Packs around the country are preparing to hold their annual pinewood derby. There are many ways to make your pinewood derby car go faster. Here are some of them.

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR PINEWOOD DERBY CAR DESIGN

The possibilities are endless when it comes to picking a shape for your pinewood derby car. Before you begin, consider the following guidelines:

NEED IDEAS? See a slideshow of more than 100 cool pinewood derby designs created by Boys’ Life readers

Avoid designs with a pointed nose. A pointed nose will make it difficult for your pinewood derby car to rest on the pin at the starting gate. It may also cause your pinewood derby car to get bumped around when the pin drops, and it can create problems for electronic timing systems.

Leave enough wood in the rear of the pinewood derby car so you can place additional weight there. You will end up putting most of the weight in the rear of the pinewood derby car.

Be sure that it is very clear which end of your pinewood derby car is the front and which end is the back. In many races, the race officials—not you—will actually place each pinewood derby car on the track. Sometimes the officials put the pinewood derby car on the track backward because they can’t tell which end is which.

Choose a design that allows the air to move over and around the pinewood derby car body in a smooth manner. Pinewood derby cars with aerodynamic profiles go faster.

DESIGNING THE ULTIMATE PINEWOOD DERBY CAR

You don’t have to strive for the “ultimate pinewood derby car” to build a fast car and have fun competing in your pinewood derby. But if you and a helpful adult are willing to put in the extra time and effort, these tips are for you.

LOOKING GOOD How to give your pinewood derby car that glossy finish

Bake the Block: Start with your block of wood, and before you do anything else, bake it in the oven at 250 degrees for around two hours to remove moisture and make it lighter.

Create the Design: Select a fast design.

Cut the Design: Draw the outline of your pinewood derby car on a sheet of paper, cut it out and attach it to your block of wood.

Make a Three-Wheeler: Raise one wheel about 1/16 inch higher so it never actually touches the track. Less friction = more speed.

Extend the Wheelbase: The front and rear wheels should be as far apart as possible.

Determine Weight Placement: A heavier rear increases speed. Add weight to the rear of your pinewood derby car.

Create Glue Holes: Glue the axles firmly in their holes to ensure that they stay perfectly placed.

Sand the Pinewood Derby Car: Make it smooth to reduce friction.

Lubricate the Wheel Well: The less friction between the body and wheel, the better.

CHOOSING YOUR AXLES

Not all axles are created equal. Here’s a tip on choosing the straightest out of your bunch.

1. Start with a set of about 20 raw axles.

2. Can you tell the difference between the axles in the top row and the ones on the bottom? The ones on the bottom aren’t straight and will slow your car.

3. To tell which are straight and which aren’t, mark each axle with a marker about 1/2 inch from the pointed end.

4. Have an adult clamp a power drill into a vise, a device that will hold it perfectly still.

5. Have an adult help you clamp each axle into the drill at the location you marked in Step 3. Have the adult turn on the drill.

6. Bent axles will wobble as they turn in the drill. Straight axles will hardly wobble at all. Pick the ones that wobble least.

WANT MORE SECRETS?

Pick up a copy of “Pinewood Derby Speed Secrets” (BSA Supply No. 30538, 1-800-323-0736, www.scoutstuff.org) for lots more info on building the pinewood derby car body, preparing the axles and wheels, alternatives to the “ultimate pinewood derby car” and putting it all together.

And once you’ve built your pinewood derby car, get ideas on making it look great from “Pinewood Derby Designs & Patterns” (DK Publishing, $12.95 softcover), also available from a BSA retail store.

Remember: The No. 1 rule of a pinewood derby is that it’s supposed to be fun. While you should always strive to do your best, don’t get caught up in winning. Just enjoy the ride.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

• Coarse, medium-grit and fine sandpaper
• Liquid Sanding Sealer
• Enamel paint
• Decals or self-stick numbers
• Testor’s Glosscote clear gloss paint
• Floor wax paste

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Support Your Sandpaper

Begin by wrapping sandpaper in a block of wood 1 inch by 3 inches. Without a block of wood for support, sandpaper can leave dips and gullies in the pinewood body.

