2009 Derby Cars - Moms DB9

[pack529holycross]

So my wife says... I'll pick out a car I like... so she shows me pics of a Lotus and a DB9 - I opted for the DB9 just from a perspective of curves and overall shape - not too dissimilar from the GT40 I'm working on now, so I'm giving it a go... I noticed a few benefits of using the "wafered balsa block" technique - the thicknesses of the sheets I had allowed me to define the grid identical to those measurements, which means as I begin to shape I can ge pretty close to the picture due to the natural divisions between the sheets. I remembered from the GT40 that once I began to shape the sides the grid dissappeared somehow..lol.

feel free to encourage her to use more glue based on the pics below

[sporty]

Atleast you got her working on one.

I have not even gotten that lucky !


Great job mom !!

Sporty

[pwdarchitect]

Looks like a fun car to build and the technique she is using is the way to go. One thing that you might not have considered. BSA wheel diameter might be a little bit larger than what you have in your template/pic.
If this is the case, you could always make wheel wells such that the tires are inset and set within the wells so that you get that perfect stance that is on the DB9. Low and Flow.

Did almost this exact same thing on a Fat Fendered PWD car but used a 4" sq. piece of balsa and hollowed out the entire cavity to add more ballast just where I wanted to get the COM to be spot on.

Now ya just need the flip up head lights.

[pack529holycross]

Looks like a fun car to build and the technique she is using is the way to go. One thing that you might not have considered. BSA wheel diameter might be a little bit larger than what you have in your template/pic.
If this is the case, you could always make wheel wells such that the tires are inset and set within the wells so that you get that perfect stance that is on the DB9. Low and Flow.

Did almost this exact same thing on a Fat Fendered PWD car but used a 4" sq. piece of balsa and hollowed out the entire cavity to add more ballast just where I wanted to get the COM to be spot on.

Now ya just need the flip up head lights.

funny that you say that - I took the image I found, resized it to just over 7" long, printed it out, and wouldn't you know that the wheels match exactly. I am struggling with wheelwells on all of my cars, so I am going to try to do them differently this time- I am going to try to sculpt the body without cutting the wheelwells first, THEN I will cut in - I have had to refill two wheelwells already due to over cutting - so this time I'm trying it differently.

[3 Cub Dad]

Shoot, I don't see anything wrong with the glue! Sometimes I use two or three whole bottles on one car myself!

Awesome getting everyone involved!

3CubDad

[Dad of 3]

I cut the wheel wells from a 3/8 inch plank the proper distance apart. Then using some spare (less desirable) wheels I glue the plank so the wheel wells are in the proper place. Having the wheels in place helps get this right but you do tend to get glue on the wheels. You will lose your sketching but if you have a copy of your paper sketch you can cut it out and re sketch it since you can use the axles as a point of reference. This also allows me to go lower than the block between the wheels to get a more realistic look. Make sure that you taper any part that hangs down so that it won't rub the guide rail. ie make the part that hangs down narrower than the wheels.

[pack529holycross]

Gotcha.... i am stayng away from planks after a real headache last year.... now im using 3" wide balsa planks, glued as a stack, with the pine"skateboard" recessed.... actually the first oneand i did this year ( jr's ironman ) is actually two cars side by side, then sliced to 1/2 height, then the stack, and the entire block hollowed from below. it works better in my opinion with the embedded skateboard simply because you can perform the alignment outside the shell....

[millettbbc]

Wow, what did you offer your wife to get her to work on a derby car? Diamonds, chocolate, back rubs... please do tell! You could make some serious $$$ writing a book on the topic! My wife has always raced a car but she has never touched it.
I look forward to some more great progress pics. Is she doing the dremel work to?
For the wheel wells I do suggest coming up with a way to have 1/2 or 3/8 sides that end up gluing on the main 1 3/4" block after the holes are cut out using a 1 3/8" hole cutting tool. I have made wheel wells both ways and it never turns out the way I want it to when I do them after the fact. I have used a spade bit but perfer a forstner bit.
By gluing the pieces together you will create many lines of glue to dremel through. As you have well discovered, they will sand a bit differently that the wood. If you use a method of gluing vertical side pieces on it will reduce the effect of glue lines on the final product.

[pack529holycross]

Wow, what did you offer your wife to get her to work on a derby car? Diamonds, chocolate, back rubs... please do tell! You could make some serious $$$ writing a book on the topic! My wife has always raced a car but she has never touched it.
I look forward to some more great progress pics. Is she doing the dremel work to?
For the wheel wells I do suggest coming up with a way to have 1/2 or 3/8 sides that end up gluing on the main 1 3/4" block after the holes are cut out using a 1 3/8" hole cutting tool. I have made wheel wells both ways and it never turns out the way I want it to when I do them after the fact. I have used a spade bit but perfer a forstner bit.
By gluing the pieces together you will create many lines of glue to dremel through. As you have well discovered, they will sand a bit differently that the wood. If you use a method of gluing vertical side pieces on it will reduce the effect of glue lines on the final product.

I am specifically staying away from drilling out the sides of the block, simply because its much more difficult to drill from the side than to shape from underneath with the dremel ( for me anyways ) - I used a keyhole saw on a few blocks and realized you still have to shape anyways, so wy risk ripping up your piece on the drill press.

I will pass along the words of encouragement to my wife... she laughed at the glue comments!

Nicholas

[GravityRacer]

White glue is like icing on a cake, right? The more the better! And squeeze out is way better than a dry joint. Boy, I wish MY wife wanted to build a car...she sits in front of the sewing machine all day instead.

[pack529holycross]

More pics from today and yesterday

[GravityRacer]

You guys are artists!

[millettbbc]

You guys are dremel maniacs! You certainly have more patience and skill than I. By now I would have pulled out the band saw... which I just bought this week Things are shaping up well.

[pack529holycross]

You guys are dremel maniacs! You certainly have more patience and skill than I. By now I would have pulled out the band saw... which I just bought this week Things are shaping up well.

well.. I have the dremel chucked in the trusty Workmate Workbench, sticking out and up at about a 30% angle to the surface. Then I can pull the body accross the sanding bit in a variety of ways. This is my first time doing this with balsa, but after three other cars Im starting to get the hang of it.

I am no expert, but what I have learned so far is this:

1. you have to get a good, high res pic of the profile of the car, and make a grid where the horizontal lines are the same as the balsa strip thickness. The biggest benefit is that you have a line through the entire car at each level. As you remove materials, you can use these natural lines to keep on track.
2. once you draw that on the side of the block, you remove the excess top portions
3. you use a top view to define the side contours, and roughly remove that material ( I have started with the front end each time, and it seems to work well
4. you have to define the max width of the car ( my balsa is 3" wide, but I like that it lets me work my way down to the correct max width ).
5. I redrew the details of the body lines back onto the car several times as you can see, to help visualize where I need to shave next.
6. I went to google.com, typed in type of car, switched to images, then changed the "image size" drop down box to "extra large" - this will gaurantee that the images have enough detail to use as a guide.
7. What I personally have focused on is identifying a single surface plane, relative to the block, and defined that plane through sanding. Usually I do the front fenders, then the rear bumper/transition to the rear wheels area, then the sides/rockerpanels, roofline transition to trunkline, rear fenders, hood, windshield/side windows, wheel wells, body details.

[ohiofitter]

Looks like moms got skills