When he was a First Grader his Momma took him.

He was without Car and his Momma received a Kit, and the Kit was Good.

He raced a Block with Wheels - and the Block Sucked.

He did not Win, Place, nor Show.

And this Sucked.

When he was a Second Grader his Daddy took him.

His Daddy did not understand Pinewood but he was a Cabinetmaker and he
helped the boy make a straight and true car from the Kit. It did not
suck and the boy placed Third in his Pack.

The boy was happy and this did not suck.

His Daddy did not understand Pinewood.

This sucked.

This year the boy is a Bear Cub Third Grader.

His Daddy has studied Pinewood.

This year will not suck.


For Christmas this year the boy will receive devices that will true
wheels and polish axles and show him the true path of Pinewood.

This year will not suck.


This year his Daddy will allow him to make whatever freakish design
comes into his little mind and it will not suck - because it will not
matter.


It is all about gravity and friction and his Daddy now understands.

This year will not suck.


This year the boy will have tungsten weights applied to the centerline
so that the COG is one and one quarter inch forward of the rear
wheels.

Of course, this means that the precut slots will have to be ignored so
that the rear wheels can sit closer to the rear of the car.
This means that the block o' pine will be drilled for the axles and
will not depend on the default placement of those shabby crooked
slots.


This year the stock axles will be denibbed and polished with the
jeweler's rouge that is normally reserved for Daddy's best chisels.
The underside of the nail heads will be coned and polished.

This year the wheels will be trued on the lathe and the hub coned to
relieve the friction between hub and body. This year the internal
part of the hub will be polished to an ungodly sheen.

This year will not suck.

This year the wheels will be packed with the appropriate lubricant,
rather than a spit of WD-40.

This will stop some of the sucking.

This year the finish of the body will be lacquer and not paint, so
that it can be polished to a degree where friction is only a
possibility - but not an issue.


This year the boy will be taught why we sit the mass so far to the
rear and why we worry so about friction.

I don't know how much of this he will get.

He may be informed but not yet educated.

But it will not suck.

This year the boy will learn to run the drill press.

This year the boy will learn to rough out on a well protected
bandsaw.

This year the boy will learn how to polish objects on the lathe and
drill press.

This year the boy will continue his education about the use of rasps
and sandpaper.

This year the boy will get to run the HVLP in the spray booth.

This year the boy will be eight - but by the end of the year he will
be nine.

None of this sucks.

This year his Daddy will face up to the runout issues of the drill
press and lathe.

This might suck - a lot.


But, Daddy is a WoodDorker and not a freakin' machinist - so we can
only take this thing so far.

But - you know what?

It will not suck.

It will be fun.

For both of us.


Yeehaa.



Tom Watson - WoodDorker
tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/ (website)
Tom Watson - WoodDorker
tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/ (website)
Tom Watson - WoodDorker
tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/ (website)

Good Luck Tom.

Years ago when my 27 year old was in scouts we competed several times. One
year we produced a sleek little car that did fairly well and won a trophy
for best appearance. I was proud because he did the final shaping, sanding
and spray paint (with lots of parental support of course). That same year
we had at least two cars that were, for all practical purposes,
professionally designed and built. One in particular was developed by a
father who was an aeronautical engineer. This guy made no secret of the
fact that he had been able to slip it into the Wichita State University wind
tunnel for tests. It didn't even show well in the race.

The one that won was the most unusual car I had seen. The kid and his
mother had actually glued together a body that looked a lot like a Model-T
roadster - and pretty nice work to boot. I know they ran the wheels in with
a belt sander but they were most proud of the body. It blew away every
concept regarding wheels, weight placement, streamlining, etc. Pretty neat
to watch this young, fatherless fellow win.

RonB

"RonB" wrote in message
news:FcJpf.41224$ih5.12545@dukeread11...
Good Luck Tom.

Years ago when my 27 year old was in scouts we competed several times.

How old is your son now??? :~)

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 20:17:37 -0500, Tom Watson wrote:


.... looks like you're going to have to retire that psuedonym, eh?



+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 19:34:52 -0600, "RonB" wrote:

Good Luck Tom.

Years ago when my 27 year old was in scouts we competed several times. One
year we produced a sleek little car that did fairly well and won a trophy
for best appearance. I was proud because he did the final shaping, sanding
and spray paint (with lots of parental support of course). That same year
we had at least two cars that were, for all practical purposes,
professionally designed and built. One in particular was developed by a
father who was an aeronautical engineer. This guy made no secret of the
fact that he had been able to slip it into the Wichita State University wind
tunnel for tests. It didn't even show well in the race.


I'm pretty much convinced that aero drag is essentially a non-player in
this arena, speed is too slow for drag to really make a huge difference,
and the small amount of improvement is going to be swamped by other
factors. Weight, CG placement, and friction seem to be the biggest players
in this. Proper placement on the track is probably the next largest
contributor. If you don't conquer the friction issue, the aero won't do a
thing for you.

