By profession, David Meade is a research scientist, holding a master's degree in statistics, his background in research and experimental design has enabled him to develop a unique and powerful approach to Pinewood Derby racing. He also enjoys model rocketry and astronomy.
This last weekend my neighbor and his son (age 7) invited my son,
Decker (almost 5), to come and watch his Cub Scout Pinewood Derby
race. If you're not familiar with this event, the Cub Scouts host a
race every year where the participants take a standard block of
wood and four plastic wheels and turn it into a pure racing machine
or something else. It's been over 30 years for me, but I still
remember my dad taking me out into the workshop and helping me use
his bandsaw and sander to carve up my own car, #87. It wasn't much
to look at, but it was mine. It still sits on a bookshelf in my
office as a reminder of not only the race but also the time I spent
with my dad at a very young age, learning to use some basic
woodworking tools. Decker isn't quite old enough yet for the Cub
Scouts, but he absolutely loved looking at the 100+ cars sitting on
display for the judges to examine and weigh. All cars must weigh
less than 5 ounces, but racers try to hit as close to 5 ounces as
possible because the weight of the car affects its speed when it is
released on the downward-pointing ramp. There were a lot of
interesting solutions to getting the cars up in weight (the block
weighs about 1.4 ounces and the wheels and paint add enough to
bring it up to about 4.3 ounces so there's some wiggle room for
embellishment and personalization of a racer's vehicle.) Races this
day were performed 4 cars at a time. To ensure fairness, multiple
races were performed with each car racing on a different track (1,
2, 3, or 4); I'm guessing this is done because maybe one or more
tracks run faster or have a better/smoother surface. Whatever the
reasons, each scout gets to see his car race multiple times. Awards
were given out for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishes for different
troops/ages as well as some design awards. In addition to taking my
son, I also took along a set of 4 books provided to me by Fox
Chapel Publishing that relate to the Pinewood Derby. I passed the
books around to the various scouts and parents, letting them take a
look at the information that I'd already read and discovered about
creating a great racer. The first book, Getting Started in Pinewood
Derby by Troy Thorne, is the clear choice for the beginning scout.
It's a full-color book with some really detailed photos showing how
to cut, carve, paint, and decorate your racer. There's advice on
safety, tips on making the wheels run faster and smoother, help
with getting your car to the proper weight, and a great little
documentation section at the back for recording information about
your racer such as race times and taping in some photos. You'll
also find a small number of templates that can be cut out (or
photocopied) and taped over the block of wood, helping you make the
proper cuts to shape your block of wood into some really cool
designs. Hands down, this is one of the best little books I've seen
on basic woodworking skills, and I'm very impressed with the
cartoon character of Dash Derby who provides tips and advice
throughout the book on improving your racer's odds in the final
race. The actual instructions in the book are written for a young
reader, and I'm very happy to see that Thorne wrote the book not
for the parent, but for the scout - simple language and short
sentences for each full color photo make it easy to follow along
and tweak your racer's wheel alignment, decal placement and many
other racer details. The book follows loosely the format of a comic
book in many sections, with balloon windows showing a step and POW
BANG BAP sound effect graphics added for fun. This 96 page book is
the perfect gift for any new Cub Scout, but honestly the book is
pure fun and would make a great parent/child project for any
weekend. I'm already planning on visiting the scout supply store
here in Atlanta and obtaining the block/wheels kit because Decker
asked after the event if we could make a car. Actually, I plan on
buying two kits one for him and one for me. Why my own kit? Because
of the next book. Pinewood Derby Designs & Patterns is another book
by Troy Thorne. This 118 page book follows a similar format as the
previously mentioned book, but this one is all about variety. It
does have some additional woodworking tips and advice, but these
are scattered throughout the book and picked up depending on the
type of racer you wish to create. The racers in the Getting Started
in Pinewood Derby book are great, but if you've got a child looking
to create a real eye-catching racer, this is the companion book
you'll want to grab. I'm not kidding - some of the designs in this
book are almost unbelievable given that they all start with a
single small block of wood. And the painting and decal applying
tips are much more advanced in this book, but still within the
skill range of any young child with some adult supervision. Much of
the design work in this book is done using a Dremel or similar
rotary powered tool, and one look at some of the car shapes in its
pages will tell you that a small coping saw won't be enough. That
said, you can still do all the major cuts with a basic saw and then
switch to the rotary tool for the more detailed shaping. At the
back of the book you'll once again get some templates for a variety
of designs including a Mini Cooper, a NASCAR stock car vehicle, an
Army Jeep, a Ferrari, and a couple of classic jalopies. (The Stock
Car and Army Jeep are unbelievable in their details, but just take
a look at the cover to see the #37 Red Racer with exposed
carburetors and exhaust to get an idea of just how crazy this book
takes the subject of design.) But let me repeat my earlier
statement - after reading through this entire book, there is
nothing in here that a scout couldn't do with help from a parent.