Round the corners of the pinewood with coarse sandpaper. For the squared-off look of an antique car or a modern Indy 500 car, sand the edges lightly. If you want the shape of Sprint or older Grand Prix cars, sand until the pinewood has an oval or elliptical shape.

Change to medium-grit paper for smoothing rough edges. Finish with fine sandpaper to remove any sanding marks.

Hide the Grain

Just painting the pinewood won’t hide the wood’s grain. Apply two coats of liquid Sanding Sealer (sold at hobby shops). Let the sealer dry overnight before sanding it lightly with fine-grit paper.

If the grain still shows, apply two more coats of sealer. Let it dry overnight and sand again. Repeat the process until the grain disappears.

Choose a color for your racer. Then apply two to three coats of enamel paint to the pinewood body. Spraying the model with paint from an aerosol can is easier than using a brush.

If you use a brush, dip only the lower third of the brush into the paint. Use single, smooth strokes instead of dabbing the paint on the model. Blend the strokes so they can’t be seen.

Pick a Number

Place a race number on the car. Buy self-stick numbers at stationery stores or decals at a hobby shop.

Seal and protect the race number by spraying the entire model with Testor’s Glosscote clear gloss paint. Other clear paints may make the numbers curl. Test the clear paint on a decal or number stuck to scrap plastic before spraying your racer.

Let the clear paint dry for at least a week. Then cover the model with floor wax paste and buff to a high gloss. The wax will protect the car and give your pinewood derby racer the look of shining steel.

More pinewood derby fun:

• Complete pinewood derby guide
• More than 100 photos of pinewood derby cars sent in by readers
• Speed secrets to make your pinewood derby car go faster
• Watch video of a super-fast pinewood derby track
• Play BL’s online pinewood derby game

One way is to make an insect spreading board — your own nature museum made up of the most common insects in your neighborhood. It might make you think twice before squashing the next bug you see.

Here’s how to make your own bug board:

STEP 1: Get a good field guide. You can buy “Bugs & Slugs: An Introduction to Familiar North American Invertebrates” from www.scoutstuff.org ($5.95, Item No. 30403), but you can also find good guides for free at the library or on the Internet.

A good guide should provide color photos or illustrations of different bugs, along with information on their behavior and habitat.

STEP 2: Make a collecting net. You can buy one at many retail stores (often in the toy department), or you can make your own with a wire clothes hanger and a patch of nylon strainer netting available at most hardware stores.

Bend the clothes hanger into a loop. Go to the paint section of the hardware store and ask for a five-gallon nylon strainer. Weave some fishing line through the holes near the edge of the strainer and “sew” it to the clothes hanger. Use duct tape to fasten the hanger to a broom handle or a wooden dowel.

STEP 3: Construct a killing jar. Freezing is the safest and cleanest method of preparing bugs for mounting. Just place your specimens in a jar and leave the jar in the freezer until the critters are dead.

You can also enlist the help of an adult or merit badge counselor to make a killing jar that uses chemicals (such as nail polish remover). Be extra careful, as these chemicals can be dangerous to you as well as the bug.

STEP 4: Make a bug board. You can use almost any shallow box to show your insects. Sometimes the top of a large box works great. Use a material such as polystyrene foam, cardboard or fiberboard to reinforce the bottom of your board.

Regular straight pins are O.K. for pinning insects, but they might rust over time and spoil the specimen. Search online for special insect pins that will last longer.

When pinning a bug to your board, be careful to do as little damage as possible. Small bugs should be glued instead of pinned.

STEP 5: Catch some bugs. Take your field guide with you. When you get started, it might be easier to look for any bugs, instead of one specific bug. Once you’ve collected a nice variety, then you can move on to filling the holes in your collection.

Learn which bugs are common in your area. A bug collection in Wisconsin is going to look different from a bug collection in Southern California. Don’t waste your time looking for critters that don’t even live in your region.

STEP 6: Label your bugs. You can simply tear off a small piece of paper from a standard white sheet, or you can buy labels from an office supply store. Write down the name of the bug and the date and location where it was found.

Take it a step further and write down the scientific name of the bug, along with notes on other conditions in which it was found, such as temperature, the kinds of plants nearby and recent rainfall.

