Search found 1812 matches

by Darin McGrew
Fri Apr 12, 2019 1:19 pm
Forum: General Car/Truck Racer Topics
Topic: Non-tungsten, non-toxic car
Replies: 16
Views: 25048

Re: Non-tungsten, non-toxic car

BTW, there are still plenty of pre-82 pennies in circulation - a random sampling from my sofa turned up 6 among 32 pennies. :) Another BTW, those pre-82 pennies work better in souvenir penny presses than the modern pennies that are copper-plated zinc. But yes, pennies are easy to use, easy to find,...
by Darin McGrew
Mon Apr 08, 2019 10:16 am
Forum: Software
Topic: Moving a racer after heats have been run
Replies: 9
Views: 19290

Re: Moving a racer after heats have been run

Our Pack and District requires the scout who owns the car to be in uniform, check the car in and race it. In my 35 years of being involved with the Pinewood Derby I have never heard of someone else handling a scouts car. If this was some special circumstance then I would like to bring it up at our ...
by Darin McGrew
Sun Mar 24, 2019 1:18 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: How to build Speedsters favorite car!
Replies: 13
Views: 21167

Re: How to build Speedsters favorite car!

Nice job!

Years ago, I build a Hershey bar car, but that was back when Hershey bars came wrapped in foil, with the paper label wrapped around that.
by Darin McGrew
Fri Mar 22, 2019 1:36 pm
Forum: General Topics
Topic: Tips for winning the SLOWest Car?
Replies: 28
Views: 85003

Re: Tips for winning the SLOWest Car?

The idea could be taken even further by gearing to a flywheel. Yep. That's how those flywheel toys work, where you roll them across the floor or table to spin up the flywheel, and then you set them down. The flywheel keeps spinning, and it's geared to the wheels, so the toy rolls across the surface...
by Darin McGrew
Wed Mar 20, 2019 10:18 am
Forum: General Topics
Topic: Tips for winning the SLOWest Car?
Replies: 28
Views: 85003

Re: Tips for winning the SLOWest Car?

The challenge is to make it to the Finish line but be last in doing so. Absolutely. The most extreme "slow car" would be one with the wheels glued in place. It won't leave the start gate when the pin drops. But it also won't cross the finish line, which is usually a requirement for "...
by Darin McGrew
Mon Mar 18, 2019 11:55 am
Forum: Planning, Preps & Running the Race
Topic: Help Cars Finish!
Replies: 17
Views: 31303

Re: Help Cars Finish!

When we built a new track, we kept a section of the old track specifically to check the cars on registration night. We set it up on a table with one end slightly raised, and encourage the kids to make sure their car will roll down that test section of track before they check them in. But the change ...
by Darin McGrew
Wed Mar 13, 2019 9:52 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Weight placement question
Replies: 16
Views: 21359

Re: Weight placement question

I cut my daughter's car and it weights 2.5 oz. i need help with placing of weights. the design she picked was this. http://i.imgur.com/UwZzP7c.jpg Where is a good place to place weights. I'm guessing that she's planning to run it with the left end as the front, and the right end as the back. If you...
by Darin McGrew
Wed Mar 06, 2019 10:19 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Hello brand new here.
Replies: 122
Views: 152648

Re: Hello brand new here.

My experience with Krytox is that the spin test doesn't last as long as with graphite, but on the track, under load, the cars are at least as fast as with graphite. Plus, it's a lot less messy to have Krytox at our workshops than graphite (which always left a big black mess). But I'm more experience...
by Darin McGrew
Wed Mar 06, 2019 3:43 pm
Forum: Pinewood Derby Times
Topic: Pinewood Derby Times, Volume 18, Issue 12 - March 6, 2019
Replies: 1
Views: 8937

Re: Pinewood Derby Times, Volume 18, Issue 12 - March 6, 2019

That's a nice analysis of Points vs Times. Thanks for including it!
by Darin McGrew
Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:08 am
Forum: General Topics
Topic: Cars jumping 1 lane only
Replies: 9
Views: 15983

Re: Cars jumping 1 lane only

Without examining the track, all I can say is that there's something different about that lane that causes the cars to jump. If you can't figure out what it is by watching cars jump, then maybe you could video a car jumping and watch in slow motion.
by Darin McGrew
Sat Feb 23, 2019 11:37 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Tip: Be careful with weird wheelbases!
Replies: 13
Views: 17929

Re: Tip: Be careful with weird wheelbases!

Is the CSB stockar the same in kit type to the CSB Shape N Race kit with the ears and all! Or is this just a name brand Change to there kit? My understanding is that StocKar Derby is the new trademark owned by CSB, replacing the old Shape N Race Derby trademark, which was apparently owned by the ac...
by Darin McGrew
Fri Feb 22, 2019 2:20 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Tip: Be careful with weird wheelbases!
Replies: 13
Views: 17929

Re: Tip: Be careful with weird wheelbases!

The parts are the StocKar kits. (Not sure what I think of these wheels...I guess they're a step up from the old SNR wheels). We haven't had a derby since CSB switched from Shape N Race to StocKar, and the elementary age program at our church is now Awana, rather than CSB and/or Pioneer Clubs, so if...
by Darin McGrew
Fri Feb 22, 2019 1:36 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Tip: Be careful with weird wheelbases!
Replies: 13
Views: 17929

Re: Tip: Be careful with weird wheelbases!

I find it interesting that they're still using the old Shape N Race Derby name rather than the new StocKar Derby name. Presumably, they're getting their kits from the Shape N Race company rather than from CSB Ministries.
by Darin McGrew
Thu Feb 21, 2019 12:14 am
Forum: General Topics
Topic: Pinewood Derby Rules
Replies: 4
Views: 10402

Re: Pinewood Derby Rules

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by Darin McGrew
Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:27 am
Forum: Pinewood Derby Times
Topic: Pinewood Derby Times, Volume 18, Issue 11 - February 20, 2019
Replies: 1
Views: 8604

Re: Pinewood Derby Times, Volume 18, Issue 11 - February 20, 2019

I hope that you find this information useful. If you have a unique way of judging cars for design awards, please share your method with me. We used to have judges rate cars in various attributes (e.g., creativity, detail, craftsmanship, etc.) and then we'd sum the scores to get a car's total score....