I am a den leader for Boy Scouts of America, Pack 244 out of Vestal NY. Over the last few years we have been running the pine wood derby on an old wooden track that is about as old as when the pack was founded. Seeing that the track was aging, I decided this year to refurbish the track back to its original glory. After sanding and removing any imprecations in the rails, I set off to paint the track.
I added a few upgrades to the track as well. The stopping system at the bottom of the track was an old foam piece that was wrapped in duck tape. I removed that, and build a stopping box. I raised the rails so that the cars wheels would come up and slide into a new piece of memory foam. The raised rails allowed for the cars to only drift back a few inches and not cause the cars to break, as they did in the past. Other upgrades were a few new track stabilizers to help keep the track level and from bouncing. In the past we used stacks of books.
To protect the track from damage when it was not in use or when it was being transported, I started to build a travel box. To save money, I used old scraps of wood that I had laying around the shop. The box measures 9′ x 18″ x 18″ with a hinged lid. Due to the weight of the box, I added one set of wheels to make it easy for one person to move the box around. At each end there is a set of handles for easy lifting. The only down side to this new addition to our pinewood derby, is that it does not fit into my SUV anymore without the gate being up.
The last item i made, was a pit area to hold the cars prior to racing. The pit area was a simple piece of plywood with some 1/2″ molding used to make each cars area. Each car’s designated area has a number on it.
I hope our cubs have as much fun as I did making it. I also hope you enjoy the picture of the build. But the small impact I made to our Pack is was is important to me. #giveback #livelifepositively #Lifescout #eaglescout #pinewoodderby #derbycar
