Where can I get a car cut for the Pinewood Derby (Scouts)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so strange. When I was a child we took my fathers hand saw and other tools from the garage and figured it out as it was the job of the scout, not the scouts parent. Explains a lot.

Aren't you wonderful. That's pretty sad your parents would not help. That's pretty sad you wouldn't help your kids. That explains a lot. Not everyone has tools or knows how to use them.

Oh, please. I agree with PP that the boys are not learning as much now that the dads all think that they should just take it to a woodworker to do it for them. I think it's ridiculous that all these 7 year olds are bringing in professional cut cars. That's how you end up with a generation of people that don't own tools or know how to use them.

You can buy a miter saw and box at Home Depot for like $15. Then put the car block in the box and have your kid saw back and forth, back and forth, until what was once a block becomes a wedge shape. That's what my son has done for the past 3 years. He does the work, not me, but I taught him how to use the miter box and roughly supervised him doing it. Then he sands it down. So he learns how to use a hand saw, miter box, and sand paper (e.g., start with rough grit, work with grain, move to finer grit) and the value of his own manual labor. If you have a drill, you can use it to drill holes in the bottom to fill with lead weights to make the car go faster.

I don't think the issue is dads.

The Pinewood derby is one of the biggest father/son activities in scouts. Even dads who don't do anything with their scout will work with him on his pinewood derby car.

From my years of observations over at least a dozen pinewood derby events, all the way to district level, the people who don't have tools and need to bring their car to be cut are moms (single, spouse deployed, widow, etc) not dads.

So don't slam dads for this. They are building with their kids.

Don't slam moms for this. They are doing the best they can, especially if they are solo.

OP here is a hint. Every year at least one dad will race the block of wood right out of the box. It often wins a lot of races. If you can't find someone to help cut it, use the block as a base and go with something creative and artistic. At district, the best cars are the ones competing for artistry awards. There are some really creative scouts out there.

There are also trophies for things like most creative, best scout themed car, innovative and military. Your son could try for ones of those trophies instead of speed.

Also, be sure the wheels are balanced. If they are crooked, the car will be slow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so strange. When I was a child we took my fathers hand saw and other tools from the garage and figured it out as it was the job of the scout, not the scouts parent. Explains a lot.

Aren't you wonderful. That's pretty sad your parents would not help. That's pretty sad you wouldn't help your kids. That explains a lot. Not everyone has tools or knows how to use them.

Oh, please. I agree with PP that the boys are not learning as much now that the dads all think that they should just take it to a woodworker to do it for them. I think it's ridiculous that all these 7 year olds are bringing in professional cut cars. That's how you end up with a generation of people that don't own tools or know how to use them.

You can buy a miter saw and box at Home Depot for like $15. Then put the car block in the box and have your kid saw back and forth, back and forth, until what was once a block becomes a wedge shape. That's what my son has done for the past 3 years. He does the work, not me, but I taught him how to use the miter box and roughly supervised him doing it. Then he sands it down. So he learns how to use a hand saw, miter box, and sand paper (e.g., start with rough grit, work with grain, move to finer grit) and the value of his own manual labor. If you have a drill, you can use it to drill holes in the bottom to fill with lead weights to make the car go faster.

I don't think the issue is dads.

The Pinewood derby is one of the biggest father/son activities in scouts. Even dads who don't do anything with their scout will work with him on his pinewood derby car.

From my years of observations over at least a dozen pinewood derby events, all the way to district level, the people who don't have tools and need to bring their car to be cut are moms (single, spouse deployed, widow, etc) not dads.

So don't slam dads for this. They are building with their kids.

Don't slam moms for this. They are doing the best they can, especially if they are solo.

OP here is a hint. Every year at least one dad will race the block of wood right out of the box. It often wins a lot of races. If you can't find someone to help cut it, use the block as a base and go with something creative and artistic. At district, the best cars are the ones competing for artistry awards. There are some really creative scouts out there.

There are also trophies for things like most creative, best scout themed car, innovative and military. Your son could try for ones of those trophies instead of speed.

Also, be sure the wheels are balanced. If they are crooked, the car will be slow.

Or we could try not to slam anyone for it. Different people have different skills. My Pack has a lot of people with the tools who have offered to help so I didn't even think that other Packs were not the same way. I am going to be interested to see the different entries at the race tomorrow.

Hopefully the OP is able to get a car and bring their Scout to the event.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so strange. When I was a child we took my fathers hand saw and other tools from the garage and figured it out as it was the job of the scout, not the scouts parent. Explains a lot.

Aren't you wonderful. That's pretty sad your parents would not help. That's pretty sad you wouldn't help your kids. That explains a lot. Not everyone has tools or knows how to use them.

Oh, please. I agree with PP that the boys are not learning as much now that the dads all think that they should just take it to a woodworker to do it for them. I think it's ridiculous that all these 7 year olds are bringing in professional cut cars. That's how you end up with a generation of people that don't own tools or know how to use them.