The one that won was the most unusual car I had seen. The kid and his
mother had actually glued together a body that looked a lot like a Model-T
roadster - and pretty nice work to boot. I know they ran the wheels in with
a belt sander but they were most proud of the body. It blew away every
concept regarding wheels, weight placement, streamlining, etc. Pretty neat
to watch this young, fatherless fellow win.


Pretty cool.



+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Mark & Juanita wrote:

I'm pretty much convinced that aero drag is essentially a non-player in
this arena, speed is too slow for drag to really make a huge difference,
and the small amount of improvement is going to be swamped by other
factors. Weight, CG placement, and friction seem to be the biggest players
in this. Proper placement on the track is probably the next largest
contributor. If you don't conquer the friction issue, the aero won't do a
thing for you.

I'm pretty much convinced you're right. If you drop the car to the
floor from the starting height, it will be travelling about 12 miles
per hour when it hits the ground. When you force it to travel down 30
feet of track to fall the same distance, it slows it down quite a bit.
Aerodynamics plays a part at such low speeds, but it's a small one.

I worship at the altar of friction reduction and wheel alignment.

DonkeyHody
"Don't ever wrestle with a pig. You'll both get muddy, but the pig
likes it."

Mark & Juanita wrote:
Pretty neat to watch this young, fatherless fellow win.


I was humbled by this story.

http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/th...ofvictory.html

DonkeyHody
"I'd rather expect the best from people and be wrong than expect the
worst and be right."

On 19 Dec 2005 20:22:19 -0800, "DonkeyHody"
wrote:


Mark & Juanita wrote:
Pretty neat to watch this young, fatherless fellow win.



Just to set the record straight, I only commented on the story, it was
posted by Tom Watson.

I was humbled by this story.

http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/th...ofvictory.html

DonkeyHody
"I'd rather expect the best from people and be wrong than expect the
worst and be right."


+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

I know they quit having the pine wood races in our area (they may be
back) because it was such a joke. The Dads built the car, and the sons
dabbed on some paint, or did some minor sanding to make Dad feel like
it wasn't his project.

It got absurd, and most of the kids didn't learn much from the race
except that the fact their Dads were sure competitive.

I am sure there was some good father/son bonding along the way, but
mostly in the minds of the fathers. It was really obvious to see who
was racing for the sake of competition, and it wasn't the 8- 10 year
old boys.

Robert

Mark & Juanita wrote:

Just to set the record straight, I only commented on the story, it was
posted by Tom Watson.


Hey, I wasn't making any accusations. I'm as guilty as the next guy.
The story just made me want to do more to help those boys with absent,
disengaged or simply un-handy parents. This year, I think I'll host a
work day to give all of them access to tools and assistance.

DonkeyHody
"I'd rather expect the best from people and be wrong than expect the
worst and be right."

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 21:53:32 -0700, Mark & Juanita
wrote:

On 19 Dec 2005 20:22:19 -0800, "DonkeyHody"
wrote:


Mark & Juanita wrote:
Pretty neat to watch this young, fatherless fellow win.



Just to set the record straight, I only commented on the story, it was
posted by Tom Watson.


No it wasn't.


Tom Watson - WoodDorker
tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/ (website)

The story just made me want to do more to help those boys with
absent,
disengaged or simply un-handy parents. This year, I think I'll host a
work day to give all of them access to tools and assistance.


Now THAT would be really cool. I am sure that would be the highlight
of some poor lad or lassie's month. I have a 5 year old nephew with a
dad that just can't get to showing him around a couple of easy
projects.

I "helped" him build an old fashioned carpenter's tote about six months
ago, and he talks about it all the time, and he is ready to start any
new project I am thinking up. It doesn't even have to be for him... he
likes to do things, likes to get dirty, and loves the attention.

Robert

On 20 Dec 2005 03:46:38 -0800, "DonkeyHody"
wrote:


Mark & Juanita wrote:

Just to set the record straight, I only commented on the story, it was
posted by Tom Watson.


Hey, I wasn't making any accusations. I'm as guilty as the next guy.
The story just made me want to do more to help those boys with absent,
disengaged or simply un-handy parents. This year, I think I'll host a
work day to give all of them access to tools and assistance.


Don,

I didn't take your post as accusatory, I just wanted to give credit
where credit was due. It was a good story and Tom deserved the credit for
it.



+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 13:33:21 +0000, Tom Watson wrote:

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 21:53:32 -0700, Mark & Juanita
wrote:

On 19 Dec 2005 20:22:19 -0800, "DonkeyHody"
wrote:


Mark & Juanita wrote:
Pretty neat to watch this young, fatherless fellow win.



Just to set the record straight, I only commented on the story, it was
posted by Tom Watson.


No it wasn't.


Really? Well, whoever posted it deserves the credit. I know it wasn't
me.



+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 13:33:21 +0000, Tom Watson wrote:

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 21:53:32 -0700, Mark & Juanita
wrote:

On 19 Dec 2005 20:22:19 -0800, "DonkeyHody"
wrote:


Mark & Juanita wrote:
Pretty neat to watch this young, fatherless fellow win.



