Need heavy slug for pinewood derby car

[WA 2 FST]

Guys,

Its been a long time since I built one of these... and I was a kid. My daughter is entering a car in one of those "pinewood derby" type events.

I have already cut the shape out of a block of wood (resembles a C5). Right now the car weighs 2 oz with the wheels/axles in place. I need it to weigh as close to 5 oz (max weight) as possible.

I need something small that weighs a lot that I can affix to the car (underside... by drilling out a little of the wood). I'd rather not use lead, but even if I wanted to, I don't know where I'd find something like that.

How heavy are fishing lures?

I had some old threaded plugs (automotive...have no idea where they came from) and its amazing how light they are. I don't have _that_ much wood (the dimensions of the car are ~6.5" long x 2" wide and 2" tall) that I can remove, so I need something small that weighs a lot.

I went and bought some BB's... too light. I'd have to add a LOT of BBs.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thx.

[L8 APEX]

You can pour the shot out of LEAD shotgun shells a box is about 4 bucks at Walmart. You can cut them open with a steak knife or hack saw.

[dboat]

How about fender washers?

[WA 2 FST]

You can pour the shot out of LEAD shotgun shells a box is about 4 bucks at Walmart. You can cut them open with a steak knife or hack saw.

Just have to wonder how heavy that is going to be, that's all...meaning how much of that I will have to use in my limited amount of space. I forgot how _heavy_ 3 oz can be... its all relative, I guess.

I'll go back to Wal-Mart and get some shells. That's worth trying.

Dana, I have several fender washers... I'd have to add quite a few to get to 3oz.

[Mark #2]

You can pour the shot out of LEAD shotgun shells a box is about 4 bucks at Walmart. You can cut them open with a steak knife or hack saw.

We used Tungsten in my winning car, there are a lot of web sites dedicated to building these cars and they discuss where to place the weight, but it also depends on the type of track.

Electro-polishing the axles and pressure impregnating the plastic wheels with dry Molydisulfide also helps.

My car had a few metallurgists working on it, they showed me how to do it, and now I are one.

[PUMP]

You can get lead fishing line sinkers or tire ballance weights. Or use solder (from Hobby Lobby. it's used to lead in glass for stained glass windows). Melt into 3-oz block and then pound flat to fit. Weight goes as far to rear of car as possible.

If this is pine box derby for cub-scouts, there is not too much you can do to the axles.

If it's for YMCA Indian guides/princesses, you can polish the axles to reduce wheel friction.

Hardest part is getting the darn things to track in straight line.
Good luck:nana2:nana2:nana2

[Mark #2]

Indium solders are about 2x denser than lead solders also.

[WA 2 FST]

Good info, guys. Thank you very much.

Actually its a church-affiliated derby (AWANA). I've never even seen the type of track used, so I'm flying basically blind, having only the instructions they give me as far as dimension restrictions... and those are pretty limited/primitive.

Tungsten... yeah, that's what my dad/granddad used. I remember that now. No idea where I could find that.

I am going to try the fishing lures/shotgun pellets and Gorilla Snot glue and it should be good.

I was going to drill a couple of holes in the rear end (to get weight back there) and slide in a couple of 9mm bullets to make it look like exhaust pipes. My wife kind of frowned on that idea. :rll:

[Silver_2000]

Ive got some 1/4 inch sheet lead if you want some

indium is pretty pricy (http://cgi.ebay.com/10g-Indium-Metal-Wire-99-999-Pure-gasket-Solder_W0QQitemZ250329683380QQcmdZViewItem)$20 for 10g

[WA 2 FST]

Thanks, Doug. I'll let you know. We already started working on it tonight... removing some wood, getting it prepped to add the weight. I might could use some tiny strips of that.

[L8 APEX]

The dimensions you posted are in inches, is this car for a kid or a model size car? What quantity of weight do you need?

[WA 2 FST]

The dimensions you posted are in inches, is this car for a kid or a model size car? What quantity of weight do you need?

Yes, this thing is tiny. It's a model car... not for a kid to sit in.

[L8 APEX]

lead shot is probably the cheapest and easy to shape. You can mold or pour in solder or lead. I think solder melts around 320'f lead is closer to 600'f. Wood should withstand 340'f if you want to pour in melted solder to fill a wood form.

[Ohmsby]

Lead tape found at any golf store and has adhesive back. Used on clubs to alter weight balance

[L8 APEX]

Discount Tire has tape weights. Also, #9 shot is the smallest.

[Silver_2000]

most solder doesnt have lead any more

I doubt that wheel weights or golf weights do either - its too toxic -

[99WhiteBeast]

Dremmel out a hole in the bottom and put an old spark plug in there- that's got to weigh a few ounces.

[Moonshine]

This thread is useless without pics. ;)