{"id":2038,"date":"2015-02-08T22:12:16","date_gmt":"2015-02-09T03:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/?p=2038"},"modified":"2019-10-26T18:11:26","modified_gmt":"2019-10-26T22:11:26","slug":"how-to-build-an-awesome-batmobile-pinewood-derby-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/2015\/02\/how-to-build-an-awesome-batmobile-pinewood-derby-car\/","title":{"rendered":"How to build an awesome Batmobile Pinewood Derby car"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I designed and created what I feel like is a pretty awesome looking Batmobile car.  I will attempt to give you step by step instructions below.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer 1:<\/strong>  This was my car that I created for the open class adult races at my son’s local cub scout Pinewood Derby event recently.  This design will very likely NOT <\/strong>meet all the rules and regulations for size and weight that apply to cub scout Pinewood Derby cars.  This is too difficult a build for a child that age anyways.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer 2:<\/strong> The construction steps below are in the order that I went through them, but I realized several times that I had done some steps out of turn.  So please read and understand the entire process and try to not make the same mistakes that I made.<\/p>\n

I always first start out with a hand drawn template.  You can download a template here and try to draw the Batmobile design yourself<\/a>, or you can download the image below and print it on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper and it should be pretty close to the correct size.  The Batmobile design that I came up with is wider and taller and even longer than the standard block of wood that comes with the Pinewood Derby car kits.  So I had to make my own block of wood for this build.<\/p>\n

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I started with some scrap pine 1×6 wood that I had laying around my shop.  It’s possible to use harder woods, but it will make the shape carving process much more difficult.<\/p>\n

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I ripped this board down on my table saw to 2 strips that were 2.75 inches wide.  You really don’t want to make a Pinewood Derby car more than about 2.75 inches wide or it could overlap into the adjacent car’s lane on the track and the event organizers may not even let you race it.<\/p>\n

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Then I found the best three sections from the strips that were about 9 inches long and cut them out using my miter saw.<\/p>\n

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Then I carefully put a thin and even layer of wood glue between them and clamped the three pieces together.  If the glue is not done carefully, you could end up with gaps which could come apart later during the shape carving.  If that happens, you will just have to get the glue out again and glue the thing back together.<\/p>\n

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And now here is the block of wood we will use to start our Batmobile carving.  I should have taken a photo of this block of wood next to the standard one that comes with the Pinewood Derby car kits to show you how much bigger this block is.<\/p>\n

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Now we need to transfer the Batmobile silhouette to the block of wood.  I scribbled with chalk on the back side of the paper template, but you can also scribble with pencil, which shows up better on this light colored wood.  Another option is to cut out the silhouette completely, then trace around it.<\/p>\n

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After scribbling on the back, just lay it on the block of wood and hold it there …<\/p>\n

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… while you trace around the entire silhouette with a pencil.<\/p>\n

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When you are done, you will see the chalk has transferred to the wood.  In hindsight, pencil would have been much easier to see on this light colored pine.<\/p>\n

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Because the chalk was hard to see, I traced around the whole outline with a pencil.<\/p>\n

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Then I cut out the shape using a band saw.  This first band saw cut does not have to be perfect.  We will do lots of shaping later, so these band saw cuts can be rough.  As a matter of fact, I did not cut all the way to the lines with this initial band saw cut and that left me lots of leeway and flexibility later when I was doing my shaping work.<\/p>\n

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Here is the first rough cut of the silhouette from the top.  You can see how I did not cut all the way to the lines.<\/p>\n

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Now here is another thing that I did wrong.  I wish I had done this before cutting the rough silhouette.  I used many many swipes with my table saw to make a slot underneath the car for the race track.  The wheels stick down beneath the bottom of the car about 1\/2 inch, so I made this slot about 3\/8ths deep.  So the wheels will hold the hanging down parts up off the track floor about 1\/8th of an inch.  This car design hangs down way low which makes it look all that much cooler.<\/p>\n

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How wide did I make this slot?  The exact width of the normal standard Pinewood Derby car which is 1.75 inches.<\/p>\n

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Just to verify the width was correct, I set the standard Pinewood Derby car block of wood in the slot and it fit perfectly.<\/p>\n

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Now that the silhouette is done from above, It’s time to cut out the silhouette from the side view.  Since the car’s side panel is no longer just a flat piece of wood, I cut out the side view silhouette and laid it down on the side of the block of wood …<\/p>\n

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… and I traced the silhouette down into the hills and valleys of the block of wood.<\/p>\n

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You have to sort of project the lines with your imagination a little bit sometimes.<\/p>\n

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After cutting the side silhouette using the band saw, the block of wood looks something like this.  It’s actually starting to take shape a little bit.<\/p>\n

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Now before we start carving into areas to remove wood that should not be there, we need some guidelines to go by.  So I transferred all the lines from the side view silhouette to the side of the block.<\/p>\n

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And I did the same thing to the top of the block.<\/p>\n

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Then I started visualizing where the lines crossed and overlapped and thought about which sections of wood needed to be removed and which needed to stay.<\/p>\n