Pinewood Derby: Tips, memories and the ethics of it all!
This is my son's first Pinewood Derby car. He wanted a Mario Cart. We tried to put all the weight in the back. I've heard that will make it go faster.
He's still got to put the wheels on and we need to weigh it to make sure it's under 5 ounces.
Editor’s Update: Our race was Saturday morning and my son’s Mario Cart won two of the three heats he raced in. We headed out for swimming lessons and came home to a note from his den leader: Walsh’s car won 3rd place for showmanship for the Tigers. (I think that means it was the third cutest car!) We were shocked it actually rolled, much less won anything. I was very impressed with how professional the races were.They used a computer program to flash up photos of each kid with stats on his race. They even had a program that timed how fast the cars went. They put on a very good show and all the boys had a big time!
As it is our first year in Boy Scouts, it is also our first Pinewood Derby this weekend! I say that with more enthusiasm than my 6-year-old feels about it.
As I’ve mentioned multiple times before we are not handy people, and the Pinewood Derby does call for some level of handiness.
To be kind to the less handy in our den, our den leaders brought tools to the Scout hut so we could all work together on the project. I sent Michael to Girl Scouts with Rose and brought my handy Dad with me to help Walsh.
We wanted Walsh to actually cut the wood. He tried with a hand saw but didn’t have much fortitude. Dad and I took turns helping him carve out two simple pieces. He did a better job at sanding it and a decent job at painting it.
Things got ugly though when we decided to use Gorilla Glue to glue some things on the car. I didn’t know if puffed up. It’s not invisible glue.
Walsh knew exactly what kind of car he wanted to make – a Mario Cart – and he found a picture of it on the Internet.
You can look at Walsh’s car and clearly see that a 6-year-old did most of the work. A lot of the other cars look like the Dad got really into it. Is that bad? What are the rules on that?
I think he’ll be more excited about the car when we actually go to race. We’re checking in the car tonight. I have two problems though. I’ve still got to get the wheels in and I’ve got to figure out exactly how much it weighs. My scale at home isn’t sensitive enough to register under 5 ounces. I think I’m going to take the car to New Baby Products because they have a digital scale with ounces that people can weigh their baby on. I’m just going to weigh Walsh’s Mario Cart!
Tell us your best tips for designing a car and winning at the Pinewood Derby!
Whose car is it anyway? How much work can Dad legitimately do on it? Should the boys be expected to use woodworking tools or is that part Ok for Dad (or mom or grandpa) to help on?
Also, tell us your memories from the Pinewood Derby.
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129 comments Add your comment
mom2alex&max
January 22nd, 2010
11:29 am
Webelo: technically, the boys do not earn their whittling chip and the right to use their pocket knife until they are bears, so 8 or 9 years old, not 6.
And maybe not a finger, but my oldest in his haste to use the knife soon after he earned, got a nasty cut on his palm. I thought that was a better lesson than all the other “training” he had received.
I agree on the whole though. I was very apprehensive about him getting a knife, but I convinced myself it was part of growing up.
FCM
January 22nd, 2010
11:31 am
ok I get it. these day i just say don’t forget to turn in your homework. I still check the homework just not daily as SHE needs to learn to do it because it is assigned. (My boss doesn’t check my work daily but he sure knows if I do it!) She got a “C” on her report card in one subject…all the others were A & B. She said, but my tests are good how did that happen…her teacher (who had been talking to me and supported my idea) told her here are the homworks you didn’t turn it…Sure changed her attitude on the assignments.
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
11:33 am
Webelo sorry no offense but you sound exactly like my ex husband that loses IQ points every time he takes a leak. He thought it was ok for our son in this day and age to have a dirt bike at a very young age. I told him not over my dead body, if I wanted to kill him as a small child I would have just had an abortion. I really did not care he had one, well he even knocked out all his teeth on one.
