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Pinewood Derby Stories and Photos from Maximum Velocity
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Custom Pinewood Derby Neckerchief Slide
From Andy Holzer
Figure 1 - Neckerchief Slide
My son, Noah, asked to make a slide using a pinewood wheel to wear at the different pinewood derby races we do throughout the year. He is a second year Boy Scout now, and is still losing neckerchief slides all of the time. We have purchased way too many slides since he was a Tiger.
Noah came up with the neckerchief slide concept, but I had to take it a little further with the checkered race theme and some Cub Scout logos.
Figure 2 - The Plan
The materials for this project are a pinewood derby wheel and axle, and 1/2 inch PVC piping (less than $2 from a hardware store or home center. A 10 foot section should make approximately 155 slides).
The PVC pipe is cut into 3/4 inch lengths and cleaned up with some fine (150 to 220) sandpaper. I have cut these on my band saw and also on a 12 inch chop saw (with a fine blade). Then a 17/64 inch hole is drilled into the side of the PVC pipe. The decoration on the PVC is sticker paper printed with the logos and checkerboard pattern. It is applied to the PVC and then laminated with 2 inch box tape.
The axle is cut with cutting pliers, and the cut end is ground smooth then epoxied into the wheel bore. The wheel lettering is colored using a white paint pen, then clear coated with a matte clear so the painted lettering does not come off if the slide is rubbed.
The slide looks great, but I wonder how long until he loses this one? There must be a big stockpile of lost neckerchief slides somewhere in this world!
