Pinewood Derby Designs and Patterns (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Start creating a Pinewood Derby car not by jumping right in and making the first cuts, but by understanding the tools you'll need, learning how..." (more)
Key Phrases: new axle holes, small high speed cutter, tungsten carbide cutter, Pinewood Derby, Cutting Pattern, Vintage Racecar (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The Ultimate Guide to Creating the Coolest Car!



Ready to take the design of your Pinewood Derby car to the next level? For
anyone who wants to wow the crowds with sleek lines and eye-catching extras,
Pinewood Derby Designs & Patterns is the only guide you need.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 118 pages
• Publisher: DK Publishing (October 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756632625
• ISBN-13: 978-0756632625
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 7.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #144,640 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #13 in	Books > Home & Garden > Crafts & Hobbies > Wood Toys
  #78 in	Books > Home & Garden > Crafts & Hobbies > Models
  #99 in	Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Transportation > Cars & Trucks > Nonfiction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth every dollar and much more!, October 21, 2009

By	Wade Charlesworth (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This book has everything you will need to create a car and enjoy the pinewood derby experience. A picture is worth a thousand words and this is packed with photo's galore. Many car plans to choose from and step by step instructions on design, shaping, painting, and fine tuning a car for maximum speed. I have been doing pinewood derby for 8 years. I have bought most books on this subject and I cut out about 110-150 cars a year for our church and thought that I had seen it all but this book took me to another level. Our pinewood doesn't start for another 3 months and I am already to get started.

I don't just recommend this book, I suggest you get 2-3 copies and pass them around!

Wade Charlesworth
New Life Worship Center

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice Design Book, January 27, 2009

By	Ohio Woodworker "Ohio Woodworker" (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This book provide some great ideas to constructing a pinewood derby car. Although it does go over basic speed tips, this is not a book about building fast cars rather a book about design options and detailing a very nice car. Also several very unique design templates are provided if you need an idea on what to build with your scout.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Designs & Patterns...not so many, September 29, 2008

By	Kenneth R. Friend II (Cape Cod, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

About a week ago I attended my son's first cub scout meeting. The pack leader handed me a plastic "lunch box" that contained all of the parts I would need to build a pinewood derby racer!

I was suddenly transported back in time and I had wonderful visions of my first (and only) pinewood derby car. I remember racing and winning, over and over again! What I didn't remember was the finer points of designing and building the car. Maybe because my dad never had me participate in that part of it!?

I'm not much of a woodworker, in fact I am not very good at any type of measuring, cutting, shaping or construction tasks. I can measure something five times and still manage to cut it incorrectly. I knew immediately that I was going to need some serious help to get this car put together. I've got plenty of friends who are engineers/fabricators would be willing to help out. I've got access to computer controlled lathes, mills and exotic materials like titanium and aluminum. Heck, I'm sure I could track down a physicist around here who could come up with a nice design for this car to win some races...

Then I thought that it would have really been nice if my dad would have included me in on building my car when I was younger. I knew that I needed to build as much of this car as I can, without help and to include my son as much as possible.

I did a little research on the internet and came across this book. My wife ended up finding it (along with others) at the local library. I started reading. I really like how the author has taken the time to provide the reader with templates, pictures, diagrams, tool lists etc. He even has a few sections on tips & tricks and reminds the reader at every opportunity that this is the cub scout's car and he should be included.

In the book, there are three major designs where the author gives detailed instructions on how to build the car from start to finish. In the rear of the book he has a few templates and design ideas that aren't useful to a casual builder. The tool lists are somewhat inaccurate but they are a good starting point. I recommend you review the build process along with the tool list to ensure you have everything you need.

I was a little disappointed by the author's lack of information on the speed of the car designs. I would have expected he posted which car designs were the fastest...he did not.

At this point, I'm nowhere near finished with the car that my son chose for us to build. We're building a stock car because it looks cool (the design is AWESOME). I had to bring the main block into work to get it drilled on the drill press...tonight we'll glue it all together and tomorrow I will cut it out here on the band saw....yep, you're going to need some of the more exotic tools if you want to build a cool car. A dremel is a MUST for any of the designs in this book. I could not imagine cutting some of these templates out using a handsaw.

All in all, it's a really decent book for someone like me. I just wish he had more designs in the book or more complete templates because some of his ideas are very, very cool. Wish me luck, I'm heading home to do some work on the car!