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
Wayne
January 22nd, 2010
3:14 pm
Was your Dad in the Scouts? I was just wondering what badge he would have got for that?
Hairy Banana Reid
January 22nd, 2010
3:17 pm
Medic Badge?
Is it just me . . .
January 22nd, 2010
3:20 pm
or does it make anyone else crazy that Julia says in her 9:02 post, “I have no comment” then goes on to blog 20 freakin’ times???
Reminds me of my teen, always has to have the last word!
Becky
January 22nd, 2010
3:24 pm
@Tiger, my little one will also be building it by himself..As it is now, he is always taking parts off of his cars and rebuilding them..He loves to go to the thrift store and buy “broke” cars, so that he can work on them..
oneofeach4me
January 22nd, 2010
3:26 pm
LMAO @ Tiger… you really know how to tell a story! Reminds me of the Fisher King! lol
Tiger needs me on his PR team
January 22nd, 2010
3:26 pm
tell him to stay away from the power tools! ;-)
Tiger needs me on his PR team
January 22nd, 2010
3:29 pm
Well…I’ve been accused of being everything from a degenerate to someone without any moral standards on this blog in the last two weeks….so I’m just trying to show that even thought I’m all of those things (plus a couple others) it doesn’t mean that I can’t still be liked!
FCM
January 22nd, 2010
3:31 pm
@ Tiger some of us (raises her hand) never once thought anything awful about you. Unless you count the resident atheist as awful, and you certainly didn’t seem too nor do I.
I loved the story though!
FCM
January 22nd, 2010
3:31 pm
@ Tiger some of us (raises her hand) never once thought anything awful about you. Unless you count the resident atheist as awful, and you certainly didn’t seem too nor do I.
I loved the story though!
Tiger needs me on his PR team
January 22nd, 2010
3:33 pm
@FCM…actually, I wear that title like a badge of honor! ;-)
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
4:21 pm
Tiger, you aint right! :)
Tiger needs me on his PR team
January 22nd, 2010
4:23 pm
@Julia…maybe not..but if feeling as good as I do about life is wrong…i don’t want to be right! ;-)
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
4:24 pm
Becky when he was itty bitty I can just hear him go in that very independant tone.. I do it!!! :) LOL
Is it just me . . .
January 22nd, 2010
4:32 pm
I pick my boogers and I pee my pants. I am a very horrible person. I am the mom that made my son kill his hamster for a bad grade. I am a horrible person and I suck as a parent.
Becky
January 22nd, 2010
4:34 pm
@Julia, boy do I remember that tone..As we’ve talked about before, to me it was a very bittersweet moment..:) They both do tell me that no matter how big they get, they will always still be “My” babies..If only they knew that they will only want to be at my house on weekends for (maybe) 2-3 more years..
Tiger needs me on his PR team
January 22nd, 2010
4:34 pm
wow….where did THAT come from?
Becky
January 22nd, 2010
4:37 pm
@Tiger, not real sure..BUT that was horrible about that “Mother” doing that..Oh. if you don’t know what this is about, a “Mother” south of Atl. made her 13 year old son kill his pet hamster (with a hammer) for getting bad grades..
Julia
January 22nd, 2010
4:37 pm
(((Becky))) I remember J telling me the same thing.. No mommie – I do it.. Those moments just crack me up and are such an awesome memory :)
Becky
January 22nd, 2010
4:41 pm
((Julia)), memories of children are indeed some of the very best..
Hope that everyone has a great weekend..
Tiger needs me on his PR team
January 22nd, 2010
4:54 pm
Wow!!…that lady is one SICK TWIST!
Becky
January 22nd, 2010
4:58 pm
Yeah she is..
FCM
January 22nd, 2010
5:16 pm
@ Bexky — I don’t know I enjoyed seeing my Granmother (that I was close too) whenever she came in town. I would go spend summers with her until college/work became what I needed to do and even then take trips to see her in college, after I got married, and when the kids were born.
I think if you foster a good healthy relationship (and it sounds like you do) they might just choose to hide out at your house when M & D are “flipping” or whatever term the kids will use for that. My children love to call my parents (though the kids are close to your twins ages I admit) and plan things…or just report how mad they are at Mommy not letting them play Nintendo DS or something.
I know your not the Grandma of the kids…but I have feeling that they (and mine) are going to have similar desire to keep visiting you forever. Man I miss my Grandma everyday and she left us March 08!