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
11:36 am
FCM no kidding :).. how is the lil orkadork doing :)… With J, he would wait til the last min to do thing and I was running around like crazy trying to get extentions on home work. He even told me, I just did not feel the need to do it. Ok buddy, get that zero…
Hairy Banana Reid
January 22nd, 2010
11:41 am
Julia, your way is not always the “right” way for everyone or every situation. You have to let your kids fall down and get scraped up.
Devildog
January 22nd, 2010
11:44 am
Let ‘em do their own. The kid in my den, with the ugliest, most unfinished, most unscientific–it looked like a block of wood with wheels–won the thing when I was a “den mother.” I helped my son some, but didn’t do any of the work. Nevertheless, he didn’t win. Maybe because I didn’t leave him alone.
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
11:45 am
Hairy Banana Reid oh I know and I stood there and about passeed out when he busted his head wide open and then the time he broke his tooth on the side of the pool. :)…
Becky
January 22nd, 2010
11:49 am
@Julia, at what age should a boy have a mountain bike? My 7 year old grandosn has his own bow and arrow set..He has a BB gun(from Santa), he has his own pocket knife..All of these things, he knows how to use and to be careful with..I think it’s all in teaching them to be around these things and how to use them..
Hairy Banana Reid
January 22nd, 2010
11:57 am
Becky, I agree. There is no one size fits all in this situation. You have to use good judgement. Some boys are very responsible – they are pleasers. Some boys don’t need a bow and arrow – ever! LOL!
Devildog
January 22nd, 2010
11:57 am
I killed a rat with my .410 shotgun when I was 4. I was sitting in my father’s lap on the back porch . . . in newly fashionable Kirkwood (N. Howard Street). Yet they never allowed me to have a BB gun. There’s a message here about respect for things that shoot.
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
11:58 am
Becky, If the men and women in your family that have comman sense and this has been taught the right way I applaud you and them. My ex husband the whole line of them lack this gene. Sorry but its true. Hid grand dad thought it was cute to hold a squirming toddler on a john deer tractor. His father my ex.. this is too long a list to even go on here…
When J was around 2 we moved to Paulding County and at that time my ex was talking about maybe I can get an ATV. We had not lived there a week and there were 2 girls that were on one and for some reason got out on HWY 61 and were killed by a car. I may not be the best mom in the world and some things I am over protective over.. I wont do his home work but I am not gonna put a target on his back either :)…
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
11:59 am
Hairy Banana Reid I cracked up over that :)
budman
January 22nd, 2010
12:05 pm
Julia, sounds like you have a “real” boy on your hands…Love him, guide him and let him grow into a “real” man.I was in a body cast when I was 5 yrs old because I was convinced I could fly..real boys are adventuresome little creatures my parents knew that and they let me figure out stuff the hard way…still remember how stupid some of my stunts were…but at least my children were not as stupid as their dad.
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
12:09 pm
budman.. you are soooooooooooooooooooo right :)… but when he was 3 :).. I was not willing to put him in harms way.. He knows I am relasing the choke chain on him :) and he is a great awesome boy! :)
I just have to play mom and dad… :)
Hairy Banana Reid
January 22nd, 2010
12:12 pm
Budman, that reminds me of a neighbor kid of ours. He hauled his bike up onto the peak of the garage roof and then proceeded to ride it down off into the creek behind the garage. Problem was, he didn’t judge to well. He landed on the bank, among the brush and trees – head over heals and then into the water. The other problem was, the creek was less than a foot deep. Even if he had made it into the water he would have been in serious trouble.
budman
January 22nd, 2010
12:20 pm
My favorite Mark Twain statement…The hardest animal to train on the earth is a little boy!!
