Do you hold back info locally?

General discussions for car and semi-truck racers.
tmbnorm
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Re: Do you hold back info locally?

Post by tmbnorm »

Stan Pope wrote:
tmbnorm wrote:The car that came in 3rd at Pack was running really slow... the Dad was about to give up on trying to get it right. I took the car.. made it a 3 wheeler, did a quick alignment and boom, it was faster than my Son's car.
When so involved, do you
1. Change the car yourself with no explanation,
2. Change the car yourself with explanation, or
3. Explain the changes while the owner makes the changes?

What are the teaching/sharing considerations for each alternative?
It was a combination of #2 and #3. I explained what I did during the testing and then asked them to finish it at home.
derbydad3
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Re: Do you hold back info locally?

Post by derbydad3 »

At pack level, I have been very open with what I do. However, most of the parents think that I am crazy. My son and I put alot of time and effort into our cars. Whick alot of people are not willing to do. At the district levels, I have share general information, but would not go into step bu step like I would with kids and pernts from our pack.
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Re: Do you hold back info locally?

Post by Gameday »

1Dad2Scouts wrote:I have no speed secrets to share with the competition (4th place in den for my 2 boys), I do have tips on painting and building a better looking car. I'm a car painter by trade and a model builder for a hobby. When we got home from the weigh-in and tech night I told my wife I'd never seen so many "ugly cars". She reminded me that not every parent has 30 years of painting experience or nearly a lifetime of model building skills under their belts and that no other father she knew of had a paint booth in their basement!
After our Derby a few of the Scouts and their fathers asked about the "cool paint". My reply was next year come Derby time contact me and we'll set up a time to come over and use the stuff in my basement. Maybe I can trade paint tips for speed tips!!
Did your boys attend the District race in Madison? If so, I was the guy running it. I mentioned Derby Talk and Stan Pope to the crowd so it wouldn't surprise me if we have a few new contributors from that.

Regarding sharing info, most everything I know about PWD I learned from this site, and I share it freely. I have held dozens of workshops and I always start out with the basics. If the scout shows a lot of interest then I also get into alignment and rail riding. If not, that's generally beyond their attention span.

Last season 7 of the boys that attended the workshops went on to place at Districts.
1Dad2Scouts
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Re: Do you hold back info locally?

Post by 1Dad2Scouts »

Did your boys attend the District race in Madison? If so, I was the guy running it. I mentioned Derby Talk and Stan Pope to the crowd so it wouldn't surprise me if we have a few new contributors from that.

Regarding sharing info, most everything I know about PWD I learned from this site, and I share it freely. I have held dozens of workshops and I always start out with the basics. If the scout shows a lot of interest then I also get into alignment and rail riding. If not, that's generally beyond their attention span.

Last season 7 of the boys that attended the workshops went on to place at Districts.[/quote]

No we didn't make it to Thorstads for the District Derby. I wanted to but we already had other plans. I wish I had found this site sooner! Tons of great info, some of it over my head! I'm trying to learn all I can for myself and if my boys want to build faster cars next derby season I'll teach them all I can, but they have to be willing to put in the time.

For all you folks who want painting tips I'll see if I can find the time to put together a little step by step guide. For me design (sorry, I really dislike slabs of wood with a big weight stuck on 'em :paperbag: ) and painting is the fun part, prepping axels and wheels and alighnment, mmmm, not so much!!
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Re: Do you hold back info locally?

Post by rpcarpe »

It would be interesting to sit in on a painting workshop from you!
All my cars are 'ugly', but pretty darn quick.
My wife started a new support group... Widows of the Pinewood Derby.
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Re: Do you hold back info locally?

Post by OneHour »

I and my fellow pack dads do not hold back our secret sauce! As a matter of fact, we take pride in anyone whom we helped who beat us (Open Race) or our sons! In our Pack, the competition is very high ...

At the workshop, this is my parting advice to all of them:
To be fast and competitive, there are 6 ingredients:
1) Weight - has to be 5 oz
2) Alignment - rail-riding or perfect straight alignment, have your pick
3) Wheels and axels
4) Lubrication
5) How much time you put into 1-4
6) Luck!

1Hour
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Re: Do you hold back info locally?

Post by whodathunkit »

Thanks for starting this Topic. FatSebastion, Like alot of you guys on DT. I to hold work shops for the kids. I've been doing this for 4 years now! I DONT CLAME TO KNOW IT ALL... but i do like DOING MY BEST FOR THE KIDS. Some of the things i do different at giveing out info.. Is to share the PWD History, And show the kids.. the vintage car kit history. From its kit's to it's catalogs showing the kit ad's.. to the Boy's Life magazine's & Cub Scout Program Quarterlys! THEN I'LL SHOW THE KID'S.. Some items that are Autographed By Don Murphy, hemself! I have found that most kid's dont care to know the history.. thay just want to race there cars.. But after thay have raced ther cars.. look out thay are ready to learn it's History!! Noted.. 1 Dad2 Scouts. is a painter... :idea: for a car for you.. how about a paint stir stick car! the Uglier the paint looks on the end of the stick! The better the stir stick car looks! :thumbup: And now guys i dont hold back info locally... I Help over 20 different Cub Scout Packs in My area of Okla, Ks, And Texas. The only drawback for me is useing the computer... But hay i'm learning! Thanks guys.. And good luck with you racing.. JUST HAVE FUN !!!! :whew:
What type of automobile can be spelled the same forwards & backwards?
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Re: Do you hold back info locally?

