It is now time that we work on J's first pinewood derby car for next month. I got 2 kits so we can try out the design before building the one with laser etching on it. Plus it gives us a chance to decide on wheel design, axle design, and weight distribution.
First thing I did was cut the long diagonal to get the bare wedge shape of the car. I sanded the cut a tiny bit on the large face then too kit to the drill press to knock a couple of 3/8" holes through above and slightly behind the rear axle. The holes are for the weights to get pounded into and then more weights will be glued to the top over the rear axle.
So far it is looking pretty good and has the initial look of a nice fast car. I have to work on the axles and polish them nicely to reduce friction. Then I am going to lock the wheels in a drill and turn them to remove all but a ridge or two so they have far less friction. A couple of other little tweaks should help make this a nice fast little car.
Poor J has been sick as a dog, along with his little brother, so I have been doing the major work now on the car so when he feels better he can get to painting. Although I still need to decide if we cut the laser cut one or just roll with the first draft. Either way the car is going to kick some ass.