Search found 100 matches

by Curse You Red Baron!
Wed Sep 10, 2014 12:21 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Any success with "composite filled" axle bores?
Replies: 20
Views: 19241

Re: Any success with "composite filled" axle bores?

My son and I filled with Epoxy, J.B. Weld, and wood putty. In the end we found we liked to go with the putty or nothing at all. A good straight drill and a good bit, drilled slowly, got us high quality holes and fast cars. We had to use the pre-existing slots, but we drilled holes so the nails would...
by Curse You Red Baron!
Tue Sep 09, 2014 11:54 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Critiquing a critique of rail riding.
Replies: 23
Views: 21552

Re: Critiquing a critique of rail riding.

Stan Pope wrote: If the car does not fly up out of its lane, then I think that rail guided car will outperform straight alignment ... IF the toe-in is in the ballpark of right and if positive camber is employed. However, if there are deep gouges in the rail that the DFW can ride up on, then the car...
by Curse You Red Baron!
Tue Sep 09, 2014 11:41 pm
Forum: General Car/Truck Racer Topics
Topic: Wheel runout quality report
Replies: 9
Views: 11533

Re: Wheel runout quality report

FWIW I tested for runout last year and had similar results - with about 40 wheels I found about 4 that appeared to be around .001 or less, another 4 .001 to .002, another 4 .002 to .003, and most of the rest between .003 and .007. I don't have a good setup to test bore sized either. I used a set-up ...
by Curse You Red Baron!
Fri Jan 17, 2014 2:54 pm
Forum: General Car/Truck Racer Topics
Topic: Mold numbers and used/last year's wheels
Replies: 13
Views: 23409

Re: Mold numbers and used/last year's wheels

Last year we ignored the mold numbers and went for trying to find similar wheels. A lot of wheels were out of round, and we used a home-made tester that someone had posted on Derby Talk (I think FS?) ... allows your scout to turn the wheel and determine how much variance there is from the hub surfac...
by Curse You Red Baron!
Mon Apr 29, 2013 2:00 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Do the "wafer" cars always win?
Replies: 35
Views: 42074

Re: Do the "wafer" cars always win?

Our two cents. My son's 'wild wing' design won Webelos and was 3rd overall in Pack (pack is 50-65 cars depending on the year) with relatively poor alignment and super canted back axles at 5 degrees or slightly more (our first RR and i got the guide for my scout's drilling wrong :oops: ). It lost pac...
by Curse You Red Baron!
Fri Apr 12, 2013 8:55 am
Forum: General Car/Truck Racer Topics
Topic: So your scout race is done for the year, Whats next ?
Replies: 16
Views: 17861

Re: So your scout race is done for the year, Whats next ?

Wow... well, PWD has been a real character building experience for my son. This year - for the 2nd time in 3 years now - we won the entire pack (and Web II's) and are not selected to go to district. My son's Web II's ran at a different time vs the Web 1's, and the Web I times were faster per the tim...
by Curse You Red Baron!
Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:56 pm
Forum: General Car/Truck Racer Topics
Topic: Mid America
Replies: 163
Views: 145427

Re: Mid America

Just one thing I noticed... The rules say the weight limit is 5 ounces or 143.4 grams, but 143.4 grams is 5.058 ounces... I think someone used a rough converter? I would presume the limit should be 141.7 grams?
by Curse You Red Baron!
Fri Feb 15, 2013 12:36 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Marking axles: where to place mark
Replies: 11
Views: 12322

Re: Marking axles: where to place mark

12:00 works better for me when visualizing the impact of rotating the axle on the car's alignment. However, related question, what do you use to mark it? I use a sharpie, which is ok, but it tends to rub off the polished surface if I'm not careful. I am wondering if another type of marker would make...
by Curse You Red Baron!
Wed Feb 06, 2013 5:35 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Cant and Toe
Replies: 2
Views: 6110

Re: Cant and Toe

Ah, yes, oops :oops: - I failed to keep my frame of reference. Regardless of slope, the wheel will move to the head and the weight of the car will push the wheel against the track in the proper 'attitude' so that the line between the axle head and the point of the wheel touching the track will alway...
by Curse You Red Baron!
Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:22 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Cant and Toe
Replies: 2
Views: 6110

Cant and Toe

I am wondering about alignment vis-a-vis tuning and what it means for cant and toe on a typical rail rider. To start with, most people cant the back wheels about 2.5 degrees. This means you will always have a trade-off between cant and toe, because for 1/3 to 1/2 of the race your car is on a slope, ...
by Curse You Red Baron!
Mon Feb 04, 2013 9:51 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Rail Riding Questions (Conflicts)
Replies: 37
Views: 27534

Re: Rail Riding Questions (Conflicts)

Just informational on the older cars. I was in the YMCA Indian Guides as a kid, and our Pinewood Derby kits came with a dowel with holes in them, and a slotted screw which you used to screw the wheel to the dowel. The dowel was then glued to the car, which had two cutaways for this very purpose. Ord...
by Curse You Red Baron!
Mon Feb 04, 2013 5:43 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: seriously I am starting to feel my brain fry
Replies: 17
Views: 14929

Re: seriously I am starting to feel my brain fry

DJD, I think you did the right thing ordering the tool... nothing like getting your hands dirty, and there's nothing to lose, just knowledge to gain. You likely won't get it perfect on your first try, but to steal a quote, you may get what you need! 2.5 degrees of cant should work reasonably well, a...
by Curse You Red Baron!
Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:26 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Photos
Topic: 3 Cars - Down to the Wire! (Weigh-In is Tomorrow)
Replies: 18
Views: 20158

Re: 3 Cars - Down to the Wire! (Weigh-In is Tomorrow)

Noskills, yes, if I quote a com it's with the wheels attached. However, I do measure the com before I attach the wheels just to see if I'm in the right ballpark, because I prefer not to be messing with weights and glue once I have the wheels attached... at that point I try to be close enough that I'...
by Curse You Red Baron!
Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:08 pm
Forum: General Car/Truck Racer Topics
Topic: Competitive times?
Replies: 19
Views: 23896

Re: Competitive times?

Drilling is where it's at, I can't agree more. Every other year we visit my parents for the Holidays, and I drill our cars on my dad's old Craftsman - wonderful machine, and the table is not adjustable... it's square and it's not going to move. We tend to have pretty awesome alignment those years. I...
by Curse You Red Baron!
Thu Jan 31, 2013 9:45 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Photos
Topic: 3 Cars - Down to the Wire! (Weigh-In is Tomorrow)
Replies: 18
Views: 20158

Re: 3 Cars - Down to the Wire! (Weigh-In is Tomorrow)

I saw the effect that David mentions... I saw my son's com go up at least 1/8 of an inch, if I measured correctly, once the wheels were added - I wasn't being overly precise with the initial measurements.