Stock Block
- millettbbc
- Master Pine Head
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Stock Block
Okay, so last year I had talked about building a "sleeper" car and calling it the "Stock Block". I have begun the masterpiece. The idea is to make a car that looks like a block right out of the box but is designed for speed. I know the aerodynamics is against me but I hope to have everything else perfect to make up for it. If I will it will be hilarious, if I lose I'll look like an idiot. Either way: I'm having fun.
Here is the top and bottom seperate. You can see that the top is actually make of thin sheets of balsa from hobby lobby.
Here is a similar shot but the cover is the other way up.
Here it is in transition.
Here it is put together - Top view.
Here is the bottom when put together.
I am open to any ideas to make this thing fast other than the usual.
Here is the top and bottom seperate. You can see that the top is actually make of thin sheets of balsa from hobby lobby.
Here is a similar shot but the cover is the other way up.
Here it is in transition.
Here it is put together - Top view.
Here is the bottom when put together.
I am open to any ideas to make this thing fast other than the usual.
Last edited by millettbbc on Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
PWD: The bug everyone catches and no one wants to let go.
- Rod Turnbull
- Master Pine Head
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Re: Stock Block
Have you considered Pixie Dust?
- millettbbc
- Master Pine Head
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Re: Stock Block
Great idea! ... and while it goes down the track I'll hold up a picture of a cheeseburger to ensure happy thoughts!
PWD: The bug everyone catches and no one wants to let go.
- gpraceman
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Re: Stock Block
Reminds me of my "Gold Brick" car.
http://grandprix-race-central.com/modul ... itemId=768
It won 1st place in speed in the Open division. You can't see the bottom of the car, so looks can be deceiving. There's very little wood there. I did use a bit of balsa in the rear, underneath, to bring the weights down more to the axle plane.
http://grandprix-race-central.com/modul ... itemId=768
It won 1st place in speed in the Open division. You can't see the bottom of the car, so looks can be deceiving. There's very little wood there. I did use a bit of balsa in the rear, underneath, to bring the weights down more to the axle plane.
Randy Lisano
Romans 5:8
Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
Romans 5:8
Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
- millettbbc
- Master Pine Head
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Re: Stock Block
Thanks for sharing g-man. this is encouraging to know it can certainly be done. I am hope to have as good of results as you did.
PWD: The bug everyone catches and no one wants to let go.
- Pinewood Daddy
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- Location: Wallingford, Connecticut
Re: Stock Block
I made a Block car a few years ago. I cut a 1/4" slab of pine, milled out pockets for the weight and added a 1/4" balsa wood shell over it.
- millettbbc
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Re: Stock Block
So, how did you do?I made a Block car a few years ago
PWD: The bug everyone catches and no one wants to let go.
- Pinewood Daddy
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Re: Stock Block
It came in second to my extended wheelbase car. It wasn't as fast as I had hoped but I didn't spend much time on prep & alignment. It was fast enough to beat anything else there. I'm going to fix it up and run it in the Open class this year. I ran it with a bunch of other cars we have for untimed races on Tiger Recruitment night last month. Again it beat almost all the cars we've built. A little better prep & alignment should make it a screamer!
- PinewoodTopia
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Re: Stock Block
I have to admit, this is a concept I have not warmed up to yet, perhaps I am to focused on molding the block into something and a majority of my energy is on that process, to remove that, a foreign concept for me to a degree. With that said, I am intregued by what you are doing here, I am really curious to see your results, magnificent as always I am sure.
Out of graphite and sawdust come million $ cars and priceless memories.
- Pinewood Daddy
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Re: Stock Block
The BLOCK car is just an exercise to show that aerodynamics isn't a big part of what makes a fast car. After taking a lot of time to make "cool" looking cars we've made 1/4" slab cars the last 2 years. There are just too many other things (non-PWD related) that need to be done.
