THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 24, 1997 TAG: 9701220120
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 65 lines
Tiny racing cars built by young hands clash Feb. 8 in Chesapeake.
Local Cub Scouts will compete in a Pinewood Derby, a longstanding scouting tradition in which scouts build and race cars they design and engineer.
The cars start as a kit containing a block of wood about a foot long and a few inches thick, wheels and axels, then evolve into the painted racers that hurl down a wooden track as parents and scouts cheer.
The competing scouts will be from the Elizabeth River district of the Tidewater Council. The event is being held by Chesapeake's Troop 828.
``This is the first year we've done it here,'' said Ron Rigby, a cub master for the troop. ``It's a big thing for the boys. It teaches them to work with their hands. And it's a competition. It encourages good sportsmanship.''
After the boys receive their kits, they begin planning and building their racer to certain specifications. For instance, the car may not weigh more than five ounces. That makes craftsmanship a premium on the gravity-propelled cars. Since tools and sawing are involved in the construction, parental guidance is encouraged.
Rigby's den is working toward a craftsman pin, roughly the cub scout version of Boy Scout merit badges, and there is also training for woodworking.
Rigby, 38, has nine boys in his den, including his son Blair. Rigby's den holds their own ``heats'' Jan. 25, then winners will compete at the district match. Regardless of how they finish, the scouts' experience in working toward a goal are important parts of the competition.
The cub scouts compete by grades, which denote seniority and achievement in the early stages of a Boy Scouting career. Wolf is the starting grade for the purposes of the derby (though Tiger Scout is the true starting point for a cub), then Bear, and then the two grades of Webelos - a take-off on the slogan ``We'll Be Loyal Scouts.''
The top two boys from each division move to the district heats, where representatives from about 15 local packs will race. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
INTERNET TIPS
At a homepage maintained by Della Enterprises, a Utah hobby mail
order business offers advice on how to build a Pinewood Derby car.
Between the lines of a pitch to purchase equipment or kits that
will make a car run faster, the page describes the strengths and
weaknesses of the racer and what a builder can do to get maximum
speed.
Information on planning, the car body, axles, wheels, car weight,
lubrication and reducing friction can be found on the page. The
homepage also includes a list of books about pinewood cars.
Here are some of the tips:
On axles: ``Polish your axles until they are mirror bright and
make doubly sure all burrs are removed.''
On kits: ``NOT ALL PINECAR KITS ARE CREATED EQUAL. The area of
concern is to make sure the axle grooves cut in the bottom of the
car block are square. Square axle grooves will make the car run
straight and a car that runs straight will stay off the sides of the
track.''
On sanding the body: ``The secret to a shiny car body finish is
to do the proper sanding, using a sanding sealer and use a good
paint designed for wood models. The car should be sanded in three to
four stages. Each stage uses a finer grit sandpaper with the last
stage being a very fine grit.''
For more tips try the page at
http://www.inconnect.com/GregP/pine/body.html.