2017 Pinewood Derby Car (Thumb Slicer 2) by ryanpriore

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

This is a 3D printed and motorized Pinewood Derby car for our "Anything Goes" race. This race is meant to give the parents a car to build as opposed to building the scout's car for the child. The Thumb Slicer 2 (TS2) uses a 9V battery for power, an upcycled tray motor from an optical drive, an old hobby RC prop, 2 micro switches to start/stop the motor, and a main power switch. The wheels and axles come from the original Pinewood Derby car kit. There is a mess of wires wrangled through the body, and I used some sticky tack to hid the mess in the open square below the car.
Why the name, "Thumb Slicer 2"? The first version was made from a block of wood, hot glue, and some electronics. Upon showing it to my wife, it fell out of my hands and headed for the upholstered furniture... My wife reached to grab it, and the prop sliced her thumb!
Check out a brief overview of the car here: https://youtu.be/K2LVWnXM9-E
The Cub Scout Pinewood Derby can be a lot of fun and quality time spent with your child. Be sure to teach them as opposed to making the car for them!