- Da Graphite Kid
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Re: Stock Block
I did the same thing only a little differently but basically for the same reason: to show that a pine block can be fast too! When the race schedule would show only two cars racing I would let one of the Cubs pick one of the cars I built to race against. After a year of doing this they got wise and started selecting some of the cars that did not look like they would go so fast. The next year I took a pine block and milled out all of the unneeded wood. Basically it was an empty shell when viewed from below (except for where the axle slots were) but looked like a plain ole’ pine block with wheels on it when viewed from above. I didn’t have any thin balsa sheeting at the time and was really short on building time, so I Dremeled it for a while. The car was picked to race against a few times before the boys figured out that it may look dull, plain and slow but it was smoking fast! I had several comments from the adults there as well. I could have thinned the wood much more than I did but it was all built the night before the race. I’ll have to look on my PC at home to see if I have any pics of it as I destroyed it the next year when I robbed the tungsten out of it for another car.
Da Graphite Kid
Da Graphite Kid
Re: Stock Block
I am wondering what the block ended up weighing before adding any weight?
- FatSebastian
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Re: Stock Block
Apologies, I know this is a very old thread, but I built a "Stock Block" type car not too long ago of the type described by Da Graphite Kid (i.e., a block milled hollow, rather than a plank with a balsa shell, so that it truly mimicked an out-of-the-box block). It was something I always wanted to try. The result weighed just under 1.5 ounces; however, I started with an usually lightweight block (under 3 ounces).
If you divide the weight (mass) of the block by 15-5/16 cu in. (nominal volume of a PWD block), you can estimate the block's average density. You can then predict the weight of the milled-out final block by multiplying that density by the volume of wood expected to remain after milling. My feeling was that at least 3/16" thicknesses on all sides, and 1/4" thicknesses on each side of the axle holes / slots, were needed to maintain structural integrity. Thereby I figured I could never remove more than 2/3 of the wood's weight. Practically speaking, 50% weight reduction is achievable without too much work. One reaches a point where to you don't want to damage the wooden shell by overworking it or thinning it too much...
Last edited by FatSebastian on Mon May 23, 2022 6:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Pinewood Daddy
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Re: Stock Block
WOW!! I haven't posted in over 11 years!!
I'm pretty sure all our cars are in a bin about 4 feet from me, but they are buried from every angle. That's assuming I kept all of them. I was really burned out after 7 years of PWD!! Once I figured out how to make a fast car the challenge was gone. I think I could build a top 3 car in half an hour.
I graduated to fixing vintage acoustic guitars. A bit more challenging. I started fixing them for customers. They aren't something you can get at Walmart or Amazon if I screw it up! I'm getting burned out with that too. I need to learn how to play more.
What does this have to do with PWD?? Every hobby is a challenge. Until you figure out the magic, then it's just a job. And you more on to something else. But I enjoyed the challenge of PWD for a few years.
I'm pretty sure all our cars are in a bin about 4 feet from me, but they are buried from every angle. That's assuming I kept all of them. I was really burned out after 7 years of PWD!! Once I figured out how to make a fast car the challenge was gone. I think I could build a top 3 car in half an hour.
I graduated to fixing vintage acoustic guitars. A bit more challenging. I started fixing them for customers. They aren't something you can get at Walmart or Amazon if I screw it up! I'm getting burned out with that too. I need to learn how to play more.
What does this have to do with PWD?? Every hobby is a challenge. Until you figure out the magic, then it's just a job. And you more on to something else. But I enjoyed the challenge of PWD for a few years.
- FatSebastian
- Pine Head Legend
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Re: Stock Block
About seven years for me. With no more children of racing age, PWD is now more about assisting with an occasional organizational race. It presents different challenges, with different rewards.Pinewood Daddy wrote: ↑Mon May 23, 2022 6:01 pmWOW!! I haven't posted in over 11 years!! .... But I enjoyed the challenge of PWD for a few years.
I checked my numbers and the block was 2.89 oz and the milled-out weight was 1.30 oz so that is a weight reduction of 55%. YMMV, but it is a point of reference.
Last edited by FatSebastian on Mon May 23, 2022 7:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.