I signed Ian up for Cub Scouts. We are working on the pinewood derby car, which is a HUGE event in the Cub Scout world. Each Cub Scout is given a block of wood with two grooves in the bottom (for the axles), four nails (the axles), and four plastic tires.
The goal is to turn this block of wood into a derby car that will win on race day. It is supposed to be fun. It certainly has been an experience. I may actually have to invest in some power tools.
The dads in the group really get into this thing, and I think the point is lost. I overhear them talking... "I'm going to put [this item] on it this year," or "I got a new [tool of choice] that I can use to [whatever]." The dads are extremely competitive about this thing, and one even said to his son, "NO! I'LL do it!" It's supposed to be a learning experience for the child. It certainly has been a learning experience for me.
The den leader offered to take Ian out (with his own children) to his father's wood shop in Orchard Park. His father has all sorts of wood working tools, and he was going to use his father's tools to cut out his children's cars. It was a great idea, and it took place the weekend Ian got strep. We ended up using a hand saw to painstakingly cut out Ian's car design.
Lesson number one: No matter what disease du jour Ian has next year, if someone offers use of a power tool, we're going!
We then have to sand the piece of wood so it is smooth. The den leader gave me some sand paper to use, and Ian and I were in business. Ian spent a solid hour and a half sanding this car, and I sunk another three hours into it.
Lesson number two: Sanding something until your fingers bleed is not fun. Lesson number three: There are different kinds of sand paper. Get a courser grit next time to start with, and use the fine grit to finish. We'd have spent less time sanding if we'd have used an emory board!
Now the car needs to be painted. The den leader assured me you can get paint at any hardware store. So, on the way home one day, Ian and I stopped at Sears Hardware. I went to where all the paint cans are stocked, found an older gentleman who works there, and said, "Hello. We're making a pinewood derby car..." and he cut me off. His children, and then his grandchildren made pinewood derby cars, and HE used to.... Well, after a bit, I snuck into the conversation the fact that we needed paint. He recommended a can of acrylic spray paint (Ian chose silver), and then, because Ian wanted to paint a lightning bolt on his car and call it "Thunder", we chose the smallest can of glossy white we could find. Ian will have silver and glossy white cars for his entire Cub Scout career. Lesson number four: K-Mart has a craft section that sells LITTLE cans of spray paint and LITTLE jars of paint that are perfect, and less than 1/3 of the cost.
There is a trick to spray painting. Ian and I went to the home of a friend of mine with the can of spray paint and the derby car. He said, "Wait a minute. You lived on the west side for a while. You don't know how to spray paint?!?!" Very funny. Lesson number five: Don't get too close, and don't hold the can in one position too long or you end up with drips. Use a sweeping motion and small spurts on the button for an even coat of paint. Oh, and you can't hold the car while you paint it, duh. Set it on another can of something so you can work around it.
Here is where we are today:
Today we are going to the den leader's home to weigh it. It has to be no more than 5 ounces heavy. According to my diet scale, we are six quarters short. But hey, this is fun!