Post by FatSebastian »

whodathunkit wrote:And show the kids.. the vintage car kit history. From its kit's to it's catalogs showing the kit ad's.. to the Boy's Life magazine's & Cub Scout Program Quarterlys! THEN I'LL SHOW THE KID'S.. Some items that are Autographed By Don Murphy, hemself!
Thanks for the post, whodathunkit. The history aspects of your workshops sound terrific. :bigups: Kids lack historical perspective because they are young, but I'm sure it becomes more meaningful to them once they understand they've participated in an American tradition that goes way back.
whodathunkit wrote:The only drawback for me is useing the computer... But hay i'm learning!
Hopefully you will learn enough to eventually post some photos of your workshop memorabilia!
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Re: Do you hold back info locally?

Post by whodathunkit »

Thanks FatSebastion, And thanks for you'r input and help.. on the R.R TOOL! Had a bad day and was :burningmad: at myself over what i posted. could tell you were a little heated also over it! we forgot to tell the person to use a c-ment slab to set the tool on befor taping on the tool.. to bend the axel! haveing a solid serface to set the tool on works better! And just so thay know.. TAPE & VISE.. hold back on this info locally guys.. This ones for the wore out pads on the vise that keep falling off!!! As far as posting pics on DT... got to work on it.. WOOD like nothing more then to share the ride And this info with you all..
What type of automobile can be spelled the same forwards & backwards?
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Re: Do you hold back info locally?

Post by FatSebastian »

:offtopic:
whodathunkit wrote:Thanks FatSebastion, And thanks for you'r input and help.. on the R.R TOOL! Had a bad day and was :burningmad: at myself over what i posted. could tell you were a little heated also over it!
Are you referring this topic? Honestly I wasn't bothered at all. (There's nothing much about PWD to get mad about - it's all fun to us!) Just trying to share my limited experience with the rest of 'em. gpraceman agreed with your tape idea and I thought the bench vise was a clever suggestion (more people probably have a bench vise than a hydraulic press as we use). I'll confess that I often type things in haste without proofreading closely as to to how they might be taken (after all, I know what I meant, so why didn't everyone else? ;) )
whodathunkit wrote:As far as posting pics on DT... got to work on it.. WOOD like nothing more then to share the ride And this info with you all..
:bigups:
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Re: Do you hold back info locally?

Post by GravityRacer »

Good topic! I usually will show or tell people how to make a faster car. But I won't do all the work for them, they have to do the work. Also, as a former schoolteacher (physics and math), I expect that people who want to "beat all the rest" are going to invest enough time and brainpower to make it so. I will not, under any circumstances, dial in a car and hand it to somebody to race, even if my own spawn isn't in the race- that is just wrong. It was a lot of fun working with the older Cub Scouts (WEBELOS) because I could incorporate the Scientist, Engineer, and Craftsman Badges into the car production. Out of three sons, I've had ONE win a first place in the PWD at the Pack level, and never at Council. Maybe I shared too much, I don't know. But I know that my sons (and I) had fun.

Then again, we have PWDs at work, and most of the people who enter are engineers (as am I). If you think I'm sharing info with them, you're out of your gourd! That's a level playing field. And it cracks me up when I win by .008 seconds, and people look at what part of the organization I work in (we assemble the communications equipment), and instantly assume that I cheated. Hah! I can design a part, complete with all the materials and machining knowledge, and make it myself if I have to...and have. Them booklarnin' boys (I'm one) have three thumbs on each hand (I'm not one).
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Re: Do you hold back info locally?

Post by frmla77 »

For our pack, I have tried to hold workshops and created a pdf document of things that need to be accomplished to have a competitive derby car. The workshops have been successful only in the fact that we had a couple families come out, "Help Other People". I do not know if the document is helping out people or they are not really interested in making fast cars. Just like many others in this derby world, I have been classified as overly crazy. I guess that happens when you want to find out the why's and what for's in something, instead of just cutting out a shape and throwing wheels and axles on. Our Pack finally won the District Race of Champions 2 years ago, with one of our Web II's winning it and my son coming in second as a Bear. I wanted to see if it was possible to get our Pack more competitive at District, and over the last couple of years the Pack has been doing better.

The other side is, is when your son competes in the same District as Stan "the PWD Guru Man" Pope's grandsons, and you want to be competitve, you better learn the tricks of the trade. He has helped my son and me out quite a bit the last couple of years, so I feel obligated to pass that information on, if asked that is. I do not want anyone to commit me as being insane or anything, so I do not initiate the conversation.

So short answer. We have a document that explains what to look for, what tools we have used and our experiences. It does not tell them step by step how to do it. If anyone asks, I am more than happy to share any and all information I have. Like some others have stated, if we get beat by information I gave out, then they did a better job at applying than we did.

Thanks Stan for the personal assistance. We will see you at Districts :eager:
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Re: Do you hold back info locally?

Post by Stan Pope »

frmla77 wrote:Thanks Stan for the personal assistance. We will see you at Districts :eager:
:)

But first, our progeny must be motivated to put out the effort ... "do the work" ... to qualify for district races!

Personal note: I'm down to one grandson in this district's Cub Scout program ... for a while. But... there are two more "in the queue." "My Cub Scout" and his lovely bride presented us with their second son last weekend. In about three more years, we will see if there is 3rd generation interest in PWD!
Stan
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Re: Do you hold back info locally?

Post by PhantomVirus »

Congratulations to the newest edition to the Pope clan!
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Re: Do you hold back info locally?

Post by RACER X »

My problem is that is i see a car go down the Derby Worx track and think i can get more out of it for the child I start working with him and try to max it out.

We share and show all of our stuff BUT always remember no 2 cars are ever alike (even when you try) and sometimes no matter how hard you try some cars only go so fast, but it makes for some really close pack and district racing.

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I would like to thank my sponsors: Dremel Tool, House of Kolor paints, Craftsman Tools, Derby Worx Pro Tools & Derby Worx Pro Wheels, Micro Finish & sand paper and 3M tape.
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