Dr. Emmett Brown
January 22nd, 2010
12:21 pm
Flux Capacitor
budman
January 22nd, 2010
12:28 pm
What makes me mad!! Is I watch Johnny Knoxville, Jackass and Nitro circus and I’m thinking “hell people are making money doing this stuff!!!!! Just born at the wrong time…We did those stunts for free….not a “Red Bull” endorsement…
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
12:30 pm
budman I was gonna ask you about the jackass thing :) LOL!! :)
JJ
January 22nd, 2010
12:40 pm
When I was younger, and my brother was in scouts, they had the Soapbox Derby and they actually sat in the “cars” they built. I remember standing at the bottom of the hill watching all these boys come racing down in their box cars…….what memories…..
FCM
January 22nd, 2010
12:45 pm
But sometimes you do have to let them learn for themselves. I had one who broke her arm at 5. She jumped from playground equipment while at daycare. I never blamed anyone but the kid.
Same child had a broken foot (differen daycare and that one I did blame for the break) at 18 months. We put her in a cast and she kept climbing on EVERYTHING (like that age does). I supposed I could have strapped her to something (highchair, stroller) for the whole time she was in a cast. That kid is rough and tumble even now. I check her for new brusies every night and say “Where did that come from?” Oh I was on the scooter (not motorized) and ran into the fenece. Oh, I think that is when tripped on the balance beam. Oh we were skating today adn I fell down alot.
I remember having two badly scraped up knees in about 2nd grade. I had tried out somebodies skateboard.
Chris
January 22nd, 2010
12:48 pm
The guidelines encourage the scouts to do all the work– as long as it is safe. I feel something is lost when everything is cut out on a band saw, sanded with a disc sander, and painted with an auto-body quality spray gun. The Derby is about several things: Sportsmanship, Craftsmanship, & Competition. Sadly several parents only look at the last one. My son is proud of the car he build, and can say he built it. Did I help with the hand saw he got tired? Sure– that that’s a huge piece of the experience as well– working together. I love the Mario Kart theme– Nice work :) PS– our den did an ‘open’ competition in which dads, siblings, etc- were allowed to build cars to compete against each other– to help curb this sill vicarious living through our sons…..we’ll see.
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
12:48 pm
FCM there are just some things we can not prevent other than strapping them to the wall or putting them in a bubble.. J fell out of his crib once and I took him into day care holding him out in front of me going.. He did this NOT me :)
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
12:48 pm
JJ that’s cool!
Chris
January 22nd, 2010
12:49 pm
Too true…watched my daughter roll off the couch yesterday…oops. *glares at the typos* sorry ;)
Becky, aren't you the one...
January 22nd, 2010
12:51 pm
…who has all the nephews with the missing “common sense” genes – druggies, prison stays, etc – and you are bragging about a 7 year old who is allowed to use weapons of destruction?
Becky, aren't you the one...
January 22nd, 2010
12:53 pm
…maybe we have two Becky’s since one said she did not have kids (how could she have grandkids) but did care for her young niece and nephew.
jasonenfa
January 22nd, 2010
12:54 pm
We have our race tomorrow, and we’re looking forward to it. I have some crude tools for making the car, and we passed on the pack-wide event with nice shared tools, so nobody has seen the car but my son and family. I took photos as evidence that he did his own work. I taught him how to use the tools, and I put a starting groove in the block for each cut, but my 8 year old cut his own car, drilled his own hole for weights, and put wood putty in the hole to smooth it out. He sanded the car. When he needed a break, I let him take one, and it has been a nightly pleasure to go play with the car together. He knew the rule that I would not be making his car for him, and he was driven to do a good job.
I treasure my time with my son, and he refused to stop sanding until he thought it was perfect. So he spent a lot of time with his car and got it nice and smooth. I helped put the wheels on as he held the gauge, and he did his own base coat, two-color paint job that fades between blue and green (he did 4 coats of blue alone), and he did the gloss coat afterwards. He was so proud of his paint job that he has decided not to use the stickers that he picked out for the car.
Now we have a beautiful car that resembles a cross between a mini-van and a limo, and it weighs 5.0 oz according to our food scale. Now we get to go to the race tomorrow, and he hopes to defend his title of “best overall look” that he won last year.
