Pinewood Derby Axle Drilling Templates (Includes Remixes)

thingiverse

This is a remix of the sparticus1701 template, essentially his with text to identify it as such. The 0 degree (straight) template adds no axles at an angle so wheels ride outward rather than possibly rubbing on the car body and makes only part of the wheel touch the track which reduces overall friction according to some. I am not advocating one over the other (straight vs 2 degree canter), I have tried both to see if there is a difference. Thanks to sparticus1701 for doing the original template, if you are just interested in the straight template, please go see sparticus1701's design as this is his. I added another version of the 2 degree canter that will work better if you are using a drill press. I made the following changes: The sides are beveled outward at 2 degrees, which means when the template is on its side, it is angled 2 degrees so the drill hole lines up with the drill bit at 90 degrees. There is also a recess in 2 degrees in the other direction, the same angle as the hole that needs to be drilled, allowing you to get the drill chuck flush with the template when drilling. Make sure your drill bit extends about 3/4" from the inside of the template so you have enough room to insert the nail into the pinewood block. I added yet another version that I used in the past which is smaller. This will be a much quicker print and use less PLA, however, you have to measure your wheelbase manually. There is both a 0 degree (straight) and 2 degree template with sides beveled like the above template so you can use it in a drill press. You need a bolt to hold the two pieces together (adjustable width). I have a 4mm hole, if you have any M4 bolts those will work. The nearest standard size is 8-32 (4.166mm). FYI, this is designed for a #44 drill bit (0.086") which is a commonly recommended size for drilling derby axle holes. These are not available at the big box stores. I picked mine up at Ace Hardware for a couple of bucks. You could also get away with a 2mm (0.787") or maybe even a 5/64" (0.078125") or similar sizes (#45, #46, etc.). See the drill bit chart at http://bobmay.astronomy.net/misc/drillchart.htm. Although, these other sizes may not be a tight fit in the holes in the template. These are a bit wobbly on a drill press since the sides are not that broad. I would suggest using a machinist square or something else that you know is square (small level) to help brace the template/block while you use the drill press. If drilling by hand, just do your best to keep straight and let the pressure of the premade holes guide your drill bit. DISCLAIMER: At this point I have not printed, used the template or raced a car built with the template. Use at your own risk! ALSO, CHECK WITH YOUR PACK FOR RULES ON DRILLED HOLES! Officially, I believe you are supposed to use the provided slots. Some packs allow drilled holes, extended wheelbases, etc. Others want everything as even as possible and slots MUST be used. Again, use at your own risk! If you must use slots, try the stock slots version which lets you drill out the stock square slots which should help prevent splitting. Also, to keep your axles in place try my axle keepers thing at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3389739. UPDATE V2: I changed the depth of the cavity to hold the block. Similar to adding 0.4 mm to the sides to allow the block to fit in, I added 0.2 mm of depth to accommodate for the small space between the block and the template. The axle holes in v1 were working but should be a little higher in the block of wood (less close to the bottom edge). UPDATE V3: I made the block cavity 0.2 mm deeper so the axle holes are a fuzz higher. They worked but seemed to be a bit closer than expected to the bottom of the car.