Yearly Budget

[SpeedWorks]

"I'm lucky my wife hasn't killed me over all the money I've spent on parts, supplies, building a track and timer. "
I saw this statement on another thread and it reminded me of a question I have been wanting to ask.
About how much do you spend per year per car.
My oldest son is a Wolf this year (He won Pack undeated), his younger brother will be a tiger in two years so I figure I have another 6 years of pinewood derbys.
The way I look at it, these first couple of years will be more expensive as we add tools and supplys and the last couple of years will be less expensive.
I haven't added up all the receipts but my thoughtful wife tells me that we spent about $20 on the car.
I thought with this being our second year this seemed reasonable.

[Panzer]

Regarding this question the unwritten pine head code is very clear:
"don't ask, don't tell"
just have fun
and if you have your wife believing the car is only costing the family $20 you are doing a lot better than most of us.

[Stan Pope]

That drill press is good for many other jobs around the house ... only 3 to 5% should be attributed to PWD. Same for the precision lathe and jig saw! And everyone needs a jar of Moly-G and vial of NyeOil II around the house. Pineheads probably have the best operating locks in the county.

And even if you have only one son, you can spread the cost over 4 or 5 years. Golly, probably doesn't amount to even $10/year!

[Pinewood Daddy]

...you can spread the cost over 4 or 5 years. Golly, probably doesn't amount to even $10/year!

hah!! (Muted, so my wife doesn't hear it).

Built track (3 lanes. Beauty!!) - approx. $160
Built timer (digital, .001 sec, one lane now, built & wired for 3) - Approx. $90
Supplies frpm MaxV - approx. $105
Extra PWD kits & wheel sets - approx. $15
Misc supplies - approx. $35
Ryobi Belt/Disc Sander & Band Saw (many other uses) (Christmas present from wife) - Approx. $195
Existing Drill Press w/drum sander - $0

Total - $600

OBSESSED WITH MAKING BLOCK A BLOCK OF PINE GO FASTER - PRICELESS!!!

Oldest son is a Wolf, next son will be a Tiger next year = 6 years of use.

Approx. $100 per year.

[Jay]

LOL at all of ya!
Speedy, I'm in that same boat. My wife and I have an understanding. She stays out of my workshop and I stay out of her jewelry box. If my wife knew the $$$$$$$...... She'd put ME in a pinebox.............hummmm....that PINEbox is going to need some nice axels and wheels! GTG, I got work to do boys!

[ExtremePWD]

Approx. $100 per year.

Then add 1000 hours of engineering time over the years of racing x $50/hr divided by 4 kids (including myself) divided by an average of 12 cars each over their racing careers and I can add $1042 per car. Good thing I work for free or else the kids wouldn't get any allowance for a long time.

[TDean]

Plus there are always the endless "little" costs that add up -- sandpaper, drill & Dremel bits, spray and brush-on paint (several varieties), clear coat, epoxy, graphite, needle files, digital scale, X-acto blades, wax paper, Excedrin...
Plus all the time and materials spent just on experimenting with materials, designs and techniques -- that Research & Development department can be a sneaky money pit!

[davekelly]

Pinewood Daddy,

You forgot to divide by the number of racers. That makes it so much more reasonable.

TDean,

You forgot to list Band-Aids!

Dave

[FRANKLIN WHALEY]

When my wife saw our new timer work for the first time. She said, what ever you paid for that it was worth it. You gotta love a woman with that attitude. But for my own sake I still didn't tell her what it cost! I don't even want to know how much we spend on each car. Since every boy that comes to our workshops get to use the tools ,it's got to be reasonable.

[Pinewood Daddy]

You forgot to divide by the number of racers. That makes it so much more reasonable.

Good point!!

[Tomcat14]

I guess I'm the odd ball here. I already had most of the tools I needed. Scroll Saw, Drill Press, Belt/Disc Sander, Metal Lathe, etc. I aquired these tools when I used to build and fly RC Planes. My wife doesn't mind me spending $30.00 on a car when my average plane used to cost over $600.00 and would eventually come home in a trash bag. (I used to build in a trash bag in the tail so when it crashed I had something to carry all the pieces in )

[pwdarchitect]

Extreme,

$50/hr is down right cheap... As an architect I'm getting $80 to $95 per hour.... good designers don't come cheap. (BTW...Not saying that you are not good)

I was able to average $150 per car.. minus design time. Didn't have any tools so had to purchase all. Decided the the handy coping saw would be a good cheap investment and it paid off. My 10 year old son and 7 year old daughter were good with it.

J

[SpeedWorks]

I guess that was alittle misleading when I said tools, I already owned a drill press, band saw, dremel and other power tools. What I meant was tools like wheel mandrel and such.
But I ran the pinewood derby birthday party past my son and he is excited about the idea.
Which means I get to build a test track, purchase around 10 car kits to match up the mold numbers on the wheels, purchase a selection of weights.
and it will still be a cheap birthday party for the kids.
Think I can convince my wife that the birthday party just won't be the same if we don't have an electronic timing devise?