Beware of Carpet Beetles. If you spot some brown dust on the bottom of your bug box, your specimens are likely being targeted by the larvae of carpet beetles, which will eat mounted insects. A moth crystal inside of an envelope will keep them out. Place the entire box in the freezer for a week to get rid of the ones that have already set up shop.

Good Hunting. You can watch and study insects wherever you find them, but it might be illegal to collect them from natural areas such as state parks, national parks and wildlife refuges. Collect them instead from around your house and throughout your neighborhood.

Making a periscope from wood and a few pieces of mirror is easier than you might think. Here are plans and instructions for a periscope more than two feet long—just what you want for heavy-duty secret agent work.

Click here for a PDF version of these instructions.

YOU’LL NEED:

• Two glass mirrors 1⁄8-inch thick by 2 3⁄8-inches wide by 3 inches long
• Ttwo pieces of pine or plywood 3⁄8-inch thick by 2 1⁄8-inches wide by 25 3⁄4-inches long (side members)
• Two pieces of pine or plywood 3⁄8-inch thick by 3 3⁄8-inches wide by 23 inches long (front and back parts)
• Two mirror blocks 2 1⁄8-inches thick by 2 9⁄16-inches wide by 2 3⁄4-inches long, cut into triangular blocks according to diagram
• Silicone caulking, carpenter’s glue, 1-inch finishing nails
• Adult permission and/or help

Step 1. Cut wood to size using a table saw.

Step 2. You can have the mirrors cut for you at any glass shop, or you can prepare the mirrors yourself using a glass cutter. If you go to a glass shop, bring the mirror blocks with you so they know what size you need. If you do it yourself, make sure there is an adult on hand to help you. The mirrors shouldn’t cost more than a few dollars.

Step 3. Glue one mirror to each angled face of the mirror blocks, using silicone caulking. Set these aside to dry overnight.

Step 4. Clamp one sidepiece to each side of the mirror blocks, and then place one face piece over the top edges of the sides. The plans show how this face piece is shorter than the sides, and must extend to the top of the periscope. That leaves the mirror open for you to look through. When everything is lined up, fasten this first face to the sides with carpenter’s glue and 1-inch finishing nails. Don’t glue the mirror blocks yet. They must be free to move around for adjustment later.

Step 5. Now flip the periscope over so you can glue and nail the second face to the other edges of the sides. This will form a long, rectangular box—your periscope.

Step 6. Before setting the project aside to dry, slide the mirror blocks out, just to be sure they don’t get glued in.

Step 7. After letting your periscope’s body dry overnight, remove the clamps, smear a little glue on the mirror blocks’ sides and slip them back in position. If friction alone doesn’t keep them in place, hold them still with a few small clamps across the sides of the periscope.

Step 8. It’s now time for adjustment. Pick up the periscope and look through one end; it doesn’t matter which. How do things look? If your line of sight seems tilted, adjust the direction of each mirror up or down until you’re happy. You won’t have to move the blocks much. When you can see a clear, rectangular view of the world, that’s great! Just set the periscope aside until the glue blocks dry.

Step 9. Finish by sanding the periscope and applying three coats of urethane.

Don’t let that happen to yours. Use a hide rack patch display. Based on Native American “hide racks” that cured fur pelts, this display lets you show off your souvenirs and practice knots and hitches.

YOU’LL NEED:

• two one-inch-diameter dowels, 42 inches long
• two one-inch-diameter dowels, 29 inches long
• 1⁄8-inch cotton cord
• 1⁄8-inch bit and drill
• wood screws and screwdriver
• piece of brown or tan synthetic suede leather, 24 inches wide by 36 inches long
• 24 inches of self-adhesive Velcro fastening tape, 1⁄2 inch wide
• scissors

Step 1: To build the frame, position the dowels (use real branches for a more rustic look) in a rectangle. The shorter dowels should lay vertically on top of the longer dowels. Leave an overlap of about two inches on the corners.

Step 2: Drill a 1⁄8-inch pilot hole about 11⁄2 inches deep at each corner. Be sure not to drill completely through the horizontal dowels. Secure each corner with a screw and turn the frame over.

