My son got second in the Pine wood derby

[panthers55]

I know most folks who aren't scouts or have a cub scout might not understand the pinewood derby but it is a big deal. We dads work tirelessly to build a car which our sons use to race down a track. Of course the kids help cut it out, paint it, put on decals etc, but lets be honest we dads build them. And nothing is worse than having them lose right off the bat and burst into tears while the other child triumphantly squeals with delight after crushing his opponent. Meanwhile other dads look on quietly hopeful they aren't the next to have to deal with the agony of defeat instead of the thrill of victory.

Anyway after 2 boys and 9 tries we finally got in the top 2 and won the right to go to the district pinewood derby. Here is Noah and his winning car if I figured out how to save an attachment????

[Brokenbad]

Seems like the parents usually get more into the race than the kids, at least it was that way when I was a boy scout.

[panthers55]

Seems like the parents usually get more into the race than the kids, at least it was that way when I was a boy scout.

There is a whole other level of racing where adults and kids get to race these cars and it is very competitive. Of course get a dozen dads in any room and they start competing right away.

[Mr. Scot]

I did Pinewood Derby in Cub Scouts, but that was in West Virginia.

When I came down to NASCAR country, I saw just how serious Pinewood Derby could get watching one of my friends and his kids

[faultlessjoint]

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/224680

[panthers55]

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/224680

Funny but true. There are all kinds of sites where folks sell parts and kits that are against the rules. Some sites even will furnish a car that has been timed running a certain speed. The more you pay the faster the speed.

Kind of negates the whole trustworthy, honest part of the scout law.:eek:

[Jeff L]

Awesome that you are taking time with your son to do something positive like scouts! My 10 year old likes to go but he is so busy playing sports that he rarely, if ever gets to go anymore.

Good on ya and congrats to your son!

[Samuel L. Jackson]

I'm not letting my son join scouts...

Once he hits age 8, I am taking him out into the woods and leaving him with a couple days worth of food and water, and tell him I'll be back in a couple weeks to get him...

(just kidding, and congrats to you and your kid!)

[Skew]

I came in second place for two years. No matter how hard I worked by myself painstakingly for weeks on my own car, I could never gain that 1/10th of a second on the car that that father milled at his job and fine turned in that commercial wood shop he had in his garage.

But I'm not bitter about it.

[CharlotteBeer.com]

Congrats on your win -- er, on your son's win.

I like your murdered out derby car.

[SorthNarolina]

Yeah the best way to go is heavy and thin. Put graphite where the wheel meets the nails(whatever you call those things).

I always built my car myself and I wondering why all the tiger cubs won. Then I learned the horrible truth that all the parents built the cars. Especially when the parents were engineers.

I only won once when my car weighed exactly 5 onces.

[Skew]

I should start a thread titled "I hate Tiger Cubs"

[thefuzz]

I never lost a race at the local or district.

P.S. your wheels are too close together. It's fine to use the back wheel placement, but you need to drill two holes just smaller than the nails really close to the front of the car.

When you are drilling one of them make it a fraction higher than the other so that one of the front wheels is not touching the racetrack. It will cut down on some friction, and will give you the extra little bit to beat the other guys.

File down the nails provided with a dremel tool, then use fine sandpaper to completely remove all burrs from the inside of the nail head.

Take the wheels off of the car as well as the axels and leave them in a ziplock filled with graphite until you go to districts....this will prevent moisture from getting even a little bit of rust on the nails between races.

[Scrumtrilescent]

It's a pinewood derby, not a space shuttle launch.