How to Make a Good Pinewood Derby Car
Pinewood Derby racing is a beloved childhood tradition. Building a car is both an educational and enjoyable experience. Physics, math, wood working, and imagination all combine in this sport. Building a very fast pinewood car is largely about reducing friction. The friction between the wheels and the track and between the wheels and the body of the car can slow the car a lot. The design of the car is also very important as the shape and weight of the pinewood car will greatly affect the speed of the car.
Things You'll Need
- Block of pine
- Saws (powered or handsaws)
- Course grit sandpaper
- Fine grit sandpaper
- Pencil
- Drill
- Car weights
- Measuring scale
- Tape
- Glue
- Car wheels
- Fine file
- Model paint
Instructions
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How to Make a Good Pinewood Derby Car
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1
Design your car. The car needs to be aerodynamic, but not too light. Remember that gravity is used to power the car, so it needs some weight. Also you need to reduce air drag to make your car fast. The total allowable weight in Boy Scout Pinewood Derby is 5 ounces. Draw the design in profile on the side of the block of pine.
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2
Use the saws to cut away the excess wood. Cut loosely around the design. Don't try to cut on the lines, rather cut so that you leave a little wood around your drawing.
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3
Use the course grit sandpaper to remove the small amount of wood left around the design. Your block of wood should begin to look like a car now, without wheels.
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4
Apply fine grit sandpaper to polish up your design. Smooth out all rough edges on your car; blocky edges will ruin the air flow over your car and increase the drag. Drag will slow your car.
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5
Weigh your car. Try to get your car as close as possible to the maximum allowable weight. For the Boy Scouts that is 5 ounces. Apply model weights to get your car to this weight. These can be purchased at model shops and applied with tape or glue. Be sure to tape or glue the weights securely so they won't fall off during the race.
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6
Paint your car as you like.
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7
Take the burrs off the heads of the wheel nails. Under the head of the nails that serve as axles for the car, there are small pieces of metal left over from manufacturing. Use the file to gently remove these as these small pieces of metal will dig into the wheels and slow the car.
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8
Install the wheels by nailing them to the car through the center of the wheel.
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1
References
- Photo Credit boy scouts image by Inhumane Productions from Fotolia.com