Just to set the record straight, I only commented on the story, it was
posted by Tom Watson.


No it wasn't.


Tom Watson - WoodDorker
tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/ (website)

Following up on my follow-up, I went back through the thread, RonB is the
poster of that story.




+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Years ago when my 27 year old was in scouts we competed several times.

How old is your son now??? :~)
27 years old. All of this happened in the late 80's. By the way, he grew
up wanting to disassemble and rebuild things. He ended up with a degree in
Construction Management and is doing pretty well for himself. He has been
assigned to building a school down in NW Arkansas for the past several
months.

Ron

An inside tip! Paint the car red because red cars go fastest.


"Tom Watson" wrote in message
...
When he was a First Grader his Momma took him.

He was without Car and his Momma received a Kit, and the Kit was Good.

He raced a Block with Wheels - and the Block Sucked.

He did not Win, Place, nor Show.

And this Sucked.

When he was a Second Grader his Daddy took him.

His Daddy did not understand Pinewood but he was a Cabinetmaker and he
helped the boy make a straight and true car from the Kit. It did not
suck and the boy placed Third in his Pack.

The boy was happy and this did not suck.

His Daddy did not understand Pinewood.

This sucked.

This year the boy is a Bear Cub Third Grader.

His Daddy has studied Pinewood.

This year will not suck.


For Christmas this year the boy will receive devices that will true
wheels and polish axles and show him the true path of Pinewood.

This year will not suck.


This year his Daddy will allow him to make whatever freakish design
comes into his little mind and it will not suck - because it will not
matter.


It is all about gravity and friction and his Daddy now understands.

This year will not suck.


This year the boy will have tungsten weights applied to the centerline
so that the COG is one and one quarter inch forward of the rear
wheels.

Of course, this means that the precut slots will have to be ignored so
that the rear wheels can sit closer to the rear of the car.
This means that the block o' pine will be drilled for the axles and
will not depend on the default placement of those shabby crooked
slots.


This year the stock axles will be denibbed and polished with the
jeweler's rouge that is normally reserved for Daddy's best chisels.
The underside of the nail heads will be coned and polished.

This year the wheels will be trued on the lathe and the hub coned to
relieve the friction between hub and body. This year the internal
part of the hub will be polished to an ungodly sheen.

This year will not suck.

This year the wheels will be packed with the appropriate lubricant,
rather than a spit of WD-40.

This will stop some of the sucking.

This year the finish of the body will be lacquer and not paint, so
that it can be polished to a degree where friction is only a
possibility - but not an issue.


This year the boy will be taught why we sit the mass so far to the
rear and why we worry so about friction.

I don't know how much of this he will get.

He may be informed but not yet educated.

But it will not suck.

This year the boy will learn to run the drill press.

This year the boy will learn to rough out on a well protected
bandsaw.

This year the boy will learn how to polish objects on the lathe and
drill press.

This year the boy will continue his education about the use of rasps
and sandpaper.

This year the boy will get to run the HVLP in the spray booth.

This year the boy will be eight - but by the end of the year he will
be nine.

None of this sucks.

This year his Daddy will face up to the runout issues of the drill
press and lathe.

This might suck - a lot.


But, Daddy is a WoodDorker and not a freakin' machinist - so we can
only take this thing so far.

But - you know what?

It will not suck.

It will be fun.

For both of us.


Yeehaa.



Tom Watson - WoodDorker
tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/ (website)
Tom Watson - WoodDorker
tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/ (website)
Tom Watson - WoodDorker
tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/ (website)

"RonB" wrote in message
news:vt_pf.41252$ih5.848@dukeread11...

Years ago when my 27 year old was in scouts we competed several times.

How old is your son now??? :~)
27 years old. All of this happened in the late 80's. By the way, he grew
up wanting to disassemble and rebuild things.

LO My son did too. I always found parts of stuff laying around and then
an assembled toy car.

He ended up with a degree in
Construction Management and is doing pretty well for himself. He has been
assigned to building a school down in NW Arkansas for the past several
months.

My son is going for an MBA perhaps Doctorate. He just finished his first
semester in college. 3 A's, a B+, and a C+. That was the first C he has
ever make. Good enough however to keep his 4 year soclarship intact. ;~)
He is in the Honor's College at the University of Houston so I think he did
pretty good for his first semester.

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 20:17:37 -0500, Tom Watson wrote:

When he was a First Grader his Momma took him.

He was without Car and his Momma received a Kit, and the Kit was Good.

He raced a Block with Wheels - and the Block Sucked.

He did not Win, Place, nor Show.

And this Sucked.

-snip-

Good luck. I "helped" my son with his Car three years
running. Year one didn't suck because they all ate our
dust. We took first and by a large margin. Year two
the other kids (dads) got wise and copied our success.
We took third overall. Year three we tried just about
everything, but so did everyone else. We didn't place.
I'm convinced that a lot depends on the quality of the
track and how they run the race. That's been a few
years ago, he's driving a real Car now.

DGA