Step 3: With the cotton cord, tie a square lashing on each of the four corners.

Step 4: Give the entire frame, including lashings, a coat of brown wood stain. You might also want to apply a light coat of satin varnish or a polyurethane finish to the frame. Allow the frame to dry.

Step 5: Trim the hide about two inches smaller than the frame. Save the leftover scraps.

Step 6: Cut a row of 1⁄4-inch-long slits along the edges of the hide, spacing the slits about one inch apart and 1⁄2 inch from the edge.

Step 7: From the leftover scrap, cut 1⁄4-inch-wide strips, as long as possible. Join the strips together using square knots until you have two laces 20 feet long each.

Step 8: Lay the frame faceup on a large flat sur face (The screws should not be showing.) Using a
clove hitch, tie the laces to the frame in two opposite corners.

Step 9: Position the hide in the center of the frame and begin looping the laces through the slits—under the hide and over the dowel. Keep an even tension by working in opposite directions. End with a final clove hitch.

Step 10: Cut the Velcro into 1⁄2-inchsquare pieces. Before attaching the squares to the patches, arrange your patches on the rack, which is screwside down.

Step 11: To mount the Velcro, peel off the plastic strip covering the hook side of a Velcro pad and stick it to the patch. Then peel off the strip covering the fuzzy side and stick it to the hide. (Keeping the hook and fuzzy sides consistent will make it easier to rearrange your patches later.)

Step 12: Tie leather strips to the upper corners of the frame to form hanging loops. Attach the rack to your wall using nails or picture hangers. Besides patches, you can also display hat pins, historic trail medals, ribbons or other mementos. What better way to show off the things you’re proud of!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

• Recycled food barrel (try checking with large restaurants or food distributors)
• 2 to 4 concrete blocks (to allow room for a bucket to fit under the spigot)
• 3/4-inch hose spigot
• Drill
• Saber saw
• 3/4 x 1-1/4-inch threaded pipe nipple (used as overflow connector)
• Window screen
• PVC cement

WHAT YOU’LL DO

1. Wash out the barrel with a solution of 1/8-cup bleach and 5 gallons of water.

2. Drill a 15/16-inch hole a few inches from the bottom of the barrel. Thread the spigot halfway into the barrel, apply PVC cement onto the threads and continue screwing it in until snug.

3. Using the same procedure as the spigot, install the 3/4-inch overflow connector a few inches from the top of the barrel.

4. Choose a good spot for the rain barrel. It needs to be close to a rain downspout and a short distance from your plants and gardens.

5. Raise the barrel off the ground by placing it on concrete blocks. Reconfigure the downspout so it empties directly into the barrel. Use the screen to cover the open hole in the barrel to prevent insects or debris from getting in.

6. If you’ve installed an overflow, you can attach a hose and direct the water to another part of your yard.

You’ll need:

• a piece of one-inch-thick hardwood, 4 inches long by 2 inches wide
• two 1⁄2-by-4-inch roundhead wood screws
• plastic garbage bag
• sandpaper
• drill and bits, up to 1⁄2 inch
• crosscut and rip saws
• screwdriver
• scissors

Step 1: Saw off a strip 1⁄2 inch wide.

Step 2: Measure and mark positions for three holes on top of the strip. Measure 13⁄8 inches from one end and make a centered mark.

Step 3: From that mark, measure 3⁄4 inch in both directions. Clamp the two pieces of wood together to ensure drilled holes will line up.

Step 4: Use a 3⁄32-inch bit to start the three pilot holes. Drill the center hole 13⁄16 inches deep and the outside holes 1⁄2 inch deep. (Wrap a piece of masking tape around the bit to mark where to stop.) Gradually increase the center hole’s diameter: 5⁄32 inch, 13⁄64 inch, 1⁄4 inch and then—by 16ths—to 1⁄2 inch. Redrill the outside holes 1⁄4 inch deep with a 7⁄32-inch bit. Drive the wood screws so the heads are beneath the surface.

Step 5: From the end of the base you began measuring from, drill a 3⁄32-inch pilot hole 15⁄8 inches deep. Gradually increase the hole to 1⁄2 inch, as before, creating an “L”-shaped airway between the base and the strip.

