Subject: Re: ??Sort of STUPID Question About Machining PINEWOOD DERBY WHEELS??

From: edwin bailen <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 12:44:42 -0500

On 14 May 1996 [email-masked] wrote:

> 
> I'm interested in turning some wheels for my son's pinewood derby 
> car. So, I'm wondering if there is any kind of setup for a hobby
> lathe to allow me to use small, narrow collets.
> 
> 
>                    ---
>                    |
>                    |--
>                    |--
>                    |
>                    ---
> 
> This, more or less, is a cross section of the wheel. I need to 
> chuck up on the center spindle of the wheel without interference
> from the outer rim. Is there any kind of small tooling that will
> let me do that?
> 
> 
>                                    Larry Mayo
> 
> 
A while back, a test was being circulated for people to check if they 
were geeks.  One of the questions I answered YES to was "Have you ever 
designed your son's pinewood derby car on AutoCAD?".  I never thought of 
truing the wheels on the lathe!

Can you mount a Jacobs chuck on the spindle, or on something that fits in 
your chuck?  That would let you clamp down on one of the mandrels they 
sell for truing the wheels.

Regards,
Ed

---

From: [email-masked] (Bob DeMers)
Date: 14 May 1996 14:34:16 CDT

> lathe to allow me to use small, narrow collets.

Regardless if it is possible to do, it is more than likely against the
rules.  I know that turning the wheels down is a classic technique, but I
think that current rules forbid it.  You probably want to check on this
before risking disqualification.
-- 
Bob DeMers
Honeywell Technology Center
[email-masked]

---

From: [email-masked] (-Mayo,H.H.)
Date: 14 May 1996 13:24:29 GMT

---
                   |
                   |--
                   |--
                   |
                   ---

let me do that?

                                   Larry Mayo

---

From: [email-masked] (-Mayo,H.H.)
Date: 16 May 1996 14:33:39 GMT

>before risking disqualification.

We went to the district finals last week. All the winners had wheels 
turned down to nearly nothing. Nobody said, "Boo".

                                             Larry Mayo

---

From: [email-masked] (-Mayo,H.H.)
Date: 16 May 1996 14:42:04 GMT

>sell for truing the wheels.

I tried that. There is too much slop in a chuck to be reliable. Those
mandrels they sell are too small, and don't center the wheel properly.

                                                  Larry

---

From: Bruce <[email-masked]>
Date: 15 May 1996 16:18:41 GMT

>lathe to allow me to use small, narrow collets.
SNIP
==================================================================

  I wonder how many millions of dollars and millions of hours have 
been spent by fathers trying to win this stupid race for their 
"sons". After going through this with my 2 boys for 5 years, I 
have seen and heard of the outrageous behavior of many fathers 
proving their "sons" cars are the best. I used to dread Januarys 
as my WIFE would hound me to "make them a winner". The best we 
ever did was fourth place overall. The other cars looked as if 
they came out of GM's model shop and very as finely tuned as a 
Rolex watch. It would amaze me as guys who were accountants, 
doctors, executives, would act as if their lives depended upon 
winning. It was rumored that one guy paid some professional model 
builder several hundred dollars to build his "son's" car, it 
certainly looked and performed like it. I know this guy could'nt 
nail two boards together and neither could his 9 year old. Also it 
was rumored that another guy lost a town council election because 
he was suspected of cheating in the Pinewood Derby. Thank god I 
don't have to go through this anymore. I wish they had a rule that 
the kids had to build their own cars without help from anyone.
Good luck anyway.

                                        Bruce <[email-masked]>

---

From: [email-masked] (John Dammeyer)
Date: Wed, 05 Jun 1996 06:58:28 GMT

[email-masked] (quark) wrote:

>I'm told tha a car magazine like "Hot Rod"? had an article a couple of years 
>ago about how to fine tune a pinewood derby car.  I think one of the tricks 
>was to have only 3 of 4 wheels touching the track.  Also many cars run faster 
>backwards because a higher back end gets them rolling off the line first as 
>the starting gate folds down into the track.
> 

Maybe that is why the Hot Tamale is so fast.  The front end curves
upwards so it has a slight edge at the start.  The bottom in between
the wheels is also carved away so there is more ground clearance.
finally I have been trying for a while to get that darn 4th wheel to
also sit on the ground on a flat surface.  Maybe I shouldn't 8-)

one other point.  I was wandering through a hobby store today and
found 'Pinewood' cars. Now I get it!  Brand name like Xeroxing instead
of copying.

Seriously most of the cars the kids build don't look anything like the
'pinewood' but they sure do enjoy the racing.  Hardest thing do do is
to get them to draw designs in three dimensions.

John.

---

From: [email-masked] (Robert Nichols)
Date: Sun, 9 Jun 1996 03:38:45 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
John Dammeyer <[email-masked]> wrote:
:
:Maybe that is why the Hot Tamale is so fast.  The front end curves
:upwards so it has a slight edge at the start.

The two tricks I know of are:

 a) Keep the point of the nose high so that the car gets an early start.

 b) Concentrate the weight toward the rear of the car, so that it starts
    out higher on the ramp and gives you a longer push.

Also, spray furniture wax (such as Pledge®) works even better than
Teflon® as a lubricant.

-- 
Bob Nichols         [email-masked]