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Pinewood Derby Secrets

The Pinewood Derby is a racing event originated by the Boy Scouts of America in which children or adults use a block of wood, a metal axle and some plastic wheels to create the fastest car they can. The event is now held by youth organizations of all kinds throughout the United States. There are some tricks of the trade you can learn to ensure your car competes well in your upcoming race.

Moisture Equals Weight
- One of the biggest factors that makes a Pinewood Derby car effective is the placement of the weight. Some racers believe that the weight should be placed at the front of the car and some believe it's best at the back. Wherever the weight is best, there is a secret to make sure that there is more weight to strategically distribute. Place the wood of the Pinewood car into the oven for two hours at 300 degrees Fahrenheit to remove all possible excess moisture. If you are not allowed to use the oven, make sure you have proper adult supervision before trying this out.
How Low Can You Go
- It is well-known that the axles and wheels should be sanded to reduce friction. The trick to this sanding is to get these pieces of equipment as smooth as possible by using higher and higher grits of sandpaper. Start by using 300 grit sandpaper and move on to 400 and later 500 grit to get them extra smooth. Use some kind of magnifying device to view the axles and wheels up close and use a 3,000 grit sandpaper to find the smallest unsmoothed surfaces. Once you have finished, you can use a jeweler's rouge to polish off the excess metal.
Three Wheels
- One secret tip of the Pinewood Derby is to make your car so that it only has three wheels touching the course at any given time. This helps to improve the speed of the car because having one wheel not contact the track makes for less friction. Raise one of the wheels 1/16 of an inch higher than the other three when building to accomplish this.
The Best Axles
- While axles are included in most Pinewood Derby kits, they are not always uniform to the other axles in other kits. For this reason, buy a large quantity of axles (20 to 30) and examine them thoroughly. Some of the axles will appear much straighter than others. Have an adult clamp a power drill into a vise and then test each axle out in the drill. If the drill has a bent axle spinning it in it will wobble as it turns. A straight axle will wobble much less if at all. Pick the two axles for your car that wobble the least.

Soap Box Derby