Kids age 7 or 8 and up should be able to do much of the work
themselves if they read the instructions carefully and have an
adult on hand to help with the more dangerous tools. And by the
way, the section on applying decals is excellent - I've always
wondered how one might go about applying custom color designs and
the information on the use of tape, wax paper, and a few other
tools is well worth the price of the book alone. The third book
turned out to be the most popular - I had a lot of parents and kids
writing down the title and a few asking if they could borrow it for
a few days. It's titled Pinewood Derby Speed Secrets and it's
written by David Meade (and illustrated by Troy Thorne). This book
is all about the competition, but it's got some really amazing
bonus items such as a great little essay in the front on the
history of the Pinewood Derby. It's so cool to see photos of the
early days of this event as well as the typical design and look of
the earlier racers. There's also some great advice for parents
early in the book about working with your child, teaching them
concepts of racing (such as aerodynamics, potential energy,
friction, and inertia) and discussing some pros and cons of design.
(I never really gave much thought to the shape of the nose, but the
author makes a solid point in explaining why you don't want a
tapered nose on your car - lesson learned.) The first project in
the book is called The Winning Car and it's a beautifully shaped
vehicle that looks almost like my original car so many years ago
(it's the red racer in the back on the cover. It's a tapered design
and I believe most kids would be able to build this racer on their
own. What's nice is that this basic racer is used to teach so many
tool and woodworking techniques that are then used again throughout
the book. Two additional racers (The Champion Car in the middle on
the cover and The Ultimate Car, the yellow vehicle at the front on
the cover) are covered in detail and then additional chapters cover
wheel and axle preparation. This book, however, has the ultimate
tips and advice on wheel prep in my opinion, and I'm blown away by
the time spent on prepping the wheels to run smoother and faster
and the techniques used. The book finishes up with some great
full-color examples of other racers as well as a handful of new
templates that can be copied and glued onto a block for cutting and
shaping. Finally, the last book I shared with the parents and
scouts was the Pinewood Derby Workbook & Logbook by Troy Thorne.
This short 32 page book is a real eye-catcher. Full color photos of
some car ideas adorn the inside cover and then the book offers up a
variety of workbook pages that allow your young racer to document
things such as their prototype design sketches using some graph
paper templates. Other templates allow you to transfer your side
and top prototype designs to a wraparound templates that can be cut
out and taped or glued to the block for the actual cutting and
shaping part of the project. There are templates for designing the
car's color and decal placement (the back inside cover has a large
assortment of full-color patterns for the car's color scheme) and a
really useful page for recording the weights of all the individual
pieces prior to assembly - shaped and painted block, four wheels,
four axles - so you can determine the amount of extra weight you
need to add to bring the car up to 5 ounces. Then the workbook
moves on to pages that allow you to troubleshoot alignment by
recording various test runs and writing down your observations
about the car's behavior. The book finishes up by providing some
Race Day logs for recording the Lane # and the Time and Position of
your racer. Some tips and reminders for race day are included in a
small checklist so you don't forget things like glue, graphite,
screwdriver, tape, camera, and pen or pencil. The last few pages
includes a place to glue or tape in photos of your car in the
various building stages and record details about your car, your
friends' cars, and the race results of the day and, of course, your
favorite memories about the event. A nice big page offers a place
for a larger photo of your final vehicle. If you've got a Cub Scout
or a young boy who will be joining the Cub Scouts soon, you're
going to be swamped with information about all the events this
organization puts together. But the Pinewood Derby event is one of
the most memorable ones at least to my memory. It's not about
winning, of course, but I have to admit that it's awfully fun to
have a car that can really put on some speed and a good showing.
Any of these books would make a great gift for a young scout or
really any young child. Boy or girl, building a racer with your
child is one of those projects that can be done in an afternoon and
will be memorable to all involved. Even if you're not involved in
the Cub Scouts, there's nothing to prevent you from designing a few
racers and having your own race - there are instructions and
vendors all over the Internet for putting together your own track,
so don't let that stop you. Decker's not letting up on his request
to build a racer, so I've got to get over to the scout supply store
sometime this week so we can start on a couple of racers this
weekend. I think I'm looking forward to it even more than he is not
the final racer, but the time spent together.
Once racers have mastered the thrill of building a Derby car, they
might be ready to go on to David Meade's book Pinewood Derby Speed
Secrets: Design and Build the Ultimate Car. Meade features the same
photographer as the previous book and offers the same clear
instructions as well as excellent advice. All instructions are
within regulation, and the book is officially licensed by the Boy
Scouts of America. The author notes that the "Pinewood Derby
strengthens relationships, while promoting craftsmanship and
healthy competition." The book begins with a brief history of the
Pinewood Derby and quickly moves on to the car plans. These are not
mere templates; they are aerodynamic discussions! Readers are told
how to maximize potential energy, reduce friction, and reduce wheel
inertia. And this is barely the beginning. Great detail is given to
weight placement, wheelbase length, lubrication, and so much more.
There are so many details and ideas that I never would have dreamed
possible. It never would have occurred to me to sand inside a wheel
bore, late alone taper an axle head to reduce friction. The author
has thought of everything. And then he tested and retested and made
certain he had the best possible methods mastered. The step-by-step
instructions are clear and concise, and they really will help you
create the ultimate Pinewood Derby racecar.
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