You can buy a miter saw and box at Home Depot for like $15. Then put the car block in the box and have your kid saw back and forth, back and forth, until what was once a block becomes a wedge shape. That's what my son has done for the past 3 years. He does the work, not me, but I taught him how to use the miter box and roughly supervised him doing it. Then he sands it down. So he learns how to use a hand saw, miter box, and sand paper (e.g., start with rough grit, work with grain, move to finer grit) and the value of his own manual labor. If you have a drill, you can use it to drill holes in the bottom to fill with lead weights to make the car go faster.

I don't think the issue is dads.

The Pinewood derby is one of the biggest father/son activities in scouts. Even dads who don't do anything with their scout will work with him on his pinewood derby car.

From my years of observations over at least a dozen pinewood derby events, all the way to district level, the people who don't have tools and need to bring their car to be cut are moms (single, spouse deployed, widow, etc) not dads.

So don't slam dads for this. They are building with their kids.

Don't slam moms for this. They are doing the best they can, especially if they are solo.

OP here is a hint. Every year at least one dad will race the block of wood right out of the box. It often wins a lot of races. If you can't find someone to help cut it, use the block as a base and go with something creative and artistic. At district, the best cars are the ones competing for artistry awards. There are some really creative scouts out there.

There are also trophies for things like most creative, best scout themed car, innovative and military. Your son could try for ones of those trophies instead of speed.

Also, be sure the wheels are balanced. If they are crooked, the car will be slow.

Or we could try not to slam anyone for it. Different people have different skills. My Pack has a lot of people with the tools who have offered to help so I didn't even think that other Packs were not the same way. I am going to be interested to see the different entries at the race tomorrow.

Hopefully the OP is able to get a car and bring their Scout to the event.

Our pack had a 2 hour cut/sand but not help put together for kids. Nothing else outside it.

[Anonymous]

Ace Hardware on King Street in Old Town. Had my son’s cut there 2 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Reston Community Center has a wood shop and they have sessions where Scouts can come in a cut their cars. Check your local center to see if they have something similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is so strange. When I was a child we took my fathers hand saw and other tools from the garage and figured it out as it was the job of the scout, not the scouts parent. Explains a lot.

x10000

This sums up this thread, and this area, nicely. Not for better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so strange. When I was a child we took my fathers hand saw and other tools from the garage and figured it out as it was the job of the scout, not the scouts parent. Explains a lot.

x10000

This sums up this thread, and this area, nicely. Not for better.

Knock it off.

We have a house full of tools, but a lot of people don't.

If you want to slam modern parents, start your own thread.

This one is for helping people.

[Anonymous]

Geez! So much judgement here from the anonymous. Not everyone has tools... or a father...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so strange. When I was a child we took my fathers hand saw and other tools from the garage and figured it out as it was the job of the scout, not the scouts parent. Explains a lot.

Aren't you wonderful. That's pretty sad your parents would not help. That's pretty sad you wouldn't help your kids. That explains a lot. Not everyone has tools or knows how to use them.

Oh, please. I agree with PP that the boys are not learning as much now that the dads all think that they should just take it to a woodworker to do it for them. I think it's ridiculous that all these 7 year olds are bringing in professional cut cars. That's how you end up with a generation of people that don't own tools or know how to use them.

You can buy a miter saw and box at Home Depot for like $15. Then put the car block in the box and have your kid saw back and forth, back and forth, until what was once a block becomes a wedge shape. That's what my son has done for the past 3 years. He does the work, not me, but I taught him how to use the miter box and roughly supervised him doing it. Then he sands it down. So he learns how to use a hand saw, miter box, and sand paper (e.g., start with rough grit, work with grain, move to finer grit) and the value of his own manual labor. If you have a drill, you can use it to drill holes in the bottom to fill with lead weights to make the car go faster.

You clearly don' have woodworking experience. A miter saw is not very good for these things. There are far better saws for doing the job... if you have a drill... oh my, you don't get it do you. (coming from someone who owns almost every tool there is). You can barely do anything with just that.

A miter saw will do *a* job, sheesh. If you don't have the tools or time/money for a workshop, it passes ok. Sure, it'd be amazing to have parents with a fully stocked workshop, but...

[Anonymous]

Camp Snyder is another option for Pinewood Derby workshops. I am a mom who loves tools and has a background in physics. I have a son with mild cerebral palsy and little depth perception that I would rather him not handle a driven blade of any sort, if I can help it. He picks a reasonable design, does all of the sanding, car cleaning, cleaning up after my cutting, and painting. I do the fine tuning. I went over the science behind the shape of the car, friction, and energy, the type and placement of weights, and the honing of the wheels and axles. There are some very helpful videos out there. My other son is 7 in second grade and he's not old enough to handle any blade yet other than a butter knife.

[Anonymous]

This will do the trick. Nine bucks at Lowe’s.