I’m a dad, I taught my son to use tools, and he refused to stop working until he was happy with his own car. And the comments I’m reading here show me that I will be sitting in judgement of people who think I did all the work.
I wish I had never read this. I don’t want to be cynical when I’m playing with my son. Tomorrow is a day to relax and enjoy the race. Have fun, everyone.
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
1:11 pm
jasonenfa you sound like an awesome dad!
JJ
January 22nd, 2010
1:14 pm
FCM – your daughter sounds like me when I was younger. I had been to the emergency room so many times, they knew me by name. I have had stitches over 7 times, broken an elbow and had surgery to have it pinned back down (fell off a trampoline), stitches in my knees from bicycle accidents, stitches in my chin twice, once by falling off the monkey bars at school, and from being dared to do a handstand in the two foot deep water section of a pool. I tripped over a huge floor pillow and split my forehead open on the tv, etc. and other than the surgery on my elbow, I’ve had two other surgeries…..
I was a bit of a tom boy, as my neighborhood was full of boys and I either had to run with them, or sit inside and play dolls and THAT wasn’t gonna happen……
Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
January 22nd, 2010
1:17 pm
I just got back from weighing his car at the post office — we were 5.1 ounces so I had to rip off the center engine piece and now werre at 4.8 — some nice man went back out to his car to get a pocket knife for me to pry the glue off — I was trying to do it with my keys. but at least now we’re under weight — next to get on the wheels when he gets home from school.
Becky
January 22nd, 2010
1:22 pm
@Becky..Yes, I am the one that has nephews that are missing the commom sense gene..I’m not bragging that the 7 year old has weapons of destruction..He has these and he has a Poppy that is teaching him how to use them and to be careful with them..This (IMO) is part of the reason that the nephews (2)are/have been in jail..They didn’t have Dads that spent time with them teaching them things..
I don’t have kids and yes I do have the niece and nephew on the weekends..They call me Nanny, because the only grandmother(Dad)that they have is a druggie..They have a Poppy (Mom) and he has nothing to do with them..Their Mom and Dad taught them to call us Nanny and Poppy, that was 7 years ago and I would not trade a day of it for anything..
So, no I’m not perfect and neither is my family..Either way, I think that kids can learn to use these weapons of destruction and not be dangerous to others, if they have the right people teaching them..
jasonenfa
January 22nd, 2010
1:23 pm
Theresa, make sure you get that weight with the wheels, although he’s probably OK starting out a little high. The scales are always going to be a little different. Our pack always has a couple of cordless drills at the race in case you need to take off some weight. Last year my son’s car was over by about 0.5 oz, so we had to remove some of the lead inside the car, and my son drilled a mickey head in the bottom of the car to get it down to the right weight. He really loved that he had a “Hidden Mickey” on his car!
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
1:25 pm
say this to parents to kids whom died in the hands of kids who have guns or wepons in their house.. Just a thought here
Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
January 22nd, 2010
1:29 pm
Even though the wheels weren’t installed I laid the wheels and the nails on the scale with the car so hopefully they’ll be right — I’m hoping the post office scale is pretty accurate
So I’m supposed to sand the nails and then put the oil on the nails and then put the graphite in the wheels?????????
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
1:31 pm
Theresa here is a stupid thought but do you have a digital food scale?? I just wonder if that would work…. :)????
Lisa
January 22nd, 2010
1:36 pm
Theresa, you said: “So I’m supposed to sand the nails and then put the oil on the nails and then put the graphite in the wheels?????????”
NOooooooooo! Your son is!
Hairy Banana Reid
January 22nd, 2010
1:52 pm
Theresa, use oil or graphite – don’t use both… it will make a sludgy mess.
Hairy Banana Reid
January 22nd, 2010
1:54 pm
Errr, I mean, tell your son that.
jasonenfa
January 22nd, 2010
1:59 pm
No wet lubricant is allowed, so only the graphite.
