PWD Car Displays for under $25

Show off your cool vehicle designs and track burning speedsters!
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having_wandered
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PWD Car Displays for under $25

Post by having_wandered »

These are going to be our B&G/Pinewood Derby centerpieces. I'm not much for the decorative frilly centerpieces that are just going to go home and sit on a shelf until someone finally decides to throw them out.

So with an eye towards the minimalist (as in budget), I was able to come up with a design that let me put together 17 5-Car PWD display stands for under $25. The Scouts will just attach the bases for an easy project. They can paint them later if they want to and opt to take the base off if they want to mount it on a wall.

Image

Image

Wife thought they made really ugly centerpieces. I agreed and said but that's not the point! It's what will be ON them, that will be awesome.

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Scrollsawer
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Re: PWD Car Displays for under $25

Post by Scrollsawer »

The car stands appear to be angled downward. How do the cars keep from sliding off the platforms?
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having_wandered
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Re: PWD Car Displays for under $25

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Scrollsawer wrote:The car stands appear to be angled downward. How do the cars keep from sliding off the platforms?
Guess it would help if I took a picture with cars on em :-)

They are about the same width as the rub strip, and just over 7 1/2" long so the wheels keep them in place. Tacky dots can be used for those cars with questionable or missing wheels.

I should clarify, these are for post race cars, prior years cars etc. During the event the current years cars would be in the impound trays.
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ciodude
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Re: PWD Car Displays for under $25

Post by ciodude »

Nice! I've been looking for ways to better display the cars my children have made. What material is the black part made of?
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having_wandered
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Re: PWD Car Displays for under $25

Post by having_wandered »

Here's a picture with cars on it.

Image

The dimensions are
Car holders-
7 5/8" by 3-1/2"
7 5/8" long, by 1-3/4" (or you could go with 1-5/8" wide if you run narrow width), tongue is 1-3/4" wide and 1-7/8" long 3/4" of which is inserted into the 2x4.
The 7-5/8" length keeps extended wheelbase cars from falling off if they are slid sideways until the wheels are stopped by the tongue.
The black material is reclaimed plastic sheeting that is 3/16" thick but any sort of material such as 1/4" plywood would work. I put a 3/4" brad nail in each one to lock it in place. Didn't trust glue on the plastic.

The stand-
2" x 4" x 20"
I ripped the 2x4 with side angle cuts 7/8" from the center at an angle so that the kerf of the cut comes out the side and does not remove any width off the back. Did this mainly to make it not look like a 2x4.
There are 5 3/16" dado cuts (or your material width) starting at 2" and then spaced every 4". The dados were cut at 17 degrees to a depth of about half way through the 2x4.

The bottom-
1"x8"x12"
I originally wanted to add a 1x6x8 on top and a 1x8x16 on bottom to allow for trophies but ultimately decided against it to keep costs down.

The bottom could be left off and you could just mount the 2x4 to the wall to use the least materials.

I would have liked to stained or painted them but the temps are just too low outside this time of year.

Thanks,

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dna1990
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Re: PWD Car Displays for under $25

Post by dna1990 »

Cool Idea. Now what are the pipes and valves for in the background...?
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having_wandered
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Re: PWD Car Displays for under $25

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dna1990 wrote:Cool Idea. Now what are the pipes and valves for in the background...?
Lol, that's my water rocket derby launcher. It will launch up to 5 rockets simultaneously. Just finished cutting out the metal launch gate that will hold them all in place today.
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Mr. Steve 316
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Re: PWD Car Displays for under $25

Post by Mr. Steve 316 »

That's a great project and a good description on the build. There is a lot of opportunity for the scouts to be creative and customize it. I have seen a similar plan on-line that runs the car supports 90 degrees out from the back so you can mount it upside down and use the base to display trophies if you wish. I like the low cost!
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