Derby Talk

what i use at check in is lead that comes in the thin sheats flashing. Mike, from where do you get your lead flashing? (5J's thought it should be available locally , but I have not yet identified a convenient local source...) I've bought lead flashing at Home Depot. It comes in a big (heavy and exp...

I've been involved in our district-level races for the last few years. We use two separate tracks and run different age groups in parallel to speed up the event. We've used the PPN schedule for our track, while the fellow who runs the other track uses lane rotation. I started to get some pressure fr...

I picked some up at a local hobby store. I don't know if that's typical or not, though.

/JEP

Rules are made to make sure everyone gets a fair race. Times were set and everyone knew, sorry but that is the way it is. Were the check-in times really set to ensure fairness, or for the convenience of the race crew? IMHO, it's not necessary to encode things like this as rules. Once a policy is pr...

FatSebastian wrote:Does it require you to attach a reflector?

Although it comes with reflective tape, it seems not to require it. As you can sort of see in at least one of the photos, I just darkened the ring edge with marker, except for a small window of bare aluminum.

How well does it workl? Also, does it work continuously like an analog tachometer? I would like to be able to measure, say, the decay rate of spin down. (For example, how much time does it take to go from X RPM to X/2 RPM?) There are definite limitations with this device; one might have to pay more...

I tried building a weighted wood spin ring last year, described in tedious detail here , but wasn't happy with the results. Recently I've been experimenting with this apparatus, based on an aluminum ring I made (I have a mini-lathe now, but didn't last year), and a laser tachometer I found here . ht...

Staging issues are something our pack's never really considered before. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to make some timed runs with a test car on our pack track, and I was surprised how much effect staging really has. For this RR test car, staging the DFW as far away from the rail as possible...

This year our solution to this problem was: award a trophy to every entrant! This really takes the pressure off the desire to spread the awards around. Obviously the added expense is a consideration, but compared to the cost of the big trophies and the other derby expenses, we found the added cost o...

In theory, there's no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is!

I love the alignment jig!

It looks like a clip for binding large paper documents that attaches to the body, yes? Is the cantilever arm just wire, or something else?

Brilliant!

/JEP

Davhamm, I've been having the same thoughts as I read people salivating over what Revell might make. I'd much rather participate in a race in which knowledge and skill, rather than shopping technique, are the relevant advantages.

/JEP

One question - I know some have cut wheels in half to "scope" the bore. I am willing to prep a couple of spares to cut in half to scope, but am wondering what the best way to cut them down the bore. I have a scroll saw and I have a 42 TPI Razor Saw. Speaking for myself, I just ran the whe...

We've used it a little, applying with a brush. It won't correct defects in the underlying finish, but it adds a nice shine. "Easy to apply" is quite an understatement. The quart or so bottle, the smallest I could find, is about a ten-lifetime supply for this purpose. One bottle could serve...

Chucking wheels like this is how we're planning to remove the step on new wheels, but precise concentricity isn't a requirement in that case.