What tools do you use to shape your cars? (2024)

Well I am blessed with my grandpa having a band saw. He cuts out my sons cars.

But other than that, I use a dremely for removing material underneath to add the weights.

A palm sander for basic block, wedge shapes.

and in the past, if I really have to, I use a jig saw to cut the shape. But seems like its almost impossible to have it cut strait.

The blade for some reason just bends to much, in the block of wood.

It will look good on the front (line) and the back side, end of the blade will be off alot.

Sporty

I mount the block to 2" X 2" X 18" piece of wood (squared - from a skid), for better control, and cut the basic shape on the band saw.

Final shaping has been done on the belt/disc sander, but that's too dangerous/delicate for a child. We'll probably try a wood rasp & palm sander this year.

Haven't used the Dremel yet.

Weight holes/pockets are done on the drill press using an X/Y vise.

A drum sander can be used in the drill press to sand angles by feeding the block into the drum sander with the block against a fence (to adjust depth of cut).

Haven't used the scroll saw much, but it will work much better than a jig saw.

The WIRL cars that I sent for the 2005 season were completely done using hand tools, coping saw, wood rasp, wood files, and lots of sand paper. I was able to use a chisel to cut out the wood for the weight. i think that you have better control of where a hand tool is going versus a power tool that cuts real fast. If I were to make another car that would be a wing or wedge that would be different, a band saw would do the trick.

We don’t race WIRL but my sons and I have shaped a few pinewood derby cars. What we use is dictated by what shape we want when we are finished (although the shape we end up with is sometimes different than what we started to make… ). In addition to most of the tools already listed we have used: coping saw, hole cutting saw (in a drill press), X-acto knife, various items as sanding/shaping blocks (including a spent CO2 cartridge), miter saw, and a radial arm saw.

To lighten up the pwd car body and to hollow it out we have been using a Dremel tool in their Drill Press accessory. We flip the car upside down (after marking the area we want to rote) and use a routing bit than small drum sander to take out the unwanted wood. This same set-up can be used to shape the car body as well.

Da Graphite Kid

Those cars are indeed awesome.

I dont know a thing about whirl racing or what the specs are.

Perhaps you can start a topic, I am curious how much different they are from the PWD cars. In regards to size, shape and design.

Is there a reasons a whirl car body is not used in PWD ? aside from the wheels ?

Sporty

Hmm, I saw you were a Arcitech ! Perhaps we know why the cars are so awesome.

Stephen is a 9 year old Bear & has been trained on & around power tools since becoming a Tiger. This season's will be his fourth finished car though he has only seen two seasons of racing. So between Pinewood Cars, various bird feeders & houses, Regatta Boats & various around the home projects & repairs, he is quite a bit more experienced with wood working than most of the other boys in our Pack.

If a design requires the use the Radial Arm saw then I hold or clamp the work & he is allowed to pull the handle with me standing there using 2 hands on 2 hands. I DO NOT recommend the Radial Arm Saw for any but the most experienced Cub. No Cub Scout should ever use this tool alone! These tools vary in height, pull weight & safety features so much that I don't let anyone else use this saw regardless of age or experience. It's my house & I'd like to keep it that way.

Stephen has gotten very good with our hobby sized Scroll Saw so the major cutting is done there. He actually cut the two rough cars that we have mounted in our educational contruction display stand by himself & is sometimes a good deal better than me at some cuts. Other Dads just shake their heads when he explains how the stand was made! LOL

Shaping the rough cut body is started using a rasp by him again with the work clamped or in the vise. Both of his rasps have plastic handles but I still like for him to wear gloves. Some rasps don't have handles & are dangerous. His toolbox also has a variety of files that are used as needed.

We have a Dremel Tool but he has always had control problems with it. I also find the small tools are frustratingly difficult & slow but the designs he has selected so far have not really required much finesse.

So the next workstation is usually the drum sander chucked into the very slow moving drill press.

We cut the weight pocket with a router bit chucked into the drill press. I set it up with a depth limit so he doesn't bore right through the car. We mark the underside with a black Sharpie Fine point so he can clearly see the area we need to remove wood. The car is supported & clamped upside down on a small piece of plywood. This facilitates the controlled movement of the car. We usually make the 1/4" pocket in 2 plunges of 1/8" each.

Every operation is practiced on scrap lumber first for as long as required to get the finished result he's after. By the time he finishes a car we usually have 2-3 others in various stages of completion.

Steve

Last year my Son Grant really took to the scroll saw, he'd used it as a Tiger the pervious year but with a little more trepidation. The Dremel tool is another favorite of his but he's only allowed to use sanding attachments with that one.

Band saws, table saws, planers, ect are much too dangerous for any Cub. I've got all of them in my shop but my Sons won't have access to them until they are in their teens. Even with the "hands on hands" approach, the larger power tools are unforgiving and will cause a lifetime of disability in an instant.

A Cub can build a beautiful car using a scroll saw, drill press, and shaping tools like a rasp and sanding blocks which is all that we used on last years car.

I've probably used all the tools we provide at our workshops at one point or another, depending on my car design that year.

We don't let kids use the band saw. Some of the adults don't even want to use the band saw.

The Dremel tool is pretty hard to control with a cutting blade, so that turns into an adult-only tool. But with a sanding drum, kids can use it.

The kids get a lot of mileage out of the bench sanders (mostly the belt sander). Some use the scroll saw, but the blade isn't long enough to cut the width of our blocks, so it's only useful for cutting the "view from top" shape, not the car's profile.

Hand tools include coping saws, X-ACTO knives and craft saws, sanding sticks (cheap rasps made by gluing coarse sandpaper to 1x1x12" sticks), chisels (make sure they're sharp, and supervise the kids closely!), and emery boards (yes, the kind for fingernails).

One thing I discovered a while ago: It's easier to construct something than to carve it. I've got a supply of assorted pieces of basswood and dowels that I use to build parts of my cars.

Darin McGrew
Photos of Unusual Derby Cars
Upcoming Car Rallyes in Silicon Valley

My son and I used a variety of hand and power tools (jigsaw, coping saw, files and rasps, lots of sandpaper.

A Dremel tool mounted in a Dremel Drill Press with a spiral saw bit is another excellent method for shaping and removing material. We also used a router mounted in a router table, but this takes a lot of care.

My son loved using the Dremel tool. You can get good results very quickly, and can very minutely control the action taking place; but I would recommend having the tool fixed/mounted/clamped in place and have the cub move the block into the tool. Also, have the cub practice using these tools before getting started. This will allow you to teach and correct technique, and make the cub (and you) much less anxious during the actual project.

Here's to a great season!

band saw
Dremel tool
wood rasp
sandpaper
drill press (holes)
drill press with hose clamp holding depth fixed and a router bit (milling), in conjunction with a 2way table/vice

For complicated shaping of this year's car (our first complex car) so far the band saw, router, and Dremel have saved hours of whittling/grinding by hand (if you are trying to do it the old fasioned way).

-Terry