Lesson Learned - the hard way

[CTDerbyDad]

My son had a good year with Pinewood Derby. He won his den and finished second in his pack. So, he has no complaints.

He had high hopes to finish in the top three for his rank at districts. He, unfortunately, tanked [cue the sad trombone]. On his fourth run, it looked like his car might not even finish. It did, but it was so slow, he immediately looked up at me with the "What's up?" look. When the race was over, I retrieved his car and one wheel was pushed in so far it didn't spin. When we got home, I removed all four wheels. There were dents in the body from the hubs. Not wear marks, but dents. He saw the stuck wheel earlier, but I didn't show him how bad it really was. The good part about the whole thing is he took it like champ. When you're eight, it can easily go either way. The guys who ran districts did a fantastic job, but I guess it doesn't take much to tweak a car.

Since we drill his axle holes, we didn't glue them in. Lesson learned is we will from now on even though I rather not. We're also going back to graphite, but that's another story.

 

[Vitamin K]

You don't have to use glue with axle holes, but you should make certain that the axles have the right amount of snugness in them. You can ream with a larger sized drill bit if too tight, or add a small amount of water or a coating of glue to snug them up if they are too loose. When they are just right, the axles should be in there firmly, but you should be able to extract them without too much pain.

What's your reason for not wanting to stay with oil?

BTW, glad your son displayed such character in the face of the mishaps. That's a takeaway more valuable than any Pinewood Derby win will ever be.

 

[CTDerbyDad]

My first thought was to use a drop of water to raise the grain, but these axle weren't loose. They were pressed in fairly hard to dent the wood. I doubt it was deliberate, but someone was careless.

The thought behind graphite was multifaceted. My son is a Bear, so he has built three cars. Last year, at the pack race, he ran graphite. We then switched to oil for the district race. That is an interesting side story because one of my friends at district level interprets that to be illegal. Re-prepping is allowed and I didn't see it as all that different--and we're sticklers for the rules. Anyway, with some alcohol and luck, we were able to clean a graphite car well enough to be faster running oil. That car hasn't been re-prepped since and it's still fast. This year he ran oil, but the car never seemed as fast. It's smooth as can be, but the wheels just don't zing. It's most notably a tad slower out of the gate. That leads me to the main reason we are going back to graphite--it's easier to be consistent. In my humble opinion, I think with oil you can certainly gain a little but you can also lose a lot.

Second, my son didn't get to do much of the oil part. We built his car together. I videoed the process and it's his build. The oil prep, however, was mostly on me. He prepped the outer diameter of the wheels and completely did the axles, but the bore prep and assembly of the axles was all me. Graphite allows him to be even more involved in the whole build--and he's pretty involved.

Third, I think his car took an unintentional but good beating after tech. I'm thinking with graphite, we can glue the axles in without too much worry. Besides pushing the axles in (still surprised that happened), I think rough handling will be less likely to tweak a graphite care than an oil car.

The fourth reason is his wheels were absolutely covered with graphite. I would be very surprised if graphite hadn't worked its way into the thin film of oil.

BTW, glad your son displayed such character in the face of the mishaps. That's a takeaway more valuable than any Pinewood Derby win will ever be.

Thanks and I agree. I let me know how proud I was of him, but I think it's worth repeating--a few times

 

[Kinser Racing]

Next time watch your car like a hawk. Somebody pressed the wheels in. They don't do that on any track. Poor sportsmanship from adults drives me up the wall. To the point of losing serious control.

 

[HurriCrane Racing]

Graphite or oil, snug or loose, I always glue the axles in.
Be sure to use the tuning groove in the axle heads. A little twist with a screwdriver and the axles will break free.

 

[BulldogRacing]

Crane, How do you glue without making a mess and getting glue to get on the washers and stuff?

 

[HurriCrane Racing]

I use a toothpick and a steady hand to place small drops of wood glue in the axle holes.

 

[Boydog]

I use a toothpick and a steady hand to place small drops of wood glue in the axle holes.

What kind of glue do you use?

 

[Vitamin K]

I use a toothpick and a steady hand to place small drops of wood glue in the axle holes.

What kind of glue do you use?

Isn't most Wood Glue the same? /images/boards/smilies/smile.gif

 

[Boydog]

What kind of glue do you use?

Isn't most Wood Glue the same? /images/boards/smilies/smile.gif[/QUOTE]
I was thinking my wood glue would not stick to oil coated axles?

 

[LightninBoy]

I use a toothpick and a steady hand to place small drops of wood glue in the axle holes.

 

[davet]

The kid staging cars at our District race grabbed the cars out of the box by squeezing the rear rear wheels together and flipping them up onto the track. If we hadn't glued them in my head may have exploded while trying not to say anything.

Crane, How do you glue without making a mess and getting glue to get on the washers and stuff?

We drill 2 holes in line with the axle.

Turn car upside down and put tip of glue bottle tight up against the second hole (furthest from the side of body). We use Formula brand glue from hobby store.

Lightly squeeze the glue in until you just start to see it appear in the first hole. Turn car right side up and slide axle in. This allows the excess to drop out the bottom. When sliding it in, tip opposite side down so whatever glue comes out the bottom holes doesn't then run towards the wheel. Wipe off excess and all is good.

As mentioned above, quick twist with the K-house groove and it pulls right out.

 

[ugotkevin]

Is it better to use superglue or wood glue?

 

[davet]

We used superglue prior to Pack race last year as we didn't have time for the glue we normally use to dry. When we reprepped for Districts I thought for sure we would break the body getting them out. Had to twist the axles with a pliers and it was very nerve racking for fear of breakage. We use this stuff and it dries clear. About $4.00 at any local hobby shop. I'm sure simple Elmer's glue would work too.

http://www.bhg.com/shop/woodland-scenics-woodland-scenics-pine-car-derby-formula-glue-0-5-fluid-ounce-p73b471feb97d1e307d16c792b3d19183.html

 

[Vitamin K]

The kid staging cars at our District race grabbed the cars out of the box by squeezing the rear rear wheels together and flipping them up onto the track. If we hadn't glued them in my head may have exploded while trying not to say anything.

Was it a Boy Scout or something staging cars?

Note to self: Be extra anal when explaining car handling procedures to stagers and car-runners at our upcoming District Derby.

 

[davet]

Yes. A boy Scout 15-16 yrs old . Not the same one that was eating cookies at the inspection table and caked our wheels with crumbs. Different story...

 

[davet]

We try to make sure our car is durable too because of this. Note the 1/64" plywood epoxied to the bottom in front of the wheels just in case our car gets sent down before the previous heat cars are picked up from the stop section.

 

[Vitamin K]

Yes. A boy Scout 15-16 yrs old . Not the same one that was eating cookies at the inspection table and caked our wheels with crumbs. Different story...

Sounds like you may have some stories to tell us. I'm listening. /images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif /images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif /images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif