It is that time of year again. Pinewood Derby. Every year the boys decide what their car will be. The theme is important. In the first years we just started cutting and then he would look at the shape as it evolved and decide. The first year we just hacked at the wood and all of the “theme” came at paint time. Since then we have picked a theme, tried to cut it right and then finish with style at paint time.
This year was going to be about speed, no real theme, Son #2 just wanted the fastest car. That was the plan. Plans change. While at SeaWorld in San Diego, he saw Shamu and decided he wanted a theme. Shamu, the killer whale.
Getting a block of wood to turn into an Orca seemed daunting, but we took a run at it. Will traced a picture onto a template and transferred the template to the block of wood. We usually just hack at the wood with a compound mitre saw and a RotoZip, both let the boys do it, but with my hand involved guiding. For this curvy whale, we borrowed a table scroll saw. It worked great, and its slow cutting speed meant the 3rd grader could actually do most of the cutting solo (while I shot video).
The curves were in, but we needed a dorsal fin. While we could have cut some wood, I decided to try something I bought a few months ago… ShapeLock. It worked great. Heat up some water, drop the plastic beads in until they are clear then I simply pressed it into shape. I used a circular glass spoon rest we have and shaped the backside with a knife. The bonus came by embedding a bend paperclip so it had a pin at the bottom to stick it into the wood Orca.
A little paint job and he is ready to race.