Step 6: At the opposite end of the base, drill a 1⁄8-inch pilot hole at the center all the way into the blowhole. Increase its size to 3⁄16 inch.

Step 7: At the same end, drill a hole all the way through the strip for a leather thong.

Step 8: Cut a strip from a plastic garbage bag, 11⁄16 inches wide and 2 inches long. Remove the screws and lay the plastic over the holes in the base. Replace the top and redrive the screws. Smooth the entire instrument with sandpaper. (Wrap a strip around a piece of dowel to smooth the inside of the airway holes.) Apply stain or varnish.

Bring the blowhole firmly against your lips and hum loudly into it. With your tongue against your palate, create sort of a “duh, doo, duh” sound. Practice songs from your favorite tape or CD, as well as some classic camp tunes. You’re ready to rock your troop all night long!

The best-known snow shelter is the igloo. A brilliant use of engineering and resources, this simple dome made out of snow blocks is both strong and versatile.

THE MOST FAMOUS SNOW SHELTER

Arctic cultures such as the Eskimo and the Inuit developed it, and over time they came up with a hundred tricks to make the shelter more comfortable and sturdy, including making the entrance small (to help keep heat in) and melting the inside of the dome and letting it refreeze (for increased strength).

The earliest reference of igloo use came from the Vikings, who settled parts of Greenland and explored the eastern Canadian coast about a thousand years ago. They found natives living in igloos, but didn’t use them themselves because they considered the technology inferior.

History has proven otherwise, as the Vikings lasted for only about four centuries in the harsh climate of Greenland, while the native peoples are still carving igloos from the landscape today. Six hundred years after the tough Vikings were defeated by the tougher weather of the Little Ice Age, Boy Scouts still use the design of the igloo to keep warm.

BUILDING AN IGLOO

Diameter: Not to exceed 10 feet. Anything bigger would require a perfect dome, which is next to impossible to construct in the field.

Materials: Top layers of dry powder won’t work. Pack mounds of snow until they harden, or cut blocks of snow from the depth where your feet stop sinking.

Entrance: Build a door in the ground, about 18 inches lower than the ground inside the igloo, and tunnel below the wall into the igloo. For proper ventilation, never seal or close the entrance.

Walls: Cut the blocks into a spiral layer, leaning one block against the next. Keep the interior wall smooth so moisture can run down the side of the wall, instead of dripping from the ceiling. Include a vent hole to allow for better circulation.

STICK IT TO A SNOWFLAKE

A tiny, one-of-a-kind snowflake lands on your coat sleeve. You look; you breathe; it’s gone. How can you make a flake stick around longer?

Try superglue. It can seep into small spaces, and trace amounts of water cause it to harden. Put these properties to work and make a lasting snow crystal “fossil.”

On a snowy day, pre-chill a tube of superglue (not the gel kind) and some glass slides and cover slips outside. Be sure to read the safety precautions on the glue’s label before you start.

Catch some snow on a dark surface. Find a crystal you like and move it to the middle of a glass slide. “Use a small paintbrush or a toothpick,” says snowflake expert Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht. “The crystals are delicate, and metal tweezers can conduct heat from your fingers.”

Cover the flake with a drop of superglue. Touching only its sides, gently place a cover slip over the glue. It can take as long as a week for the glue to completely set. Until then, protect the snow crystal by storing your slide in the freezer.

Later, view your snowflake “fossil” with or without a magnifying lens or microscope.

HOT TIPS FOR COLD CAMERAS

Taking photos outside in winter can be tricky. Here are some helpful hints:

• Wear thin gloves so you can adjust your camera.
• Batteries lose their juice in the cold, so keep a spare set close to your body.
• In bright snow, increase exposure time and/or add a flash.
• Store your camera in a plastic resealable sandwich bag. This keeps your camera dry outside and prevents condensation from forming on it when you go back inside.

PUT WINTER IN A CAST

A blanket of snow covers the ground: It’s prime time for animal tracking. So why does your cast of that picture-perfect raccoon print look like it came from an eight-toed alien?