To sand/polish an axle (nail), he put the axle into a drill like a drill bit and turned the drill on while holding a wet strip of sandpaper to the nail. My drill is cordless, so I held it flat on the bench and turned it on while my son sanded the nail. We used the same technique to file the bottom side of the head of the nail, and this takes off the burrs that come from molding the axles.
The graphite goes “in” the wheels, and you can get the most in there by filling the hole with a nail partially in, then push the nail through. It’s a messy affair, so you may want to do that part outdoors or in the garage!
He should be gentle when putting the wheels on the car – this is why I helped with this part. Last year his car broke while hammering the axle in, so minor Elmer’s surgery was required. Be sure they’re going in straight. If the car turns it may not make it to the end of the track.
Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
January 22nd, 2010
2:01 pm
I’ve heard the wheels are a real problem — that;’s why we are helping with that –
my food scale is not digital — it’s from 16 years ago when we got married so not so high tech.
oneofeach4me
January 22nd, 2010
2:15 pm
lol… this is great. I cannot WAIT til my son gets to do this. He is going to love it!! He will just love watching all the cars race. I am not sure he will give a rats but if his wins or not. lol
@jasonenfa ~ don’t be sorry you read this. From what you wrote, you are not the one doing it all for him. Like one poster who’s father waited til the last minute, then spent all night building it and got pissed when his son started playing with it as he should. You won’t be cynical… you showed your son the way and he took pride in creating his own car. That is something you should cherish and your son is lucky to have that closeness with is father.
Theresa, I am with Lisa here. Those are things Walsh can do himself. It’s all gonna be okay. Just have fun….
FCM
January 22nd, 2010
2:18 pm
@ JJ — yeah she is a tomboy and proud of it. When she was a baby she was rolly (round reared) so we called her a Weeble Wabble….you know the ones that don’t fall (and stay) down. You still can’t get her to stay in one spot for long (including sleeping) she is in constant motion. She just isn’t rolly anymore.
Wayne
January 22nd, 2010
2:20 pm
Gee whiz! I was wondering where everyone was. I was still over in the Haiti blog because this one didn’t show up until this afternoon. I was adding some good stuff too. At least in my mind, anyways.
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
2:38 pm
Wayne, day late and dollar short there huh darling :)?
Wayne
January 22nd, 2010
2:43 pm
I’m tellin’ ya! Sheesh. What’s really sad is I don’t even have anything to add to this fine conversation ovuh heah. Other than if my son does join the scouts, he’ll be building his own, with some minor guidance from me. Heck, he’ll probably build it on his own without telling me about it…
Hairy Banana Reid
January 22nd, 2010
3:07 pm
I didn’t know anything about the ban on wet lubricants… lol, that’s how many years I’ve been out of it! I guess it was somewhere around the early 70’s when I was involved.
Tiger needs me on his PR team
January 22nd, 2010
3:08 pm
I remember back when I was a young man participating in this…i was using a small hand held electric saw my dad gave me while he went to get himself a six pack down at the local 7-11. Not having ever handled a power tool before, when I began my cut into the wood, the saw kicked back and cut my nose off…I was so shocked I dropped the saw and it fell and cut my toe off. My dad came back, having already drank the six pack on his way home, and was shocked at my injuries but too frightened of being arrested for child neglect and drunk driving to take me to the hospital, so he decided to re-attach my severed nose and toe himself. With a needle and fishing wire he did a nice clean re-attachment. The only problem was that in his drunken state, he sewed my nose to my foot and my toe to my face. Now every time I sneeze my shoe flies off . Good old dad.
JJ
January 22nd, 2010
3:10 pm
And on that note Tiger,,,,,,I’m outta here…..thanks for the chuckle…..
JJ
January 22nd, 2010
3:12 pm
Tiger, I just thought for sure there was gonna be a “toe truck” in your story…..but that’s for the chuckle…..