Happy New Year everyone!
Our first major event of 2011 is approaching quickly: the always-popular Pinewood Derby! Weigh-in will be at 7pm on Friday, January 21st, and the “main event” will be on 12:30pm on Saturday, January 22nd. Both of these will be at St. Mary’s.
You should already have copies of the rules & regulations, but here are some links if not.
For first-timer’s:
If you’re still stuck with a block of wood and no good way to shape the car, please note that there’s a great little wood-working shop in Marlborough (Marlborough Wooden Toys and Crafts) that will do the cutting for you. It’s around $5 per car, but if you provide him with the design (and, of course, the wood) he can whip it out in no time.
You should arrive at the weigh-in with a completed car. It’s better to be a little bit over 5 ounces than under, but make sure you’re able to easily remove weight from the car to get it to 5 ounces exactly. You can do this by using “stick-on” weights that you can buy at hobby stores like Michael’s. Please make sure to pay close attention to the rules around building the car too – weight, length, width, and other rules are strictly adhered to. The car itself must be made from the block of wood in the “official” kit – no pre-cut kits, and no exceptions!
There will be a table with tools and limited materials to assist folks at the weigh-in, but from past experience, it’s MUCH easier to snap off a weight than have to do major modifications to a car with a power drill or dremel, not to mention getting saw dust in the axels. You will be leaving the car at the weigh-in, and no last minute modifications will be allowed on the day of the race, so please make sure you’ve done your wheel lubrication, etc. prior to or at the weigh-in.
The annual Pinewood Derby is always one of the most fun, and most memorable, events in your boy’s Cub Scouting career, as is the process of designing and building the cars! I hope you take the time to enjoy it as much as your boys do! And, don’t forget, siblings and parents can enter their own cars in a separate race!
If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of the leaders to get answers.
Good luck, and get ready to “Start Those Engines”!!