Don’t give up just yet. Making plaster casts of tracks in snow is tricky but not impossible.

Before you cast, reinforce the track so it can stand up to the weight of the plaster. If the snow is wet, dust it with some powdered plaster and let it set. If the snow is dry and powdery, spray a mist of water over the track and wait for it to freeze. You can also try using Snow Print Wax — crime-scene investigators use it to collect evidence.

Plaster gives off heat as it hardens. When casting in snow, mix the plaster to the thickness of half-melted ice cream, adding some snow to cool it down. Pour from a short distance to minimize damage to the track.

If the plaster freezes before it sets, turn the cast track-side up and bring it inside to thaw and finish setting.

New to tracking or just want to brush up? Check out these books:

• “Peterson Field Guide to Animal Tracks” by Olaus J. Murie and Mark Elbroch (Houghton Mifflin, $19.95 softcover)
• “Tom Brown’s Field Guide: Nature Observation and Tracking” by Tom Brown Jr. (Berkley Trade, $14 softcover)
• “Field Guide to Tracking Animals in Snow” by Louise R. Forrest (Stackpole Books, $16.95 softcover)

For younger readers:

• “Nature Detectives” by K.C. Kelley (A Boys’ Life DK Reader, DK Publishing, $3.99 softcover)

TAKE A NIP OUT OF JACK FROST

Feeling artistic? Team up with the cold and make some hoarfrost. These large, fragile ice crystals might look complex, but they are easy to grow.

When temperatures are below freezing, set out an open pot of water. Put it somewhere that’s wind-free, such as in an unheated shed or barn. Keep the water warm with a hotplate or other heat source. Position a tree branch or other object for the hoarfrost crystals to grow on a few feet above the water. Now wait patiently for at least a day.

The air temperature and amount of water vapor coming from your pot will affect how the hoarfrost crystals grow. You might end up with crystals that look scaly, feathery or needle-like.

Want to hold on to your natural masterpiece in warmer weather? Take a picture!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

• Sturdy plastic 55-gallon (or so) food barrel
• Drill
• Saw
• Hammer
• Adjustable wrench
• 8 3⁄8-by-3 1⁄2-inch carriage bolts
• 8 3⁄8-inch nuts
• 8 3⁄8-inch washers
• 16d galvanized nails
• 2 bungee cords (If barrel has a locking lid, you won’t need the bungees.)
• 5 2-by-6-inch boards (Lengths will be determined by the size of the container.)
• 3⁄4-inch galvanized pipe, threaded both ends (You can get a standard-size pre-cut threaded pipe. The length will be determined by diameter of the barrel.)
• 2 3⁄4-inch galvanized pipe caps

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Prepare the Barrel

1. Wash out the barrel and drill two 7⁄8-inch holes halfway between the top and bottom. These holes are for the 3⁄4-inch galvanized pipe.

2. Drill 1⁄2-inch holes evenly spaced around the barrel.

Build a Sturdy Frame

3. Cut the 2-by-6-inch boards and assemble the frame as shown, using the hardware listed. The feet should be almost as long as the legs are high.

4. Drill 7⁄8-inch holes at the top of the legs and pass the 3⁄4-inch steel pipe through the hole in one leg, into the barrel and out through the leg on the other side. Screw on the pipe caps.

5. If the lid needs to be held in place, drill small holes around the lid to hook bungee cords.

COMPOSTING BASICS

Layer yard waste into the tumbler. Alternate green materials like grass clippings with brown ones like hay or fallen leaves. Put in some garden soil and kitchen waste such as veggie scraps, fruit peels, cereal, bread, crushed egg shells, tea bags, and coffee grounds and filters. Never use meat, poultry, fish, dairy or pet waste. That stuff can attract unwanted critters.

Bacteria breaks down the materials in your tumbler and turns it into rich organic compost. The decomposing material will become hot as the bacteria does its work. The material in your tumbler should be about as moist as a damp sponge. Spin your tumbler one or two times a week to mix the contents and keep it aerated.

HOW TO FIND A BARREL

Food barrels are used for things like juice or pickles. Try checking with large restaurants or food distributors. Also, there are companies that sell used food barrels.