GRAPHITE GRAPHITE EVERYWHERE.. First tech inspection how do

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Davhamm
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GRAPHITE GRAPHITE EVERYWHERE.. First tech inspection how do

Post by Davhamm »

Wow helped with my first tech inspection for the Girlscouts.

I am being asked to take over next year, and am looking at modifying simplifying the rules.

But how do you handle it when their decorations exceed the length, maybe little plastic lights that make it 1/8" to long, or a foam whale tail?

But the real issue is the MASSIVE amount of over graphite. The tables / our hands were a mess by the end of the night.

I really am contemplating going to a wet lube only can not be running out the wheels rule.

So how do you keep graphite levels to a sane amount.
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Darin McGrew
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Re: GRAPHITE GRAPHITE EVERYWHERE.. First tech inspection how

Post by Darin McGrew »

Davhamm wrote:But how do you handle it when their decorations exceed the length, maybe little plastic lights that make it 1/8" to long, or a foam whale tail?
We don't limit the overall length of the car. We do limit the nose-to-rear-axle distance as part of our "fit the track" rule, but we haven't had any problems with that.

We try to address "fit the track" problems early, during workshops. If cars show up at registration night that don't fit the track, then we help the owners fix the problems. But ultimately, it's up to them to fix the problems before we'll register the cars. Fortunately, this has been rare.
Davhamm wrote:But the real issue is the MASSIVE amount of over graphite. The tables / our hands were a mess by the end of the night.
We switched to Krytox 100 at our workshops a few years ago, but people can still use graphite if they want. But regardless of the lubricant chosen, they have to clean up the excess before we allow them to register the car.
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Re: GRAPHITE GRAPHITE EVERYWHERE.. First tech inspection how

Post by Davhamm »

I like the nose to rear axle limit. Think that will be a keeper for next year.

Now how to get rid of graphite everywhere.
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Stan Pope
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Re: GRAPHITE GRAPHITE EVERYWHERE.. First tech inspection how

Post by Stan Pope »

Davhamm wrote:Now how to get rid of graphite everywhere.
Provide a "clean-up station" at the front end of the inspection line. This is a table covered by a disposable plastic cloth and, maybe, a cardboard pen to help keep the graphite corralled. An inspector can be there to instruct, e.g. Shake it! Wipe off the wheels!

If the car comes to the next inspection station with too much graphite, send 'em back. At each inspection station, the inspector doesn't touch the car. He/she just instructs the owner/driver how to hold the car or where to place the car for inspection, then aims his flashlight and magnifying glass!

This keeps the bulk of the mess focused in two places ... in the clean-up pen and on the girl scout. And any self respecting girl scout is going to clean herself up pretty quickly!
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Re: GRAPHITE GRAPHITE EVERYWHERE.. First tech inspection how

Post by Speedster »

I'm going to guess most BSA rules state the overall length of the car is 7" and usually has to fit in a box or some other measurement device. This is how you solve it. Take a meat cleaver with you. If they have a decoration hanging past the 7" mark, WHACK IT OFF!!! Oops. These are young ladies. Don't do that. I like Darin's suggestion better.
Our District's graphite rule is, graphite only on the axle/wheel hub assembly. No graphite showing on the outside of the wheel. Graphite will not fall off when tapped lightly on the table. The inspectors have a white paper towel on the table and tap the car gently 2 times. I don't particularly like it but I think the tap is not hard enough to affect wheel alignment. This year is the 1st year for using graphite for the past 10 years. We race in a high school gym and it's a new gym. If the cleaning people find graphite on their new gym floor I suspect scout leaders will be looking for a new place to race next year.
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ah8tk
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Re: GRAPHITE GRAPHITE EVERYWHERE.. First tech inspection how

Post by ah8tk »

We use white printer paper, have them set the car down on the paper, roll it forward 2 inches and lift the car. If the paper is fouled its back to the garbage can to shake off the excess graphite. Then they can try it again. Then the car can be inspected.

Hands still get colored by graphite, but it is much better. You don’t end up leaving with graphite all over you.

Didn’t need to use this very much, you could even use ½ sheets of printer paper.

This also has the added benefit of keeping the track cleaner, longer. Still wouldn’t mind if they did away with graphite. But excess oil is worse (why is too much still not enough for most racers?)
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Re: GRAPHITE GRAPHITE EVERYWHERE.. First tech inspection how

Post by gpraceman »

ah8tk wrote:But excess oil is worse (why is too much still not enough for most racers?)
Maybe so, but it is very easy to catch with visual inspection as it will be oozing out of the wheel bores.
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Re: GRAPHITE GRAPHITE EVERYWHERE.. First tech inspection how

Post by Darin McGrew »

gpraceman wrote:
ah8tk wrote:But excess oil is worse (why is too much still not enough for most racers?)
Maybe so, but it is very easy to catch with visual inspection as it will be oozing out of the wheel bores.
Thinking about it, we haven't had problems with excess dripping oil since we started providing Krytox 100 at our workshops. Maybe it's the "wipe off as much as you can" step in the instructions we provide for the Krytox 100.
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