Pinewood Derby Trophy Stand

It's getting to be that time of year where we start working on our Pinewood Derby cars for our Cub Scouts.

However, after all the work in building and racing your car, how do you plan to display your mean machine? Some people I know just store them in the cardboard box the kit came in.. how boring. Others may spend some bucks on a fancy plastic box... how unoriginal.

Well. when my oldest son started in Scouts, one of the parents wanted the kids to build trophy stands, good idea, but a very poor execution. Too many screws and nails, and they wobbled. So the next year, I offered to come up with a trophy stand kit. This is it.

I wanted it to look like a trophy, and be reminiscent of the Pinewood Derby track. Also, it had to be easy to put together, and inexpensive to produce. This kit fits the bill. No screws, no nails. Easy to glue and paint. Lastly, I just made 36 kits for $22.50 in supplies. Thats $0.625 per kit.

Here's what you need:

Pine boards 1"X4"(16 inches per kit)
Poplar Dowel 1/2" diameter (4inches per kit)

Tools:
Mitre saw
Router in Router Table
Router Bits (3/4" straight, and some sort of fancy edge)
Drill Press
Drill Bit - 1/2" (forstner or spade)

Let's get started!

Step 1 Cut your boards

Each kit needs an 8" base and an 8" 'track'.

Start cutting your wood into 8" pieces. I used a miter saw with a clamp set at 8" so it could cut quickly and accurately.

You can use any saw you want, as long as you can cut the wood into 8" lengths.

Comments

[sstables42]

I used your design with my Bear Den last year. It worked out great. I made the parts in my shop and had them sand, glue and assemble at our meeting. Thanks for the Instructable!

[lee_schnitz]

That's awesome! Glad to hear it worked for you.

Feel free to post a reply with some pictures. Would love to see how your Scouts did!

Lee

[steliart]

What kind of finish you would put on it?

[lee_schnitz]

You can pretty much do whatever you want.
 
For our Scouts, this was a project done in the week or two before the derby, and we let them finish as they saw fit.  Typically with water based paints or spray paint.

Usually not the most beautiful finish, but one they could all be proud of.

[dascomp51]

That's a great idea. I have a Webelos den that could use this idea. I only have one question. What stops the cars from rolling off the ends? Do you put anything on the bottom of the cars to hold them?

[lee_schnitz]

Because the 'track' piece is at an angle, the wheels rest against the edge of the 'track' and they dont roll off. Also, if you drill properly, the track piece will be level. If you want to make sure the cars dont roll off, I would suggest putting in some 1/2 inch dowel, about 3/4 tall on either end of the car. Good luck, and let me know if you make them.

[K0JSY]

Or just don't run the router all the way to the end.  That would create a "curb" at each end of the car. I really like this idea.  I've been trying to figure out an idea for my sons' cars.  Thanks!

[lee_schnitz]

Definitely!

In my case, it was just easier going edge to edge, because I had to make 36 stands!  8-)

If you make one, feel free to post a picture. 

Lee

[GorillazMiko]

cool instructable, i have like a whole bunch of trophies and theyre like all in my brothers closet LOL

[technodude92]

Nice Instrucable. clear instructions, good pictures, wish i knew this when i was in cub scouts. I'm Star scout now currently working on my eagle.