# The Straight Dope Pinewood Derby **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 31, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500 "2003-03-31T18:30:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/21 "2003-04-01T15:29:52Z")
There are still basic pinewood derby car kits right? Everyone gets the same kit just to make things fair. (No, no bad memories about “ringer” cars. Why?) This is so cool! (In an incredibly geeky, juvenile sort of way.) ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/22 "2003-04-01T15:38:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Grim\_Beaker \* > **Since you want to be as close as possible to that weight (but not over) it’s typical for scouts to weigh their cars just prior to the race and tape pennies or other weights to the car to bring it up to weight.** Or you could have an insane father who drips molten lead into holes in the bottom until it’s the correct weight to the tenth of an ounce. OTOH, I won! ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/23 "2003-04-01T15:49:38Z")
Here are the official rules: [http://www.troop255.net/official\_pinewood\_derby\_rules.htm](http://www.troop255.net/official_pinewood_derby_rules.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/24 "2003-04-01T15:49:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rue DeDay \* > \*\*There are still basic pinewood derby car kits right? Everyone gets the same kit just to make things fair. (No, no bad memories about “ringer” cars. Why?) > > This is so cool! (In an incredibly geeky, juvenile sort of way.) \*\* Yup. Plastic bag with a block of pine, four wheels and four nails/axles. Most hardware stores should have them. **SmackFu** , my dad and I didn’t drip molten lead in, but imbedded fishing weights into the bottom, and sealed it with wax. I’d hold everyone to the specified weight (I think **Grim\_Beaker** is right about the 5 oz., but we should check), but it’d be something that you’d have to self-police yourself on. **Trob** , would you be willing to be a back-up option? It’s a fairly big job, and I don’t want to push this on someone. I’ll try to get ahold of a troop this week, but if that doesn’t pan out, we might need you. The timeframe for this is wonderfully open, so I’m not worried about that. Of course, if you happen to live in Indianapolis, that would be absolutely ideal… ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/25 "2003-04-01T16:03:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Munch \* > \*\*Yup. Plastic bag with a block of pine, four wheels and four nails/axles. Most hardware stores should have them. > > **SmackFu** , my dad and I didn’t drip molten lead in, but imbedded fishing weights into the bottom, and sealed it with wax. I’d hold everyone to the specified weight (I think **Grim\_Beaker** is right about the 5 oz., but we should check), but it’d be something that you’d have to self-police yourself on. > > \*\* Drilling holes in the bottom and filling them with ball bearings and puttying over the holes works too. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/26 "2003-04-01T16:15:46Z")
Great story about a pine car… When I was in the cub scouts I of course, raced in the pine wood derby. All the other little boys were having their fathers build their cars and they were making some pretty elaborate little pine cars. Starting off with a rectangle of pine wood, we saw some funky looking cars. My dad said, “No way! you are going to build your own car, because then if you win, you’ll know you succeded on your own.” So I cut the pine rectangle diagonally to make a simple pie piece wedge. Well It wasn’t pretty, as a matter of fact it was quite bland, and it got laughed at. But apparently the design was next to perfect, because I smoked every car in that race. I have a trophy and everything to prove it. That was 20 years ago, and I remember it like it was yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![jkusters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/fbc32d/32.png) [@jkusters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jkusters)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/27 "2003-04-01T16:34:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SmackFu \* > \*\*Or you could have an insane father who drips molten lead into holes in the bottom until it’s the correct weight to the tenth of an ounce. OTOH, I won! \*\* Yours too, eh? 😃 This indeed sounds like a lot of fun. If it gets going, count me in. Thanks, JOhn. ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_Munkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Sock\_Munkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_Munkey)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/28 "2003-04-01T21:25:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phlosphr \* > \*\*Great story about a pine car… > > When I was in the cub scouts I of course, raced in the pine wood derby. All the other little boys were having their fathers build their cars and they were making some pretty elaborate little pine cars. Starting off with a rectangle of pine wood, we saw some funky looking cars. > > My dad said, “No way! you are going to build your own car, because then if you win, you’ll know you succeded on your own.” > > So I cut the pine rectangle diagonally to make a simple pie piece wedge. > > Well It wasn’t pretty, as a matter of fact it was quite bland, and it got laughed at. But apparently the design was next to perfect, because I smoked every car in that race. I have a trophy and everything to prove it. That was 20 years ago, and I remember it like it was yesterday. \*\* Exactly how it happened to me. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_The\_Younger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d9b06d/32.png) [@Paul\_The\_Younger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_The_Younger)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/29 "2003-04-01T22:41:49Z")
