Ok, so the more I read about, tinker with, and build PWD cars the more I want to read about, tinker with, and build PWD cars. In the past couple of years, I have purchased what I thought were good PWD tools. But I am beginning to realize Derby Worx jigs/tools can only take you so far. So now I am looking to get a few good pieces of equipment, and I am hoping you guys will offer your opinion on what your top 3 specialty tools/products are. Thanks in advance
Well, it really depends on how much you plan on building??? If you are going to build a lot, then I highly reccomend the silver bullet. But if you are just starting out, I would recommend that you get multi purpose tools, like a drill press, a dremel tool, digital calipers etc. You know stuff you can use for other things too.
A good drill jig, a good sander and a good dremel will get you a long way. If I could add a 4th tool I'd suggest a good scroll saw even though I use a laser to cut my bodies
1 - my drill jig... first and foremost, the most important part of my build... Without alignment, my car is nothing.
2 - my axle bender... it gives me consistent bends and takes only a second to get my DFW axle bent.
3 - my dremel... I use this to cut the tuning slots in the heads of my axles, and to polish them afterward. Get a good one and a stand to mount it on. You won't be sorry.
Then yeah... Like Reecedad says, I use a scroll saw to cut my bodies and a Rigid Oscillating Belt sander to shape them afterward. You can pick one of those up at Home Depot for less than the price of a new drill jig these days
2 - my axle bender... it gives me consistent bends and takes only a second to get my DFW axle bent.
3 - my dremel... I use this to cut the tuning slots in the heads of my axles, and to polish them afterward. Get a good one and a stand to mount it on. You won't be sorry.
Then yeah... Like Reecedad says, I use a scroll saw to cut my bodies and a Rigid Oscillating Belt sander to shape them afterward. You can pick one of those up at Home Depot for less than the price of a new drill jig these days
I just got the Silver Bullet Xtreme drilling jig, which is a bit of an expense at $200. I have two young grandsons, so perhaps another 7-8 years of pinewood derby in the family, plus I am considering some BASX racing for myself. After that I fully expect that the jig will still have value if I choose to sell it and recover some of the cost.
This jig will allow me to get good drills on every car I help the boys build, or build for myself. I have been crew chief for two pack winners, using the popular, highly advertised, tools but have never had a car with a really good drill, or a car that could compete well with at the district level.
I have learned here that you may not win with a good drill, but you will never win with a bad drill. The drill is the foundation for everything else in the car, so that is where I am willing to spend the tool budget.
For tools two and three, I would say my bench top wood lathe that I use to round the wheels (again not precision, but helps a lot) and my bench top drill press for working axles.
I also like to make wood tools. I made small benchtop thickness sander that works great for thinning and forming bodies, and a tool that will allow me to easily turn out ladder bodies one after another, and route weight pockets just by inserting the block and turning it on and following a pattern. I haven't done the bodies yet, but once I can demonstrate the accuracy I plan to show it to the site for anyone who may be interested.
This jig will allow me to get good drills on every car I help the boys build, or build for myself. I have been crew chief for two pack winners, using the popular, highly advertised, tools but have never had a car with a really good drill, or a car that could compete well with at the district level.
I have learned here that you may not win with a good drill, but you will never win with a bad drill. The drill is the foundation for everything else in the car, so that is where I am willing to spend the tool budget.
For tools two and three, I would say my bench top wood lathe that I use to round the wheels (again not precision, but helps a lot) and my bench top drill press for working axles.
I also like to make wood tools. I made small benchtop thickness sander that works great for thinning and forming bodies, and a tool that will allow me to easily turn out ladder bodies one after another, and route weight pockets just by inserting the block and turning it on and following a pattern. I haven't done the bodies yet, but once I can demonstrate the accuracy I plan to show it to the site for anyone who may be interested.
I have both axle benders. The GB bender is far more robust, but if the axle has a bending groove, they both work adequately. You do need to modify the DW axle bender and make a hard stop for the bend amount. The DW bender out of the box uses the compression of a spring to set the bend amount. That needs to be corrected to something more precise. As for the tools, my order is the same ass Mojo's above. As a 4th tool, I'll add a belt sander.
HMmmm??? There are several machinests on this forum....Sounds like there might be an opportunity???
I'd like to bring a little bit of a different perspective, only dabbing in pro racing so far, mostly building scout cars. Of course a drill jig is number one on my wish list! But here is what I use the most.
1. Drill Press
2. Bench Top Belt Sander
3. Cordless Drill
I'll do a separate list for products I most use.
1. Novus 2/Micro Gloss/Synthetic wax (I'm cheating! 3 for 1.)
2. Varying grades of sand paper
3. Qtips
1. Drill Press
2. Bench Top Belt Sander
3. Cordless Drill
I'll do a separate list for products I most use.
1. Novus 2/Micro Gloss/Synthetic wax (I'm cheating! 3 for 1.)
2. Varying grades of sand paper
3. Qtips
You forgot vto mention how much you love laser cut bodies lol
Thanks, that's exactly why I asked. I know the DW stuff isn't highly regarded, and I have went through enough to know too, but the axle bender looks pretty decent. I can drill and tap a limit screw.
On a related note, I'd be interested to hear if anyone has any "odd" tools you wouldn't think about being useful, but are and you use them all the time.
I use a carpet pick. It's a long, slender pick that I've bent at 90 degrees in one spot near the end and again at maybe 60 degrees near the end. Basically a long pick with a snaky point end to it. Somehow in every build, I use the darn thing. I can't name a specific use or what I've done for it, but I always find a use for it. Only examples I can think of right now is scraping glue from the axle slots and under the axle tip and to apply glue in tricky, hard to reach places. But I use it for a lot of other things too. Also use it around the house! It just seems useless, but I constantly find it helpful.
Edit: just occurred to me what I use my odd tool most for. Positioning weights on double sided tape, or pulling them out. Also use it to pull out lead I’ve poured into bodies if I had a bad pour or want to replace with Tungsten or reused elsewhere. Great tool!
I use a carpet pick. It's a long, slender pick that I've bent at 90 degrees in one spot near the end and again at maybe 60 degrees near the end. Basically a long pick with a snaky point end to it. Somehow in every build, I use the darn thing. I can't name a specific use or what I've done for it, but I always find a use for it. Only examples I can think of right now is scraping glue from the axle slots and under the axle tip and to apply glue in tricky, hard to reach places. But I use it for a lot of other things too. Also use it around the house! It just seems useless, but I constantly find it helpful.
Edit: just occurred to me what I use my odd tool most for. Positioning weights on double sided tape, or pulling them out. Also use it to pull out lead I’ve poured into bodies if I had a bad pour or want to replace with Tungsten or reused elsewhere. Great tool!
Last edited:
To add a few thing I will work with things not mentioned:
Combination square
Exacto knife/rotary cutter
Clean assorted towels/cloths
I use lots of clamps
My PayPal account also is key
The block.....proxxon drillpress .....a “best track” for tuning and testing cars is my favorite tools
I feel these tools or something similar are the most necessary except maybe the test track.....but it definitely helps if you have one
I feel these tools or something similar are the most necessary except maybe the test track.....but it definitely helps if you have one
Not sure if this is odd but I have a few old bodies I messed up on that are great for marking templates for new bodies to cut.
I use old bodies for all kinds of stuff, including what you mentioned. Use them under cars when I drill a lot, use them to sit under cars if I want to work on it without rolling. All sorts of things. Have a whole stack of them I keep behind my drill press.
Similar threads
