Axle Installer Compatible with Pinewood Derby Cars

Every year my sons car performed terribly at the pinewood derby. Frankly, we just didn't put much effort into it. Last year was particularly bad. My poor kid came in last in every race. I'd decided enough was enough. Everything that you could do wrong, we did. We used no graphite. The car didn't weigh enough. The axles weren't polished smooth. Most significantly, the axles were installed crooked. To add insult to injury, the car was the sloppiest looking car there.This year we meant business. I bought some high quality graphite and polished axles. We made sure to get the car as close to 5 oz as possible and we made sure that most of the weights were placed in the rear of the car. The most important change we made this year was that we used this axle installer. The axles on my sons car were straight as a rail after using the installer. Also we made sure the car had a slick, sleek appearance because well...its just cool.The first heat my sons car won and it won by a very wide margin scoring one of the best times so far that day. My kids jaw dropped, he stood up and looked at me with a face of complete astonishment. Even after all the work we put in the car, my son still expected to come in dead last based on previous experience. He ended up coming in second overall but he was thrilled to pieces to win something even if it was second.The point here is that all the things I've mentioned are important to create a fast pinewood derby car but aside from getting it at 5 oz, the most important step is to get the axles straight.Some things we figured out:1) The axles MUST be straight2) High quality graphite around the axles3) Buy a cheap digital scale, calibrate it and make sure your car is right at 5 oz on the day of the race4) Buy some polished axles.5) Cram as much weight into the rear of the car as possible so that the center of gravity is around the rear axle.

I found this to be helpful for setting the wheel gap to the recommended distance and for getting the axles in straight. You can go to abc-pinewood-derby dot com to see the instructions on how to use this. I found it worthwhile to sand the axles smooth, add some graphite and then use this to install the wheels and axles. Once installed, spin the wheels for a few minutes to let the graphite work in. Then push the car across the floor to see if it goes straight. If it doesn't, then twist each front axle slightly with a needle nose pliers to see if that corrects the alignment. Add some weight to the back of your car to get it up to 5oz, and you'll have a competitive car.

Two small red plastic pieces and instructions are included in this Axle Installer kit. The square piece is about 1 1/4-inches square and holds the wheel and nail (i.e. axle) upright. The rectangular piece is about 1 7/16-in L x 9/16-inch Wide and has a ridge to fit into the axle slot on the bottom of your Pinewood Derby car. When held against the bottom of the wood block, the ridge narrows the axle slot, so each nail goes into the slot in the same position (i.e. at the same height).This is very helpful for both getting the axles in straight and at the same height level. A very simple, yet useful tool to help with wheel installation and axle alignment.

This axle installer is a super simple tool, but it is wonderful. Makes everything so much easier.

Doesn't work anywhere is near as easily as the directions imply it should but it is definitely an improvement over trying to do it by hand. Could not get it to work the way the directions state by putting the base on the table and pushing down onto it but if I put the car on the table and pushed using the base it worked ok.

I do five schools in Cleveland Ohio Cubscouts used tool to put whells onMy scouts placed four times at Pinewood in Cleveland Ohio using this tool at Pinewood Derby and repaired as I was the pit crew at the event

Did a good job at setting the wheels to the right depth. Inadvertently, it made me aware when the grooves weren't deep enough to hold the axles properly.

Since I was nominated to take over as cub master after our current guy moves on, I figured I better get the tools to help the kids out when installing wheels. This little gadget works great and isn't pricey. All the cars I used this tool with had the straightest wheels in the pack.