02-06-2019, 09:44 PM
This is not terribly exciting, but it has been a while since I've posted anything I actually made, and I did indeed build it. My son's Cub Scout Leader asked me to build a crate for our new Pinewood Derby track, since I hosted their woodworking badge, so he knew I had a tablesaw. The plans came from the manufacturer of the track, and I built them more or less to spec. The only difference is that they used solid 1x8' for the sides of their crate, and I thought that was a waste of the remainder of the sheet of plywood, so I used it. One sheet of pine ply, five pine 1x2s, two piano hinges, and a bunch of latches.
![[Image: pwcase01.JPG]](https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/pinewoodcase/pwcase01.JPG)
The plan was all butt joints, screws, and glue, so that is exactly what we did.
![[Image: pwcase02.JPG]](https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/pinewoodcase/pwcase02.JPG)
The only exception was that I pocket hole joined the face frame instead of screwing it through the top. I also hit everything with a round-over.
![[Image: pwcase11.JPG]](https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/pinewoodcase/pwcase11.JPG)
Told my son if the track didn't fit, I was going to re-purpose it as a coffin for a python. Finish was just two coats of Watco Danish Oil.
![[Image: pwcase13.JPG]](https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/pinewoodcase/pwcase13.JPG)
![[Image: pwcase14.JPG]](https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/pinewoodcase/pwcase14.JPG)
Thing weighs about 50 pounds empty, and about 150 when full of the track and weights. It has to be relatively bomb-proof because it lives upright in the corner of a small janitor's closet at the local elementary school. It was definitely a four man lift up the two flights of stairs, and that handle design leaves a lot to be desired. But the pack seemed pretty happy with it.
Our new track came in several boxes. Each of the lane segments is made of four individual lane tracks that bolt together. Once all the segments are bolted together, it's 32 feet long. Worst instruction set I've come across in a while. Made Ikea instructions look surprisingly cogent. The only thing I can figure is they hired either the Laguna or Harbor Freight people to write them in their off hours. It took four grown men longer to assemble the track than it did for me to build the crate. But the boys were pretty excited about it, and our race took one third of the time that last year's race took when we were sharing a track with another pack.
![[Image: pwcar10.JPG]](https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/pinewoodcase/pwcar10.JPG)
![[Image: pwcar13.JPG]](https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/pinewoodcase/pwcar13.JPG)
My son wanted to run a dragster this year, which was awesome, because it was easy to cut on the tablesaw. I did the dado stack work, but I clamped it into a sled and let him run the wedge cut and a few others through the saw. Our pack has the adults make 'track test cars' as a creative outlet for excessive adult enthusiasm, and so we aren't testing the track with actual competition cars. I made a simple roadster.
![[Image: pwcar05.JPG]](https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/pinewoodcase/pwcar05.JPG)
We came in fifth place. The times were unbelievably close across the pack. The difference between us and third place was 4 thousandths of a second, and all our track times were very close. Even though he didn't take home a trophy this year, my son had a great time, and is still playing with his car. I consider that a mark of success.
If I had to do it all over again with the case, I probably would have taken some effort to hide the exposed plywood edges. I definitely would have added wheels. But for a simple three hour project, I imagine this thing will still be in service long after my son is out of Cub Scouts.
The plan was all butt joints, screws, and glue, so that is exactly what we did.
The only exception was that I pocket hole joined the face frame instead of screwing it through the top. I also hit everything with a round-over.
Told my son if the track didn't fit, I was going to re-purpose it as a coffin for a python. Finish was just two coats of Watco Danish Oil.
Thing weighs about 50 pounds empty, and about 150 when full of the track and weights. It has to be relatively bomb-proof because it lives upright in the corner of a small janitor's closet at the local elementary school. It was definitely a four man lift up the two flights of stairs, and that handle design leaves a lot to be desired. But the pack seemed pretty happy with it.
Our new track came in several boxes. Each of the lane segments is made of four individual lane tracks that bolt together. Once all the segments are bolted together, it's 32 feet long. Worst instruction set I've come across in a while. Made Ikea instructions look surprisingly cogent. The only thing I can figure is they hired either the Laguna or Harbor Freight people to write them in their off hours. It took four grown men longer to assemble the track than it did for me to build the crate. But the boys were pretty excited about it, and our race took one third of the time that last year's race took when we were sharing a track with another pack.
My son wanted to run a dragster this year, which was awesome, because it was easy to cut on the tablesaw. I did the dado stack work, but I clamped it into a sled and let him run the wedge cut and a few others through the saw. Our pack has the adults make 'track test cars' as a creative outlet for excessive adult enthusiasm, and so we aren't testing the track with actual competition cars. I made a simple roadster.
We came in fifth place. The times were unbelievably close across the pack. The difference between us and third place was 4 thousandths of a second, and all our track times were very close. Even though he didn't take home a trophy this year, my son had a great time, and is still playing with his car. I consider that a mark of success.
If I had to do it all over again with the case, I probably would have taken some effort to hide the exposed plywood edges. I definitely would have added wheels. But for a simple three hour project, I imagine this thing will still be in service long after my son is out of Cub Scouts.
Math is tough. Let's go shopping!