FCM
January 22nd, 2010
5:19 pm
ooops I mean Becky! Sorry hon
boots
January 22nd, 2010
6:59 pm
Theresa, you are proving the point of us saying this is not about the Scouts learning, but the parents racing each other. 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?????????” No, your scout is supposed to do it. The fact is, if he does, then he won’t win. But does it matter? He is racing against grown men ordering $50 worth of weights, $50 worth of wood-working tools, $25 worth of oils and files, and so on. The race has gotten to be a joke. It is not about boys building something. It has become a space-aged race for men to compete with one another in the name of their sons. Scam and a shame.
Scandal Lover
January 22nd, 2010
11:14 pm
It’s scandalous I tell ya!
fk
January 23rd, 2010
4:40 am
my son really enjoyed the pinewood derby races. he has all of his cars, packed away in the boxes in which he brought them to the competition. he put his initials and year the car competed on the underside of each one. obviously, he was “into it.”
of course, he needed help on the cutting end. he would spend a couple of hours one weekend afternoon at my brother’s workbench, and he always had his plan thought out & on paper before he went over, however rudimentary it would be. other than suggestions and supervision, that was the only adult help he had. every year, after every race, he called my brother with his “stats.” yes, there were a lot of winners who obviously had more than just adult supervision.
one year, he decided to not focus on the speed factor. he won ‘best design’ and took 3rd place at the next level. my husband said there were dads all around polishing and fussing with their “sons’” cars, up until the submission deadline. my son stood in line, with his car in the covered box, until he turned it in. his car was simple and it was quite obvious that he worked on the car himself, but it was great to see that his efforts were recognized.
the last car he built placed second behind a boy whose dad ran a wood working business. hmmm…. my son did a lot of research trying to build the fastest car that year. he did a really good job. his design: as flat & smooth as he could get it, and placed the lead weights length-wise. if this car had crashed or was dropped, it probably would have splintered into dust. he also filed the ridges on the outside of the wheels and (always) used the graphite…messy. it did not matter that he did not go on to the next level of competition, he knew that he was beat by an adult. i have to say he handled the situation a lot more maturely than his parents. although i would never say anything, i used to get so irritated by parents passing off their work as their children’s.
DB
January 24th, 2010
7:59 pm
Congratulations to Walsh!!! He did a great job!
Becky
January 25th, 2010
8:20 am
@FCM..Thank you..I never really had a relationship with my grandparents..Three were dead by the time that I was born and the only grandmother that I knew wasn’t the grandmotherly type..That’s part of why I want these 2 to have that feeling..I want them to know that they can show up at my house any time..If it’s just to visit or if they have a problem..
As for the typo, don’t worry about that..Trust me, I’ve been called a lot worse things..LOL..:)
LK
May 1st, 2010
5:07 pm
When I was a Cub (late Sixties) the first car I made I essentially made myself, my father was very busy and not around much so he showed me how to use a draw knife and I was learning how to whittle with a jackknife so I used what I knew and made an adequate car (old style kit with indy car look much more forgining ofmistakes than today’s). My father stepped in when I asked him to drill out a slot for me to put in lead weight. That was it I never saw the rules, I didn’t know what graphite was or what it did. i didn’t know that the weight limit was or how much my car weighed. I heard from other kids that you had to put fishing weights in. I easily could have been a disaster. The car was painted blue because we had some blue spraypaint around.
When we went to the race, I didn’t know why they were inspecting it and weighing it. They whistled when they weighed it because it was the exact max weight (sheer luck). while I was taking it over to the track I met a friend who’s Grandpa was putting graphite on his spiffy looking model with stripes and decals (mine was … blue). They offeredto put someon mine and sinceit made it go faster I said OK. Icouldn’timagine how black soot was going tomake it fasterbut they were friend so OK.
At the endof the night I was undefeated. Everyone wanted to raceme head to head afterwardand Iwon all of those too. I won the pack championship and a … Blue ribbon. No trophies. I had no idea there was a district race because they told my parents about it and they didn’t want to make the drive.
I never repeated the feat (I was a Wolf) but tried my best every year after that. I learned to love woodworking and have the permamnent scars to prove it. (I removed a big chunk from my thumb while whittling a later car)
I never was a contender for best looking by far but I cherished that car. I was in my thirties before I finally threw it away after a “look” from my wife when we were packing for a move.
I’m sure that if some other Cubs weren’t great friends and sports that I would never have won and I figured out that the spiffy looking cars were the result of lots of parental intervention.
I won with no small amount of luck (the “fluke” if you’ve see Down and Derby) and good friends and sportsmanship. I try to apply this with my kids but it is a very difficult balance.