DIY Practice Tree for Biondo
Practice trees are those descending lights you see at car races that notify drivers to start their engines, prepare to race and then take off. Building your own practice tree can be done using some commonly found materials from your local hardware store. For these instructions, we will use 12-volt lights and wiring to allow you to use a car battery to power the lights, permitting you to bring this tree out with you to the race track to hold professional style drag races.
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Things You'll Need
- 4-foot by8-foot plywood sheet
- Marker
- Saw
- Drill
- 4 white light bulbs and sockets
- 6 amber light bulbs and sockets
- 2 green light bulbs and sockets
- 2 red light bulbs and sockets
- 7 light switches
- Staple gun
- Wiring
- Car battery
Instructions
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1
Cut your plywood sheet in half lengthwise, leaving you with a 2-foot by 4 foot panel. Discard or set aside one half of the plywood sheet, as only one half-sheet is required for this application.
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2
Draw a line down the middle of your board lengthwise, then draw on seven lines, every 12 inches from side to side, perpendicular to the long edge of the board. You should now have your board divided into 16 12-inch by 12-inch squares. Mark one 2-foot-wide end of the board as top and the other as bottom.
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3
Drill and mount one white light and socket in the center of each of the two boxes at the top of the board and label these two top boxes as "Pre-Stage" with your marker. When these lights are illuminated, drivers will know to start their engines.
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4
Drill and mount one white light and socket in the center of both of the two boxes just under the two boxes drilled and marked in Step 3, label these two boxes as "Stage." When drivers see these lights illuminate they will know the race is about to begin.
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5
Drill and mount one amber light and socket in the center of each of the six boxes below the four white lights installed in Step 4. These three sets of amber lights will be lit, counting down toward the green lights which will indicate the race has begun.
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6
Drill and mount one green light and socket in either box below the last amber lights. When these lights are illuminated, the race begins.
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7
Drill and mount one red light and socket in the center of either box below the two green lights.
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8
Wire the back of the board. Staple a length of wire, 20 feet long along the left side of the back of the board with one end of the wire at the top and the other extending below the bottom of the board, label this wire as "Positive." Staple another length of wire, 20 feet long along the right side of the back of the board, and label this as "Negative."
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9
Install a 12-volt light switch beside the positive wire on the back of the board, one for each two side-by-side boxes of lights. There should be seven light switches installed on the back of the board.
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10
Wire together the lights in series. Connect one length of electrical wiring from the positive wire to the light switch, one from the switch to the bulb, one from the bulb to the other bulb beside it and finally, from the bulb to the negative wire. Repeat this step for all seven rows of lights. You will need to strip a small amount of shielding from the positive and negative wires to facilitate a good electrical connection for each set of lights.
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11
Connect the loose end of the positive wire to the positive terminal on the car battery and the loose end of the negative wire to the negative terminal on the battery. When you are ready to start your race, standing between the two cars, flip the top switch to turn on the "Pre-Stage" lights. Followed by "Stage," then the three sets of amber lights and finally the green lights. When the green lights are illuminated the drivers should begin the race. At any point in time if you turn on the red lights, the drivers should turn off their engines.
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Tips & Warnings
Secure all wiring to the back of the board using some staples carefully mounted on either side of each wire. Paint the front of the board as you like to give it a more professional appearance.
Always wear appropriate eye protection when operating power tools
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Tom Pennington/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images
