Pinewood Derby Car question

[Eagledad]

Sounds like you have it .under control, good job.

 

A longer wheelbase is an advantage because the car will move back and forth across the track less than cars with shorter wheelbases. Every time a car wiggles back and forth, the wheels hit the track creating more friction that's slows down the car.

 

Barry

[SeattlePioneer]

As I've already noted, I'm not very happy with overproduced Pinewood Derby races.

 

 

In particular, a lot of moms wind up helping their Scouts make a Pinewood Derby car, and they are often put off or intimidated by elaborate car building schemes.

 

I make my own car to show off to moms like that. I take the block of wood right out of the box and spray paint it a couple of times. I make decals from Cub Scout literature and stick them on the sides of the car.

 

Oh yeah--- I put the wheels on.

 

 

That's it. My aim is to make the simplest car I can and my aim is to show parents how simple and easy it can be to make a car.

[Eagledad]

>>I make my own car to show off to moms like that. I take the block of wood right out of the box and spray paint it a couple of times. I make decals from Cub Scout literature and stick them on the sides of the car.

[SeattlePioneer]

Eagledad,

 

 

Competition is fine, I use it all the time to motivate boys. But how sharp should the competition be?

 

Shoould we aim for an Olympic Games level of competition for our Pinewood Derby for Wolf Cubs? Of course not.

 

We should be looking at the BOYS and what they find FUN and motivating.

 

I see way too much competition motivated by what adults find fun and motivating.

 

And what about those moms who don't have woodworking skills and tools? I suppose others don't care, but the methods I described are aimed at those moms and their sons, showing them how they can make a place for themselves at the Pinewood Derby.

 

Unfortunately, too often this is the one activity of the year that adult men really get buzzed about and they want to take it over and shove the boys interest aside in favor of their own desire to WIN!

 

Sorry. I remain unimpressed.

[Scoutfish]

 

 

 

WEll, that sucks for them, but you can't punish the rest of the pack/parents from having the ability and talent to create a nice car. Basically, you cannot punish those who are good at something in order to please those who are not!

 

That's just life.

 

See, I absolutely hate to see a car come to the PWD and it's obvious that the scout has not only not touched the car, but possibly never even seen it or knew what it was until race day.

 

I hate when the only thing a scout had to do with the car is bring it home in the original bax before Bob Villa dad calls Roush Racing Inc. to figure out how to build the car.

 

 

 

But I have also seen scouts who , with guidance and supervision from mom or dad, will draw out a car and cut it themselves with coping saws and scroll saws. Then hand sand, seal and paint their cars.

 

Some kids are really naturally talented wood workers ( that's where talented parents come from) who bring top notch cars to the PWD.

 

So what to do?

 

Well, we are in the middle. We have competitions and we compete in every sense of the word. We start handing out cars at our Christmas party. WE hand out. post and discuss the rules. We hold 2 workshops at our CO ,and hold a test run at our CO with the track.

 

At all 3 pre PWD events, we dimension boxes. Noy sure what you call them, but if the car fits in the box by width and length, and the bottom doesn't scrape the bottom of the box...it's legal size.

 

WE also provide access to the official race scale, so that racers know exactly how their car weights based on "THE" scale being usedat the race.

 

Now, on the day of the PWD, and right before the race, we make a few announcements.

The race is about building cars, seeing how creative you can be, and developing skills and talent. We are there for fun first, comraderie second, and if you happen to win..well,,that's just a bonus.

 

We tell all the parents that this is about the scouts, not the adults.

 

If they have a problem with the event, rules , or winners...then maybe they should just sit it out .

 

Rules are rules, posted in advance and EVERYBODY is helt to the rules EQUALLY!

 

 

And lastly, the boys love competition. The only people who do not like competition are those who are not competative enough to hang in there. Again, we cannot dull it down and punish those who excell at something just to prevent those who are not good from having hurt feelings.

 

 

[Eagledad]

>>Sorry. I remain unimpressed.

[Scoutfish]

"Sorry. I remain unimpressed."

 

Not trying to harp on you but...

 

What about the scouts? Are they impressed with competition? Or are they unimpressed with the lack of?

[SeattlePioneer]

The past two years my small pack has participated in the district Pinewood Derby, put on by a neighboring Scout Troop.

 

The first time this went on for 2+ hours of race after race. I was bored after a while, and so were a lot of the Scouts ---younger boys.

 

 

Last year was better --- not as long.

 

 

Last spring we did Pinewood Derby racing as a recruiting night activity. That attracted quite a crowd of boys, who had a perfectly good time assembling and decorating their cars in a short period of time and then arrannging their own races.

 

Boys added their name to a certificate and then were awarded stickers for each two man match they won.

 

Last fall we did much they same thing using "stomp bottle rockets" that the current Cub Scouts and boys interested in Cub Scouts made, decorated and then launched.

 

They had plenty of competition among themselves which they created for themselves by and large.

 

 

My general plan this spring is to hand out the PWD car kits and allow boys to assemble and race their cars that same evening, again arranging their own races. They can then take them home and do more elaborate car building to prepare for the district Pinewood Derby race.

 

Personally I don't understand why people think only ADULTS can manufacture competition. My experience is that boys do that quite naturally and easily themselves, whenever given an oppotunity.

 

That's probably different for Webelos age boys, who are ready for more complex challenges and competitions. But especially for Tiger Cubs and Wolves, I think there's a lot of merit in simpler competitions the boys arrange for themselves.(This message has been edited by seattlepioneer)

[Eagledad]

>>Personally I don't understand why people think only ADULTS can manufacture competition. My experience is that boys do that quite naturally and easily themselves, whenever given an oppotunity

[BadenP]

When I was a Webelos leader, way back in the late 80's, my boys wanted to build their own cars at the den meetings so their dads didn't have "all the fun". All I had were hand tools and an electric drill. I remember one year a boy designed his own car all by himself which was not much to look at for sure but at the derby with all these daddy designed super cars he literally wiped out the field with his car. The funny part was the dads looking over this boys car to see what he had done special to his car, and they just scratched their heads in disbelief. Anyway this boy got first place and a nice trophy and you never saw anyone so excited. Years later he invited me to his ECOH and on the memory table among all his scouting awards was that same derby car and trophy, he told me that that was one of the best moments he ever had in scouting. So I guess it isn't always flash and engineering that wins the prize.

[packsaddle]

and some more....

[acco40]

My boys wanted to win. So I told them what they needed to do to win - have polished axles, many tricks to reduce friction like ride on three wheels not four, utilize potential energy (make the cg as high as possible which entails making it rearward), etc. They did, they won. The next year they thought it would be easy, heck they won the last year. They came in the middle of the pack. Lesson learned.

 

Did I help them? Yes. Did I build their cars? No.