I didn't start the fire

[whodathunkit]

But this older topic on Hard wood Derby cars https://www.derbytalk.com/viewtopic.php ... ars#p69936
Well.. let's just say it ignited me to try a Hard Wood Cheery frame and balsa fender car..( I'm still in the works shaping of the fenders and so on.)

Some Cheery wood I had milled down on a planer to 1/4'' thick:
The small boards seen in the back of the image are aged walnut.


You all may recognize the pattern .. however this one I have drawn out.


Okay so I have a few expensive axle jigs and I'm not going to show you the one I'll be using.. just a little something to look out for with the drill bit.

That little something that's not good before drilling your next axle hole with hard woods. I've had this happen with pine as well.

A small wire bush makes short work of cleaning the bit.


Okay in this image you'll see every thing taped up and ready to cut out on the scroll saw.. yes I'm going to stack cut the balsa fender out.
The blades are skip tooth #2 20 TPI for tight turns and smooth cuts on the cheery wood frame.. for balsa some sanding is needed.


The frame images:



The Balsa fenders images:

A little bit a rough cut is seen.
The next image is of the front fender and to show just how tight of turn you can make with a thin blade.


Gluing up the un sanded balsa fenders:

Not to bad of wheel gaps:


How did it come out for weight with wheels on the car:
28 grams = to 0.987671 ounce 1 oz is = to 28.4 grams.

With out wheels:

0.5 oz. = to 14.1748 grams scale shows 15 g.


Well that's it for this Cheery / Balsa build so far.

[Loud2ns]

Nice contrast from the body to the fenders. Are you going to put the ply under the weight pocket and use clear tape on top? Kind of a look under the hood car. That would look pretty sweet.

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[whodathunkit]

Are you going to put the ply under the weight pocket and use clear tape on top? Kind of a look under the hood car. That would look pretty sweet.
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You know Load2ns that's not a bad idea because my ply cover is basswood 1/32 and there is some flex to it while on top.
It just might be stronger with some 2.3 ounce large tungsten bars spanning across it as well.. instead of the cubes.

However this one might end up in the trash.. I'm not liking how lose the back axles fit hoping to tighten them up with a little bit of water dripped in.
We'll have to see what I can do to solve that issue. Or it's trash and ill start over!

[Eagle]

Whoda I doubt that will work. One of the problems with hardwood and plastic is you don't have that squeeze on the axles. They are almost always too tight or too loose. They are rarely just right.
But, don't toss it. There are other options.

[whodathunkit]

One of the problems with hardwood and plastic is you don't have that squeeze on the axles. They are almost always too tight or too loose. They are rarely just right.
But, don't toss it. There are other options.

Thanks Eagle, yeah I know what your saying I'd hate to toss it.. I 'v built a few pinewood frame with hard wood fender cars .
This one will be my first hardwood frame car with balsa fenders so I'm going to keep on working on it.
Started shaping on the fenders somewhat I still have more to go on them however.

Got it down to 13 grams or 0.459 ounce with what little shaping I done so far on the fenders.

[Vitamin K]

I do love watching a Whoda build happen. It's like seeing the work of a fine surgeon.

[Loud2ns]

Are you going to put the ply under the weight pocket and use clear tape on top? Kind of a look under the hood car. That would look pretty sweet.
Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

You know Load2ns that's not a bad idea because my ply cover is basswood 1/32 and there is some flex to it while on top.
It just might be stronger with some 2.3 ounce large tungsten bars spanning across it as well.. instead of the cubes.

However this one might end up in the trash.. I'm not liking how lose the back axles fit hoping to tighten them up with a little bit of water dripped in.
We'll have to see what I can do to solve that issue. Or it's trash and ill start over!

I like and use the 1/64 birch ply and coat it both sides with thin CA glue. You could coat your basswood also to give a bit more rigidity.
As for the loose axle holes, I use Elmer's glue in the hole to hold the axles. It's easy to break the seal with a twist of the screwdriver on the axlehead slot.

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[mclewis_13]

Is there a reason you aren't extending the wheel base?
Is that part of your rule set?
How are you able to use something other than pine for the body?

Could you send me a detailed layout for the ladder body? dimensions etc?

Some other questions I have, where should I get pine wood for blocks. I am getting tired of the shoddy wood from AWANA, and looking for a better solution.

Also, where can I get wholesale tungsten for weights? In cubes and bars. Buying it 2-3-4 oz at a time is for the birds.

[whodathunkit]

I do love watching a Whoda build happen. It's like seeing the work of a fine surgeon.
[/quote

Thanks VK, I do work in a hospital you know..
But I’m no surgeon.

Loud2ns Thanks for the ply info and idea to hold the axles.

[whodathunkit]

Is there a reason you aren't extending the wheel base?
Is that part of your rule set?
How are you able to use something other than pine for the body?

( I'm Just making this hardwood frame for fun it has the stock BSA wheel base.) and yes I could race this in are packs adult outlaw class.

Could you send me a detailed layout for the ladder body? dimensions etc?

(Turbo derby has this pattern in several different wheel base’s In his free down load E book.)
https://www.turboderby.com/shop-1

Some other questions I have, where should I get pine wood for blocks. I am getting tired of the shoddy wood from AWANA, and 9looking for a better solution.

( Have you tried maximum velocity for there kit block packs with wheels and axles.)
https://www.amazon.com/Maximum-Velocity ... B07ZMPLNDT

Also, where can I get wholesale tungsten for weights? In cubes and bars. Buying it 2-3-4 oz at a time is for the birds.

The bars I have came from max v.
I don’t recall wholesalers for tungsten pinewood derby weights but you might try here they can do custom orders as well.
https://shop.tungsten.com/hobbies-and-s ... HoQAvD_BwE

Then Maybe try txchemist.
https://www.txchemist.com/


Typed in above to your questions.
Whoda.

[whodathunkit]

When you guys sand on your balsa fenders .. what grits of paper do you use?

For hard balsa/light ply.
Would you start with 180 ,220, 320, 400 to finish.

Medium balsa.
Would you Start with 220,320,400,600,800 to finish.

Contest balsa.
Would you Start with 320,400,600,800 to finish.

I’m I even in the ball park with my thoughts on sand paper grits for sanding balsa?
I'm just using 220 right now to shape the fenders with and not liking the fuzz in the first steps on sanding my fenders smooth before coating with ca glue.

[FatSebastian]

Also, where can I get wholesale tungsten for weights? In cubes...

If you have an ebay account, seller gjr615 appears to be a vendor supplier that also sells direct to the public that I have used. Quantity prices per ounce are about as close to wholesale as I've seen, and shipping is almost always free. Tungsten I have purchased from there is about the purest (highest density) I've encountered - beware that some discount sellers offer alloys as low as 90% W.

[FatSebastian]

( Have you tried maximum velocity for there kit block packs with wheels and axles.)
https://www.amazon.com/Maximum-Velocity ... B07ZMPLNDT

@mclewis_13: The MV blocks are some of the best I've used personally. But I'd suggest purchasing directly from the maximum-velocity.com website, which sells blocks individually, because it is cheaper and the other MV kit components may not be AWANA compatible. Also, these are technically BSA conforming; IIRC AWANA blocks might be 1/4" taller (and maybe have slightly different slot locations), but that probably won't matter once the block is turned into a car.

Although I haven't used an AWANA kit for several years now, I recall the quality of their blocks having a lot of variability historically.

[whodathunkit]

Max v also offers the kit block option 9002 with 3/32 inch axle holes for Awana.
https://www.maximum-velocity.com/produc ... tSEALw_wcB