Off the subject - pine wood derby

[Keith Black]

I always think it's funny seeing how many elaborately carved cars show up at
the races. Sleek designs and paint jobs that no kid could possibly do. The
thing is that these cars only go about 5 mph and wind resistance really
isn't a factor (very miniscule if any).

I told my kids that the shape didn't really matter and one year my oldest
son decided to do a bathtub (the old fashion stand alone kind). All we did
was cut an angle off the bottom front of the block and round the edges. Then
I routed out the top of the tub for the recessed water level (I didn't want
him using the router) and he painted the water blue and put a bust of a
little boy and miniature rubber ducks in it. We then spent most of our time
polishing the axels. I used this as an opportunity to explain the concept of
friction.

The car was really cute looking and created a lot of snickers from the
owners of the fast looking sleek cars. However, the pay off was when the tub
started outrunning all the fast looking cars. As the race wore on every time
his car ran the scouts would start chanting "ducky power, ducky power".

It was a real thrill for my boy (and me too) when his silly looking bathtub
ended up winning the pack championship.

Since that time the boy's have had cars shaped as mountain ranges, flames,
lighting bolts, and even a couple of regular cars. Results have been varied.

It's a lot of fun. Be sure and have your boy do as much of the building as
possible even though the car won't look as good as if you did it ;-) Use
your own judgment about what tools he can handle and still be safe.  Work on
those axels and make it roll straight. You'll have a great time!

Keith Black

----- Original Message -----
From: "Martin X. Moleski, SJ" <moleski at canisius.edu>
To: <discussion at nsrca.org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 6:39 AM
Subject: Re: Off the subject - pine wood derby


> --On Wednesday, January 15, 2003 12:13 AM -0600 Joe Barnes
> <jbarnes at gaseed.com> wrote:
>
> > My eight year old son and I are building a Pine Wood Derby car for the
> > Cub Scout races. Does anyone know where the car should balance? (or does
> > it matter?) I will be adding about 2 to 2.5 oz. of weight to the car to
> > bring it to a maximum legal weight of 5 oz. There are different opinions
> > with the Dads. Some say the weights should be in the back to push the
car
> > down the track and some say the front to pull the car down the track. I
> > think it should be some where in the back third. This is our third year
> > of races and we have done pretty well the previous years.(seconds but
> > never a first.)
> > Any help would be appreciated,
>
> Sounds like fun!
>
> I've never competed.
>
> Here's a helpful page:
> <http://members.aol.com/StanDCmr/pwdesign.html>
>
> He argues for a rearward CG.  I think the reason is that
> the higher uphill the CG is, the more potential energy
> the car possesses.
>
> Marty
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