My 9-year-old son, Stephen, a Bear Cub Scout, has been around power tools safely since he was a Tiger. This Pinewood Derby season marks his fourth car build, though he’s only participated in two races. Between crafting pinewood derby cars, building bird feeders and houses, making regatta boats, and tackling various home projects and repairs, he’s gained considerable woodworking experience compared to many in our Pack. When a design calls for the radial arm saw, I handle or secure the wood, allowing him to operate the handle with my supervision, using a two-hands-on-two-hands approach. I strongly advise against using a radial arm saw for anyone but the most experienced Cub Scout. No Cub Scout should ever use this tool unsupervised! These saws vary significantly in height, pull weight, and safety features, which is why I restrict its use to myself, regardless of age or experience. It’s my workshop, and safety is paramount.
Stephen has become proficient with our hobby scroll saw, making it our go-to tool for major cuts. He actually cut the initial car shapes for our educational construction display stand entirely by himself and sometimes makes cleaner cuts than I do! Other dads are often surprised when he explains how the stand was made.
Shaping the roughly cut car body begins with a rasp, again with the workpiece clamped or in a vise. Both of his rasps are equipped with plastic handles, but I still insist on him wearing gloves for safety. Some rasps lack handles and can be dangerous. His toolbox also includes a range of files for finer shaping as needed.
While we own a Dremel tool, Stephen has struggled with control. I also find these smaller tools somewhat cumbersome and slow. However, the designs he’s chosen so far haven’t required intricate detailing.
The next shaping station is typically the drum sander, which we mount in our slow-speed drill press.
We create the weight pocket using a router bit in the drill press. I set a depth limit to prevent cutting through the car entirely. We mark the underside with a black Sharpie fine point, clearly outlining the area for wood removal. The car is secured upside down on a small piece of plywood, which allows for controlled movement. We typically make the 1/4″ pocket in two passes, each 1/8″ deep.
Every tool operation is practiced on scrap wood first, until we achieve the desired result. By the time we finish one car, we usually have two or three others in various stages of completion.
Steve
