How to Build a Pinewood Derby Racer From Scratch

Pinewood Derby car designs can range from simple to complex.

Building your own Pinewood Derby car is a fun and cheap activity that you can do with your friends, family or even by yourself. The materials are very inexpensive and the potentia of your wooden race car is only limited by the creative abilities of your own imagination. If you're building a Pinewood Derby car to use in a competition, you need to follow the rules and regulations pertaining to the design of each car, so be sure that your car's design meets the competition's standards before you begin building.

Things You'll Need

• Wooden block
• Safety goggles
• Axles and wheels
• Weights
• Sand paper
• Saw
• Table vice
• Paint
• Fine drill

Instructions

1. Put on your safety goggles. Cut your wooden block to the size you need. Secure your block so the side is facing you in the table vise, and draw a line from the bottom left to the top right. Cut along this line using the saw.

2. Shape your car by rounding off the edges with sandpaper. You want the car to be smooth and aerodynamic, like a real car. Start with a coarse-grade sandpaper and gradually lighten the grade as it becomes smoother.

3. Drill two fine holes through the side of the car for the axles. Make sure the diameter of the drill is no bigger than the diameter of the axles; you want them to be secure.

4. Attach the wheels to the axles and make sure they are fastened securely. Axles and wheels can be purchased at any model shop or Pinewood Derby supplier. See Resources for information on suppliers.

5. Attach weights to the bottom of your car. Because you removed a large portion of the wooden block, the car has become significantly lighter, so extra weight is going to be needed to get it down the track quickly. Weights can be anything from metal fastened onto the bottom of your car to a drilled cavity in the body of the car that is filled with liquid metal. Check the competition's rules on weights before choosing a method.

6. Paint your car. Be creative with it. This is the best way to express your own personal style on your car, so give it some thought and time.

Tips & Warnings

• Making your own Pinewood Derby car requires the use of a lot of tools that can be dangerous if misused, so if you don't have any experience using these tools, make sure you build your car under the supervision of someone who knows what they're doing.

References

• ABC Pinewood Derby: How to Design and Build Your Own Pinewood Derby Car

Resources

• ABC Pinewood Derby: Wheels