 AM PST by Coleus
My pinewood derby was in the early 60s in Seattle. My dad was a sailor and he was underway and so my Pinewood Derby car looked like krap, because I had no help... Unlike a lot of the other boys whose fathers worked at Boeing and their cars were definitely a product of their engineering and Tradesmen father’s handicraft.
And the kids probably didn’t even touch the the kit... they were molded and shaped in all kinds of configurations... and then there but mine... just a scrap of wood, whittled a bit with a dull cub scout knife, and I think I used shoe polish and sorta put it together with the barest of effort because I just did not know what to do. I laugh about it today and didn’t really think about it then, except on race day when I got a good look and their father’s creation.
And that was my Cub Scout experience because I sorta just gave it all up for the rudimental drum lessons at 9 yoa (which was very cool).
Won New England Regionals w/ opposite approach. Weight as far back as possible to increase the “drop” one axle raised others graphited w/ weight balance across the 3 axles. Flip the block around to make the long nose. Wheels were modified on a lathe to be round and to remove mass on the inside of the tread so they spin up faster due to lower moment of inertia. Axle nails are highly polished w/ burr from nail to nail head removed w/ a file. polish inside of wheel too. graphite the H**L out of it. most importantly get a 12’ board raised just enough to make car roll, the simply turn the axles just a bit till car runs straight w/ a lane guide.
Because that's where the boys are, silly!
There is a program for Girls, and as one might imagine it’s called the Girl Scouts.
The words do not mean what they did fifty years ago, my FRiend. These are no longer Innocents. For "Girl" read "Femynyn" and for "Scouts" read "Trained Fetus-Snuffers," according to what I read on FR this morning:
"Girl Scouts Gives Highest Award To Girl Who Organized A Pro-Abortion Campaign"
Dodge Deora
As I recall that was the worst running Hot Wheels car of the first 16. It had small wheels all around. The wheels and axles of the old ones seemed better than today.
#notmyscouts
Actually, you are better off placing your weight closer to the back. You want the weight as high as it can be from the floor at the beginning without causing instability to the front of the car. The farther the weight has to fall to get to ground level, the more acceleration you achieve.
Before putting graphite on the axles, chuck the axle into a power drill and polish it with very fine sandpaper to eliminate any ridges or imperfections left by the manufacturing process. You should also sand the underside of the nail head into a bell or cone shape to minimize the contact between the tire and the head of the nail.
I have a room full of trophies to support the efficacy of my process. :-)
conservatives lost the Scouts just like they have lost and are losing everything else.
They got Alanskyed big time.
All the tracks we had the slope was not fixed. The starting slope was followed by a steeper slope after a foot or so.
The weight in the nose hit the steeper slope first providing acceleration sooner than if the weight was in the rear.
I never sanded or tried to refinish the axles because I couldn’t supply a smoother finish. The wheels needed some smoothing and you want the contact patch as small as possible.
Yeah, it wasn’t great as a Hot Wheels car. But as a kid, I dreamed about a real version.
The nails I would put them in a drill press like they were a bit, then use a small file to clean off the burrs, make it smooth an add a convex shape to the nail head to move it away from the wheel hub. then poilish nail w/ finer and finer grades of sandpaper ending with the silver polish u use on old silver to remove tarnish. Rubbing compound, whiteing toothpaste etc.
I thought this is for kids :) Yea I know, it’s hard to keep your hands off.
Hey my Dad & Brother built my PWD car in 1965. I built my son’s and he sanded it and spray painted it. He can build one when he has a son. As a gift I gave my 20+ page construction book to my new step grand kid cub scouters. We won a rank class and 5th overall and I only explained the book to them and there Dad who doesn’t know a screw driver from a hammer
“What did you use for wheels and wheel bearings?”
Rules were you had to use the standard parts kit, so I would buy 4-5 of them so I could find the best set of wheels. Most didn’t run true or had other imperfections.
This was before I put them on the lathe and made them perfect. Same with the axles and wheel hubs. Had to polish them to look like a mirror.
OK not giving away any more secrets.
Alternatives have already popped up.
Conservative Boy Scout Alternatives
https://wehavekids.com/youth-programs/Conservative-Boy-Scout-Alternatives
“Actually, you are better off placing your weight closer to the back. You want the weight as high as it can be from the floor at the beginning without causing instability to the front of the car. The farther the weight has to fall to get to ground level, the more acceleration you achieve.
Before putting graphite on the axles, chuck the axle into a power drill and polish it with very fine sandpaper to eliminate any ridges or imperfections left by the manufacturing process. You should also sand the underside of the nail head into a bell or cone shape to minimize the contact between the tire and the head of the nail.
I have a room full of trophies to support the efficacy of my process. :-)”
Yup you get it. I have a die to reshape the axle heads before polishing. Did you ever try to make one of the front wheels “float” to reduce friction?
Yes, I always ran on three wheels, with the 4th raised off the track. I also angled the front wheel that touched the track so that it would just “kiss” the center rail and stay in contact all the way down. If the car is bouncing back and forth across the lane on the way down, you lose more velocity than if it goes straight to the rail and stays there.
“Rules were you had to use the standard parts kit,”
I don’t like that.
Rules is rules :)
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