Tuesday, January 31, 2012
I Don't Know What I Am Doing!
This weekend I saw the true value of schools maintaining a program for wood and metal shop. Unfortunately, the one opportunity I had to take wood and metal shop was the first two years of that Manchester Twp. Middle was open and we had no wood...or metal and we pretty much read text books on the subjects.
So now here I am at the age of 40 and can barely use a tape measure. Who suffers for it. My son Willie as I try to help him make a pine-wood racer.
The rules that go into making these cars are on par with that of Sprint Cup racing.
1) No more than 5oz in weight.
2) car can be no wider than...I don't remember.
3) car must clear 3/8 of an inch from the ground.
The car that me and W made was far too wide and I put the weights on the bottom so the clearance was messed up as well.
I realized we were in trouble when I went to put the wheels on and saw that I had cut the front end too close to where the wheels go into the front of the car. Putting in the wheels essentially split the wood in the front.
From there it was all down hill...
When I told W that I thought we were gonna have to scrap the Pine Wood Derby he was a true Trooper. He told it was all good and he would get to sleep in on Saturday...
However, I will say this. If W sticks with Scouts, next year watch out! Were coming back...and our car will ROCK...and ROll to VICTORY!
Labels: Pinewood derby, rob Kerns, Scouts
# posted by robcasting @ 1:12 AM 
Comments:
<< Home
My son, and wife, neglected to tell me what day Beau's first Pinewood Derby was to be held. Darn it, they can't rely on me to know something like that, can they? Well my son and I worked very hard (at a very slow pace) to get his car ready.
The day of the Derby, which again I had know clue of, we got a call from a friend, "Are you coming?"
Crap, we glued the wheels on, did our best to add some weight to make it heavy and within standards. This car was like grampa's whittled stick made on the front porch.
We made the race (a little late) and as expected didn't do so well in the racing competition.
We sat there with all these painted "machines" with lego men glued to them, or the ones with the cool lightening bolt stickers, or hot metallic red paint like your always dreamed your first car would have.
YET, YET, when awards were handed out Beau got the blue ribbon for whatever it was called, I am gonna guess something like "coolest looking car."
I am on the fence that the judges were either feeling sorry for us, or they were like really freaking old and thought the whittled look was retro.
Either way, he was so happy and that made all my pent up thoughts of being a failure as a father all better.
It is not so much what dad thinks is a success, but what our little Scouts do.
Jim Vorndran
Post a Comment
The day of the Derby, which again I had know clue of, we got a call from a friend, "Are you coming?"
Crap, we glued the wheels on, did our best to add some weight to make it heavy and within standards. This car was like grampa's whittled stick made on the front porch.
We made the race (a little late) and as expected didn't do so well in the racing competition.
We sat there with all these painted "machines" with lego men glued to them, or the ones with the cool lightening bolt stickers, or hot metallic red paint like your always dreamed your first car would have.
YET, YET, when awards were handed out Beau got the blue ribbon for whatever it was called, I am gonna guess something like "coolest looking car."
I am on the fence that the judges were either feeling sorry for us, or they were like really freaking old and thought the whittled look was retro.
Either way, he was so happy and that made all my pent up thoughts of being a failure as a father all better.
It is not so much what dad thinks is a success, but what our little Scouts do.
Jim Vorndran
# posted by 
: 3:23 AM
: 3:23 AM Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
