Cub Scout Pinewood Derby Hints
A Cub Scout master named Don Murphy wanted to do a car-related scouting activity with his son, who was too young to participate in soapbox derbies. Murphy wound up creating the Pinewood Derby in 1953, which involved Scouts making and racing miniature pine wood cars down a track. The Pinewood Derby tradition continues to this day. If you are a Cub Scout, you might be interested in hints on how to prepare for the race.
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Design and Shape
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Determine what you want your Pinewood Derby car to look like. Sketch a drawing, or look at photos of cars for inspiration. You can carve your car into any shape you like, such as your favorite Indy 500 race car, a police car, a jeep or even a jet airplane or spaceship. Remember to keep your car as close as possible to the maximum weight of 5 ounces, to get it to go as fast as possible. If you carve off too much wood, you can add weights afterward, such as by screwing small wood screws into the bottom, or gluing metal fishing weights to the body.
Alignment
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Use a ruler to help you place the car's wheels on straight. Glue the axles firmly to the wood, being careful to avoid gluing a wheel to the axle. Test the alignment by putting the car on the floor and giving it a shove. If it rolls straight for about 10 feet, the car is in good alignment. If not, double-check the position of the axles.
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Speed
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Rub graphite on the sides of the car in spots where the wheel hubs make contact with the body, to reduce friction and increase speed. Hold the car and run it along the ground, and then quickly flip it over to observe the spinning wheels. Check if any wheel is wobbling, and notice which wheel stops spinning first. You will then know which wheel or wheels to adjust or replace to give you peak performance.
Decorations
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Make your Pinewood Derby car stand out from the others with a cool paint job. Paint the entire car with your favorite color or go for a checkered look. For added flair, put racing stripes or bright red flame decals on the sides. Some Cub Scouts go wild with their decorating and put decals on every surface, with flags, slogans and other images on the roof and ceiling. You could give your car a scary image, with skulls, bats and vampire decals, for example, or use a NASCAR motif that looks like you're sponsored by advertisers.
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