Pinewood Derby Workshop Suggestion

So recently I got sucked into two different Pinewood Derby races for kids and went to a Boy Scout workshop for. Along the way, I found out that Frisco Makerspace has one coming up and charging $20 which includes entry to the Discovery Center next door.

So just to help our space out, was wanting to suggest we think about doing something like this too! Just to bring in a bit of income and exposure to our space.

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Hmm maybe something to consider for the future Maker Pinewood Hill (wood track) Derby: Where the cars must go UPHILL using only certain classes of power: Wind-up springs, rubber bands or the small CO2 cylinders.

Same track could be used for regular Pinewood Derby but with a change: Gravity Defying Cars! Be a good publicity I suppose. Throw a challenge out to other Makerspaces and Universities (let the Engineers see if they can outdo creative makers.).

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There are better places specifically tailored to kids that would be a better fit for this. Spark! downtown and, as you mentioned, the Frisco Discovery Center. But thank you for the idea!!

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Some interesting reading from when this was suggested previously:
https://talk.dallasmakerspace.org/t/pinewood-derby-rules-and-information-september-17th/11165
Some familiar faces in here, I think…
https://talk.dallasmakerspace.org/t/pinewood-derby-results/12648

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As a former Den Leader and Scoutmaster with 6 sons, we spent a lot of time making derby cars and helping others make theirs. We did all of the cutting on the bandsaw and table saw, and they did all the sanding, polishing, prep and paint. I enjoy making them and racing myself and still hold the pack speed record to this day.

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that was a really fun thing to put together and I was really pleased with the turnout but I expected more participation from makers. We only did it the once. Possibly it could be brought back as a fun little maker thing.

I think if people got bricks out back we could make fire explosion alley.

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Been there. Miss those days.

2AE032FA-7A9C-4AB2-90D0-E9179B83815A 4EF1CE75-F308-4452-B7F7-5BE7F63D5A8E 247FC697-48FC-40E0-A49C-9906C140974B 007181AD-891B-4C61-B2D5-196A278ACA3D

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One of the more fun activities we did here at the space.

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I remember helping the boys complete years ago in Cub scouts. Jacob was so disappointed his car did not win (I once described Jacob as hyper competitive. He corrected me. He said he was more than that).

@pinewoodnut is one of the people that makes these events possible across DFW. He brings the track and game to many venues.

What kind of game could we bring here to the Space?

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I’ve never seen derby cars like that before. How fun!

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What about holding our own races? There’s no reason it couldn’t be fun for all ages. We could get more permissive with our rule sets for adult oriented classes. Obviously, we probably wouldn’t want to allow things to get too outlandish, but turning wheels, polishing axles, 3 wheel rail riders…

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We have and we should!

Put it together!

Hint go to the links above and a good amount of the work has been ironed out (or at least started) for you.

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I could be convinced to bring my track back for another race. I need to work around the Cub Scout events I have planned for the next 2 months, but after that we could do another race. I think moving it to the warehouse in the expansion would give us a lot more room. I’d like to get more people involved this time.

As for the different rules, I’m game for almost anything that wont potentially break the timer. That rules out most co2 powered cars, but still leaves plenty of room for gravity and motorized cars.

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I like the idea of trying to get most everybody into a single class, but maybe having a near-stock, a stock-size and weight gravity open, and an outlaw class would provide some options while allowing some creative competition. I’m going to start a new thread to poll interest and look for more input.

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When my kid was in Cub Scouts, they had a “by the rules” class, which was limited to Cubs, with strict weight limit, stock kit wheels and axles only, etc. Then there was the “open class” which Cubs and anyone else could enter. Lots of dads and older siblings. Higher weight limit, wheel and axle mods, etc. allowed. And inevitably some kid with a janky “by the rules” car would beat their dad’s spiffed up model in a challenge race at the end. :smiley:

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(don’t let those dads in Troop 890 / Packs 890/891 in Lake Highlands hear about this, they’ll come for blood)

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I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Many years ago, there was a weaving business in McKinney called Woolenworks. The owners had befriended the owners of a shuttle and loom manufacturer in the Pacific Northwest. They found out that the loom company staff had shuttle car derby races, using vehicles carved from shuttle blanks.

The Woolenworks women decided they wanted to host a Texas version of the ShuttleCar Races, so convinced the loom company to donate some blanks for the Texas racing neophytes to work with. It sounded like fun to me, so I signed up and recruited my woodworking friend Ed Meeks to help me with the fabrication.

As I recall, we had pretty stringent rules regarding weight, length, width and height, as they had arranged for a bonafide pinecar track. But even with the rules, people were still able to get pretty crazy with the designs. I still have my cars from the two years the event took place.

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