I just finished racing my two boys’ derby cars last week. Okay, so I did a lot of the work, but they designed them and had a lot of fun racing them (translation – they didn’t win.) You can find the kits at Michaels crafts stores, too. Consider me interested, if a bit too busy to actually do it. What time frame are we considering? And…What’s the wildest design you’ve done or seen in a derby race? My brother did the Eiffel Tower (a couple of years ago…) for his daughter’s brownie troop race. It was fast, too… 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/30 "2003-04-01T23:07:09Z")
::sigh:: I wish I had more time. I’d love to participate in this. Ahem. Besides getting the weight of the car absolutely perfect, another technique is to fill the wheel wells with graphite, both inside and out, and seal it in. The result is a constant flow of friction reducing graphite to the axle. And as I’m sure you all know, the most important thing to do is to be diligent about the axle alignment. One year an unpainted, uncarved block of pinewood creamed the competition because the axle was meticulously attended to. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/31 "2003-04-01T23:33:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Algernon \* > \*\* One year an unpainted, uncarved block of pinewood creamed the competition because the axle was meticulously attended to. \*\* Well that’s a Cinderella story if ever there was one. Did the kid not have anyone to help him or something? ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/32 "2003-04-01T23:49:07Z")
Actually **Spit** , I think his/her father _did_ help… but only with the axles. I believe he knew what the key was and I suppose the kid just decided to do nothing at all, or procrastinated so long that the result was the same – a simple block of pinewood. ---
**Author:** ![Curate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Curate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curate)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/33 "2003-04-02T00:25:16Z")
I’d love to do this. I made cars two different years in Cub Scouts. The first year it just wasn’t very fast, so the second year I poured all the elementary school engineering I could come up with into it. Then I got sick on the race weekend. I’ve always KNOWN that car was a winner… ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/34 "2003-04-02T14:51:31Z")
Good news, race fans! I am the recent winner of [Pinewood Derby trophies](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?viewitem&item=3601087132), so this is going to happen. For a measley $9.50, I get 1st, 2nd and 3rd place trophies, all with free engravings! Now I need suggestions on what to have put on them. Timetable-wise, I’m thinking sometime mid to late July. I got my block-o-wood last night at Hobby Lobby, and started whittling. The hardware store nearest me didn’t have a kit, those corporate bastards (the locally-owned store is way across town). I gotta tell you, pine is pretty damn hard wood. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/35 "2003-04-02T15:16:00Z")
“First Annual Doper Derby - 2003” And then something cute and clever underneath that. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_The\_Younger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d9b06d/32.png) [@Paul\_The\_Younger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_The_Younger)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/36 "2003-04-02T15:29:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Munch \* > \*\*Good news, race fans! I am the recent winner of [Pinewood Derby trophies](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?viewitem&item=3601087132), so this is going to happen. For a measley $9.50, I get 1st, 2nd and 3rd place trophies, all with free engravings! Now I need suggestions on what to have put on them. > > Timetable-wise, I’m thinking sometime mid to late July. > > I got my block-o-wood last night at Hobby Lobby, and started whittling. The hardware store nearest me didn’t have a kit, those corporate bastards (the locally-owned store is way across town). I gotta tell you, pine is pretty damn hard wood. \*\* Way to go on the trophies, **Munch**! For cubbies, Pinewood derby season is quickly coming to an end…so don’t procrastinate getting your kits. I’m thinking it’s gonna be a hard item to find come the fourth of July. If you’ve never used one, a Dremel tool with a tiny drum sander and assorted carving bits are a fun way to do the carving (after removing most of the wood with a coping saw or scroll saw). And after all, aren’t we all just looking for excuses to buy one more power tool? 🙂 Hmmm…on the trophies…“Dope-box Derby” ? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/37 "2003-04-02T17:12:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Avarie537 \* > \*\*“First Annual Doper Derby - 2003” > > And then something cute and clever underneath that. \*\* Technically it only becomes “annual” after the second time it’s done. I would just have the trophy say “Doper Derby–2003.” Then if we do it again, we could do it Super Bowl-style: Doper Derby II, Doper Derby III, Doper Derby IV, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/38 "2003-04-02T17:20:43Z")
Any Indianapolis-specific suggestions? There’s probably a pretty good 500 tie-in somewhere in there, but I don’t see it. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_The\_Younger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d9b06d/32.png) [@Paul\_The\_Younger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_The_Younger)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/39 "2003-04-08T04:28:25Z")
How’s the planning coming, **Munch**? I’ve found myself doodling car shapes a couple of times over the past week… ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500/40 "2003-04-08T04:33:24Z")
I remember that in mine, there was an award for “Most Likely to Have Been Created Without Any Parental Involvement.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-pinewood-derby/165500.md?page=3)