Pinewood Derby 2011 - Rise of the Pinewood Punk

This last weekend I helped some members of my son's old Cub Scout Pack get started on their Pinewood Derby kits. We had a great time working on their cars and I hope they all do well in the races. The Pinewood Derby was one of my favorite activities as a Cub Scout. Building a cool looking car was as important as building a fast one, and my dad always helped me achieve both. Later, I was more than happy to help my sons with their cars.

I have been asked to help out with the Pack's race this year, so I will take this opportunity to enter their "outlaw" division. This is an unofficial racing division for siblings and adults like me who still like to build a Pinewood car. I plan to build a steampunk inspired racecar. Steampunk is a genre of science fiction/fantasy that incorporates elements and materials from from the age of steam power, but also reimagines them from  a science fiction viewpoint, such as a steam powered computer. Design elements always include lots of old fashioned gears, fan belts, gauges. etc.

The first step in making this or any other car is to come up with a basic design and cutting pattern. I used a piece of 1/4 inch graph paper to draw a full size outline of the wooden block that comes in the kit from both the side and top. Then I drew the basic shape of the car from the side and top. (Fig. 1)

Figure 1 - Car Design

Before doing any cutting, it is necessary to prepare the axle slots to easily accept the nails later. I did this by clamping some scrap wood on each side of the car and and then tapping a spare axle nail into each slot until about 1/4 inch is left exposed and then pulling it out with pliers.(Fig. 2) I did this four or five times at least at each wheel position until it was easy to push in and remove the nail by hand. This will make it easy later to attach the wheels without using any force and then hold the axles in place with some super glue.

Figure 2 - Preparing the Axle Slots

The basic car shape is based on the 1935 Duesenberg Meteor. After coming up with the design, I cut out the plans and taped them to my wooden block (Fig. 3) so that the rough shape can be cut on the band saw.(Fig 4)

Figure 3 - Patterns attached to block

Figure 4 - Band saw rough cut

Then the block was marked again to show which areas need to be removed by hand with a razor saw. (Figs. 5,6)

Figure 5 - Marking block for cuts by hand

Figure 6 - First hand cuts

Finally, I used the razor saw to further refine the front of the car. A drill press and a carving knife were used to create a more defined cockpit area. (fig. 7)

Figure 7 - Final rough shape is achieved

The rough shape of the car is finished. I think that's enough for now. One and a half weeks to race day!