Pack 373's Pinewood Derby Pages
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Assembly

The order in which you assemble your car is very important.

The first thing you want to do is apply any graphics or stickers to the body of the car.

Next, you will attach any accessories such as drivers, steering wheels, roll bars, tail pipes, engine replicas, spoilers, etc.

The last things to attach to your car are the wheel and axle assemblies.  This is a critical step.  If they are installed incorrectly, the car will not run straight, or the wheels will bind against the body of the car.

Before inserting the axles into the axle slots on your racer's body, put a little squirt of graphite powder onto your fingertip.  Rub this graphite onto the body area surrounding the axle slot.  Repeat this step for each axle slot.  This addition of graphite will reduce the effects of friction when the wheel contacts the body of your racer.

Tip:  To maximize the amount of graphite retained on the racer's body, put a very small dot of white glue on your finger and wipe it over the body area around the axle slot.  Be very sparing with the glue, as you only want a sticky spot around the axle slot, not a glob of glue.  Apply graphite to the tacky area and allow to dry.  When the glue has dried (about 10-20 minutes), gently blow away the excess graphite.  What remains is a permanently bonded bed of graphite.  It will eventually wear away, but this will not happen for a few hundred trips down the track.

Slide in the axle and wheel assembly into the axle slot.  Gently tap the axle into place using a small tack hammer.  Be careful not to damage the wheel or bend the axle.  Do not drive the axle all the way in so as to contact the wheel with the body.  Use a spacer such as a Wheel Alignment Tool (available from BSA), or some other gauge.  The ideal gap should be about the thickness of a dime (one millimeter).

Once the wheels have been attached, liberally reapply graphite to the wheels and axles.  Spin the wheels to bed the graphite.

Check to see if the car rolls straight.  Gently roll the car along a smooth floor.  If it travels in a straight line for about 10 feet, no further action is necessary.  If the car wanders to the left or right, check to see which wheel or wheels need adjusting.  Make adjustments and test again.  Once the racer is able to travel 10 feet in a relatively straight line, you can lock the axles in place with glue.

The preferred glues to use for locking the axles in place are white glue or carpenter's glue.  Apply a drop of glue in the area between the axle tips in the slot and allow it to spread out into the slot.  Allow this glue to dry for about 30 minutes before applying the next drop.  Do not use so much glue on the axles that the glue runs out onto the wheels.  Ideally, there should be a gap of 2-3 millimeters between the edge of the racer's body and the edge of the glue.  Allow this glue to dry thoroughly overnight.

Tip:  Rough up the leading-end of the axle with sand paper or a file.  Placing one or two small cuts in the axle end with a carbide cutting wheel in your Dremel or drill also works well, if you are careful to make the cuts very small (barely visible).  This will provide a better gripping surface for the glue, and the axle will be less likely to pull out or move around in the slot during a long race.

Your Pinewood Derby Racer is now finished.  Place your racer in your box and leave it there until race day.  Leave the racer in an inverted (wheels up) position so the weight of the racer does not cause the wheels to become misaligned.  On race day, reapply and bed in another liberal amount of graphite.  

Tip:  Explain to your Scout that the completed racer cannot be played with, handled too much, or rolled around on the floor.  Doing these things seem very tempting, especially to Tiger Scouts, but we must curb their desires.  Playing with their racer could damage it beyond repair.  Five minutes of fun on the kitchen floor or driveway could cause major disappointments on race day.  After your car has been retired from this year's racing, the Scout can play with it all he wants.  I do however encourage you to display the cars on a plaque, in a case, or use it as a trophy top.



Track Specifications