Wheel hub ??

[keithg30]

Ok got a question to ask ...At our BSA we are not allowed to cone the hub....Ok here is the question....Since we are not allowed to do that I used a dremel to cut the wood around the axle hole for less friction ..I took it easy and didn't go to an extreme with descent results...Was wandering just how much wood you guys and gals think that I should leave to keep the wood around the hub from busting.....I was thinking about takeing the next one to an extreme and then putting clear fingernail polish on the wood around it to make it a bit harder ...What do you all think ???

[Stan Pope]

See thread at http://derbytalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=79 ... ody+dremel
A tool number is given in the last post of that thread.

[keithg30]

THanks a-lot stan........Still new here and trying to figure this all out . I want my son to have a chance to get some respect. He is Very short for his age and also overweight...Lets put it this way he is 8 and he can wear my jeans ....LOL OH well he is playing football and maybe he can use that to his adv....But anyway he is tired and I as well . Of not getting any respect so we are trying to make him the best that he can be at something and maybe this is the one ...I am trying to teach him to pick something and put everything you have into it and do the best that you can and earn some respect...so we are going full out trying everything we can think off...AND the best part is that he is having fun building cars and spending time with me . Which we don't get to do alot of seeing as how I only get to see him every other weekend...

[doct1010]

Words of wisdom, very much in line with Cub Scout ethic to do your best. However, a word of caution. I would not want my sons self esteem to hinge on a PWD race. I think the time spent together is of far greater import than the outcome. Should he trophy great! Should he not, the experience with Dad should be what is remembered not the loss. My two cents.

[emptyd]

...a word of caution. I would not want my sons self esteem to hinge on a PWD race.

I agree. This issue can quickly become an issue of faith. What defines the answer to your son's question "who am I?". Is it the "respect" he does or does not get from his peers? I hope not. That is a fickle thing, and can become a tool in the hands of his enemies to direct his behavior toward what they desire.

An agnostic (or non-faith based) answer to his question might be related to a self image derived from self alone. But even that falls short IMO.

The real answer to the question is another question - "Who does God say I am?" And that is an answer that, in Jesus Christ, is filled with hope, value, worth, peace, and a truckload of other good things. God spent more to buy you than has ever been paid for anything. He "spent" his own son to buy you - and that makes you quite valuable indeed.

This is the lesson I aim for my children to understand: "What others think of you, even what your parents think of you, must be a distant second to what God says about you in the love letter he wrote to you - the Bible."

IMO

[parrot_racing]

Hey keithg, I have a son who is the smallest in his grade and has been since kindergarten. He is in second grade now and it can be tough for us parents to see kids get picked on, whether they are our kids or not. I kinda took a step back last year year and let him "figure it out" on his own. Turns out he is really a smart kid and one that excels in baseball. I think that by not pushing him or forcing anything on him, he just kinda found his way and is still the smallest kid by far, but alot happier knowing that his size doesn't make him inferior. He gained alot of confidence from his tough times. Don't let his pinewood derby define who he is, you may lose, so what, find something else and give that a shot too.
Good luck. Been there.

[keithg30]

Thanks for all the input guys....I do understand what you are all saying....NO I dont want this to define who he is . I want him to try all the different things that young kids try and he is ...He has done the baseball , football , and is now doing all 3 ..He donesn't really excell at the baseball ..!! LOL OHH well he has fun ...He does do pretty good on the football and has a blast doing it ...He is now also into the BSA ..And loving every min. of it ....We did the Boat reg... last summer and won best looking but not so good in the race ...And now we are into the pinewood derby and he had a blast ...He designed the car and sanded the car and helped paint the car so he really did do alot of the work ...We won pack fairly easy . The smile on his face was worth it all ..Then we went to district with the car and got 5th ....Again , once I explained to him that 5th was noting to sneeze at at that level and esp seeing as how it was his first year....It is his choice to try to go all the way next year . I am going to back him on the %100 and do everything that I can to help...I have told him that we will do all we can but if we dont win that it is just a learning exp and that we will learn more everytime we race ...I want to back him but not push him ...And I am not going to be a dad that does the car and then hands it to him and say here you go now go win ...I want this to be a chance for the 2 of us to learn and spend time together doing something that he has fun doing...Like I said before this is about all that I can do for him right now ...This is a cheap sport ( OR CAN BE LOL ) so I can afford to do what I can for and with him ( WITHIN THE RULES ) Since I am out of a job right now I am glad he didn't want to get into something that I couldn't back him ..!!! LOL Thanks again guys