Pinewood Derby has always been one of my favorite annual Cub Scout activities. My dad taught me well and now I'm passing the Spendlove Speed Secrets on to my boys. Each car starts out with a top and side view sketch (or in Ethan's case, about 20 variations) and then I help the boys cut the rough shape out on the scroll saw. Once the main shape is cut out, the detail work of sanding and shaping begins.
This was Matthew's first official year and he chose a classic race design very similar to designs we've used before. Here he is sanding his car to perfection.
Ethan tried a totally new design this year, kind of a wedge design with a cockpit on top. Once most of the final shaping is complete, I help them drill some pilot holes and the boys carefully chisel out a space for the weight.
Pinewood Derby racing is all about maximizing your car's weight - no secret about that. We bought an inexpensive food scale and weigh it all up to figure out how much weight to add. Five ounces is the legal limit. We do the paint job last so it doesn't get scratched up when we put everything together.
Now for the weight. When I was young, my dad would have me walk around the block and look for lead wheel weights to use. We later moved to the lead foil in the x-ray films he used in his dental practice. Being a dentist, he had a Bunsen burner and a whole lab full of equipment. My garage lab isn't quite as sophisticated; I have a small propane torch and a melting ladle I made from a galvanized steel pipe cap. This is Dad work, but I let the boys help pour the lead.
You've really got to keep it hot while it pours. The lead sets up pretty quickly. We use fishing weights for our lead.
One more weight check and then some more fine tuning. Ethan had some lead protruding from the bottom of his car, so he is filing it down with a fine rasp. Yes, led is poisonous, so he is wearing a mask and collecting the shavings.
Paint schemes are also designed by the boys, and I help out with the application. Matthew wanted a triple fade with black flames, which I thought might be difficult. The fade was not too bad, and I think his design turned out pretty cool. I free hand the flames onto a template and the they're spray painted on (somehow, I picked up drawing flames after Ethan was born - he liked race car drawings and wanted flames on his first broken bone cast).
Paint schemes are also designed by the boys, and I help out with the application. Matthew wanted a triple fade with black flames, which I thought might be difficult. The fade was not too bad, and I think his design turned out pretty cool. I free hand the flames onto a template and the they're spray painted on (somehow, I picked up drawing flames after Ethan was born - he liked race car drawings and wanted flames on his first broken bone cast).
Ethan wanted a simple and fast looking paint job and did a great job on his wedge/rocket car this year. His car looked great and was one of the more unique designs in this year's race.
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