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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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.[/quote]

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.[/quote]

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.  [/quote]

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.[/quote]

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.

[/quote]

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

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