New Guy with a lot to learn, Bulldog Racing

Jan 23, 2014
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My Name is Mike but all my friends call me Bulldog. This is my first post to any pine wood derby site. I am a venture scout leader hers in southern Oregon. Venture scouts are 16-18 years old. Well,a while ago as me and the boys were planning our next 3 months one of the boys asked if we could hold our own pine wood derby, I have a huge love for the derby, so i was very excited to see some interest from my venture crew. I grew a love for wood working as a cub scout while building cars with my old man, I now am running my own professional cabinet business because of that love as a boy. I firmly believe in introducing new trades and talents to our youth to give them opportunities to find out the things they will become passionate about. I found this site about 3 weeks ago while doing my research to help teach my boys how to build cars that go fast. I have been sucking as much info in that I can. I have gotten so excited about the boys progress in their own cars,. I was going to build a track but in reading posts about tracks I just purchased a 42' Best Track. The boys want to hold races often, so I'm going to run it kinda like an outreach program. As their leader I fell I must build the fastest car or what kind of example would I be? Lol. So I've built two proto type cars, here they are. they are 1/4" thick, fenders on all wheels, CoG at 1", rear wheels canted at 3 degrees, rail runner with front Right wheel raised. I purchased the Silver Bullet from DD4H, I bought dynasty cheetah , I bought the larger axles with the cavity cut out, should I use these axles with the oil process? I bought the dvd from DD4H, I could not find the jig so I ordered the 3m spray, some guys said it's a good alternative.I have tried to apply as much as I can from you pros. I thank you so much for the info and I hope to someday to be talented enough to add to some of the tips and tricks. I will be building and testing cars until I can send a decent car to the man of the mountain. I look forward to the friendships to be made while getting back to where it all began with my love for wood working. If any of you pros have advice for me that will save my learning curve, I'm wide open for advice. Last question, why does Q.T turn the front wheels, is it mainly for aerodynamics? Thanks Your new friend and builder Bulldog-
 
Welcome Mike, those cars look great! It's nice to see another fellow West Coaster get bit by the PWD bug, definitely a rarity in this hobby. That's really cool to see the boys take an interest, they're gonna love the new track- good move! Sounds like you've done your homework and are on the right track, your cars should be fast.

You can host photos at photobucket and then click the tree image on the tool bar to insert. As far as the reversed wheel, besides aerodynamics it helps narrow the front end. Just make sure to rotate the wheel to the smooth portion so that the letters wont rub the rail and fully insert the axle so the wheel doesn't rattle around. I'm sure there's more to it than that, hopefully the Big Dogs can expand on the reversed NDFW. If I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure only the NDFW is reversed and not the DFW.
 
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I figured it out I think. Thanks for the great info!
 
I'm looking at vinyl lettering on top of the gloss paint to customize the look. I think my best track will ship on feb 5. I'll test them then. I'm pumped. Thanks for the compliment
 
Welcome BullDog. Great looking cars! Paint job has a very nice shine. In reading your post, in looks like you've already absorbed quite a bit in good tips and already have them in use. As far as QT and the angled NFDW, that secret is not out of the bag yet. J/K Enjoy your time here, you've found one the fastest pinewood derby builder sites in the world, with full support.
 
Bulldog,

Welcome to the sport. You have found THE only site you'll ever need to go fast.
We have been racing for three years and just last year found this site. Although we've
had alot of sucess, I can't imagine where we'd be had we started here. These guys are
free with the good info. Not just - " You gotta steer to rail and run three wheels blah,
blah, blah". They will tell you exactly what they do to have the fastest PWD cars on the
planet.
Also, I like the simple, solid color paint. That's how we paint our cars, (cause I can't paint for crap)

Anyway welcome
 
Welcome! You've found the right place to be!

Is there girls among your venture scouts? I would like to get my girls involved in venturing some day, but I worry about the co-ed aspect. I have 8 yr old triplets and a 10 year old, I often wish the girls could join cub scouts. I have 2 boys and 2 girls. I know there is girl scouts but it doesn't seem as much fun.
 
No we don't have girls in our venture crew, I'm relieved for that because I know my boys, anytime you throw girls in the mix there brain turns to mush. I don't know how a week long camp out would work with co-ed. I sure don't want that responsibility. Triplets, you are one busy guy!