Stuff's getting serious........cub scout pinewood derby cancelled

[SC Tiger]

My cub scout pack's pinewood derby has been postponed.  Still trying to reschedule but I have my doubts.

I get it, but it sucks.  I think SC Tiger cub had a real good car this year.  Center of gravity on that thing is nearly perfect.  We even have a second one that should also be fast.

Edited March 17, 2020 by SC Tiger

[Walt Longmire]

Well, we don't want the Grubbs bringing disease home to the family. Nascar is cancelled also. No racing for the big boys either.

[SC Tiger]

Yeah - in the grand scheme it's no big deal.  But it is kind of a bummer.

[ASH]

ahh memories of the derby  i won best looking and fastest once , still got the cars.     nowadays  most just buy the kits with all the **** in box and all you got to do is put stickers on it .  

when i was cub we got that block of wood lol   make yourself

[tous]

Yup.

You got a block of wood, some axles and wheels.

If I remember, Penny's was the official Scouting supplier.

You had to carve the body and fit the mechanicals so that they were aligned properly and to the rules.

No internet for research.

Dad was allowed to help, not do the project.

And, we all survived!

 

NB Yes, I still have my original copies of my Cub Scout and Boy Scout books because -- well, I never throw anything, especially a book, away.

 

 

[tous]

Before you ask, yes, my Pinewood Derby cars all had hooks.

 

[janice6]

1 hour ago, ASH said:

ahh memories of the derby  i won best looking and fastest once , still got the cars.     nowadays  most just buy the kits with all the **** in box and all you got to do is put stickers on it .  

when i was cub we got that block of wood lol   make yourself

I told my son that with all the competition the chance of being the fastest was less than the chance of being the best looking.  So he learned how to carve the wood into beautiful cars.  I also stressed that he pay very close attention to the smallest details.

He won 4 races and about6 6 for the best looking.  I taught him to shoot metal flake paint and do detailed body work using the same large tools I had used for car work.  He used a full sized siphon gun for the paint and small air grinders for the carving.  I have lots of tools!

Towards the end, he was finding that he could win if he was careful on mechanical details.  He found that the styling of the car didn't make any difference, so one year he made it look like an old 30's style car and still won.  

He learned the difference in acceleration from the start and momentum at the end.  I was proud of his accomplishments.  I taught hime to use the tool only.  He did all the cars himself.  But the fun for him turned out to be using the tools. 

 

He took more pride in the looks of the car than in winning.

Edited March 18, 2020 by janice6

[SC Tiger]

18 hours ago, tous said:

Yup.

You got a block of wood, some axles and wheels.

If I remember, Penny's was the official Scouting supplier.

You had to carve the body and fit the mechanicals so that they were aligned properly and to the rules.

No internet for research.

Dad was allowed to help, not do the project.

And, we all survived!

 

NB Yes, I still have my original copies of my Cub Scout and Boy Scout books because -- well, I never throw anything, especially a book, away.

 

 

That's how we do it.  The boys do get varying degrees of help depending on how old they are and the parents involved.  

Of course we use the internet for design ideas.  The blocks have pre-cut slots for the axles.  SC Tiger Cub's had a chip come out of one of these slots so I had to glue it back.  That wheel will probably be the one that rides higher.

I had a pre-cut wedge that I also did up as a backup if his car has issues with that axle in testing.

 

[SC Tiger]

We went ahead and painted the cars.  Will post pictures later even though one isn't "finished" yet.

His is going to have a character from Halo riding in the top - just need to find a way to secure him (thinking about using fishing line or something).

[Al Czervik]

My experience as a Scout leader was that many, if not most parents did most of the work.  The "winning" cars did not meet the derby rules.  Ever.

[ASH]

10 hours ago, SC Tiger said:

We went ahead and painted the cars.  Will post pictures later even though one isn't "finished" yet.

His is going to have a character from Halo riding in the top - just need to find a way to secure him (thinking about using fishing line or something).

Master chief >>>??    maybe secure with drip from  a glue gun ,  

[SC Tiger]

11 hours ago, ASH said:

Master chief >>>??    maybe secure with drip from  a glue gun ,  

Yes, Master Chief John-117.

I'm thinking of a couple of pieces of fishing line.

11 hours ago, Al Czervik said:

My experience as a Scout leader was that many, if not most parents did most of the work.  The "winning" cars did not meet the derby rules.  Ever.

That's true - especially at the younger levels. 

At last year's district race, the winner for the Wolves was a girl running a car with three wheels.  Depending on the rules you go with that is either legal or it isn't.  At the pack race we had one car that had a wheel keep falling off.  We let the scout fix it between races but they can't do that in the district race.

SC Tiger Cub and I didn't care - he was a "Bear" and his car had one wheel up in the air a little bit anyway.