Derby Talk

Try Rotometals (http://www.rotometals.com" target="_blank) for bulk sales. They sell lead wire in various diameters. They also sell rectangular (1/4 in X 1/4 inch) bars. I think they are located in California. Shipping charge can be a bit pricey.

There have been so many great responses to my original post. I am having trouble keeping up. It will take me most of the weeekend to absorb what has already been said.

FS, your comments have a lot of insight. Thank you.

I have researched this topic on Derby Talk and have found a lot of discussion, but no definitive answers. So I am starting this new thread in hopes of getting useful input. The issue is about the use of power tools by scouts at PWD workshops and the liability should someone get hurt. Our pack has ne...

Do these 2 schools of thought (the smoother the better vs. performance peaks at xxx grit) also apply to oil lubrication? I can see how "performance peaks at xxx grit" applies to graphite. It is a solid that can be "worked" into micofractures. But for oil, I have assumed that &quo...

To the Derby Talk community: We had our pack pinewood derby race on Saturday, 9 Feb 2013. Daniel is a Webelos II this year. So it was his last time to race. He crosses over at the Blue and Gold dinner in March 2013 and will be joining the Boy Scouts. Daniel’s car never lost a heat. He won 1st place ...

I bought a pair of axle extraction pliers recently from a vendor that posts on this forum. I used the pliers to insert a set of polished axles and wheels on a car and then used to pliers to adjust the alignment. I used the “no front wheels skid test” (thanks to Sporty) first, and adjusted the rear w...

I tested the drill press for wobble with the Vermont gage. I got 0.010 inches. WOW. And I thought Harbor Freight products were better than that. I tested my other portable drill (electric). I got 0.003 inches. Same as the portable battery powered drill. Both are Black and Decker. I suppose using the...

Stan, who are a genius (as usual). I have been chucking axles in the drill with 3/8 inch in the chuck and about 5/8 inch sticking out. I took a pin gage (Vermont Gage 0.0985 inch) and chucked it in the drill with 3/8 inch in the chuck. I clamped my drill down to the work table. I took the homemade c...

I might be able to get away with buying a shop press, but I do not think I could handle the fallout from the rest of the family. Thanks for the advice anyway, whoda. And thanks for the Welcome. Alignment seems to be my weakness. Ask Stan Pope. So using canted rears and toe-in for the front will prob...

I am trying to straighten some out-of-the-box BSA axles and I am having difficulty. First, I file the shoulders around the points. Then I put them in a drill and spin them slowly looking for wobble. They go into 4 wobble categories: negligible, slight, moderate, and large. I use the same drill for c...