How to Cut Out a Design on a Derby Car

Pinewood derby races have long been the highlight of many youth groups, especially Cub Scouts. Too often young scouts dream up fantastic designs for their derby car, only to find that they cannot explain to their parent helper just how to cut out the design and achieve the look they want. Avoid disappointment at your next pinewood derby race by using this simple cutting technique to transfer a pinewood derby design from paper to wood.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Pine block for the car
• Graph paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Saw to cut out the derby car

1. Trace the uncut pine block on the graph paper with a pencil. Trace both the side and top of the block. Mark where the axle will be and trace the wheels onto the side view.

2. Instruct the scout to draw his design onto the grid paper. Remind him that this is a scale drawing---that he should draw it actual size. Have him draw both the side of the car and the top view of the car. Have the scout look at toy cars from both the side and the top to help visualize how a car should be drawn. Allow the scout to make several attempts until he gets a drawing that he likes.

3. The adult should look over the final drawing and determine if it can be cut using whatever tools you have available. It may be necessary to simplify the drawing to meet your cutting skills, or the skills of the scout if he is old enough to help with cutting.

4. Cut out the drawing with scissors, creating an outline of the car. Cut out both the top and side views, then tape the drawing to the car. Use a pencil to trace the pattern on to the wood. Remove the paper and retrace the pencil lines to make sure they are easy to follow. Don't worry about mistakes, any pencil mark leftover can be erased or sanded off.

5. Use a saw (band saw, scroll saw or coping saw) to cut the wood, following the pencil lines. This step should be done by a parent helper or older scout.

References

• Cub Pack 631
• Cub Pack 225
• Capitol Hill Scouts