# Cubscouts



## Dexman PE PMP (Feb 25, 2014)

I've seen a few mention that they are helping their kids through cubscouts and was curious to see what you all are actually doing.

I've been my son's den leader for about a year and a half now. I stepped into the role halfway through his Wolf year (2nd grade), have helped the boys achieve their Bear rank (3rd grade), and I am now in the planning process to take them through their Webelos activities (4th &amp; 5th grades). I will be spending the next couple of months doing some electives and some pack activities (push cart derby &amp; rain gutter regatta).

This summer we have a couple camp activities planned. The first is a 3-day daycamp in June where the boys work with other packs to complete some of their rank requirements, and the 2nd is an overnight camping trip in the foothills just to the west of Denver.


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## Sapper PE LS (Feb 25, 2014)

I'm the incoming cub master and current wolf leader, my son is a bear but the past wolf leader quit a month ago under pressure from the committee and so I stepped up.


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## Dexman PE PMP (Feb 25, 2014)

We are very fortunate in that we have some very active parents. We've had a couple den leaders step down in the time I've been involved and each time there seems to be 2 willing to step up in their place.


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## Road Guy (Feb 25, 2014)

Webelos and tiger are the best years of cubs IMO.

I did 5 years as CM . And did two tours of duty as den leader.. Enjoyed every minute of it except for my second sons den.. Had a great group of parents for first den. Had an awful/lazy/selfish group for the second den. Which I hated cause I felt like my younger so didn't get the same experience...

Webelos you can start doing some camping on your own and generally start leading them down the path to scouts....

I was an ASM at my old troop and I am just an active parent at our new troop. We joined a new (first year) troop and we really like it. Nice and small .. And oh yeah .. Backpacking at MOAB in April!


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## Road Guy (Apr 2, 2014)

well the troop cancelled MOAB trip in exchange for some type of cooking campout. 

last year a new eagle requirement was they made Cooking Merit Badge required for Eagle, which I get, but the reason its hard for scouts to get their cooking merit badge is because most summer camps have dinning halls and dont let the scouts (or offer) to let the scouts cook for themselves (when I was a kid) you cooked 2 meals a day and had dinner at the dining hall, (when my dad was a scout it was probably all 3 meals) and it made it so easy to get this merit badge..

Whats ironic is throuhg my childhood (even being a dumb jock) and in my adult life, most of all my true friends I met through scouts. its an amazing organziation, even now in a new town, I find myself becoming friends with the dads in my kids scout group (even the ones with ponytails) and the main 2 friends I miss from back home our kids went through together from tigers to boy scouts...

not all packs and troops are good for your kid so if you end up in one you dont like there is always another one around the corner....

I plan to start a venturing group when my daughter hits 14...


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## roadwreck (Apr 2, 2014)

Road Guy said:


> well the troop cancelled MOAB trip in exchange for some type of cooking campout.
> 
> last year a new eagle requirement was they made Cooking Merit Badge required for Eagle, which I get, but the reason its hard for scouts to get their cooking merit badge is because most summer camps have dinning halls and dont let the scouts (or offer) to let the scouts cook for themselves (when I was a kid) you cooked 2 meals a day and had dinner at the dining hall, (when my dad was a scout it was probably all 3 meals) and it made it so easy to get this merit badge..


How often does the troop go camping?

When I was in scouts our troop had a campout every month except December and most of them were backpacking trips were there were no amenities at all so we had plenty of opportunities to cook.


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## Road Guy (Apr 2, 2014)

erghh the people that run boy scouts today (that were probably never in boy scouts) have kind of taken it to a new level..

http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Cooking

You also have to cook a bunch of times for rank advacement now (I think for second and first class)which doesnt count towards the merit badge.. so it just makes it much more of a chore than "hey lets just learn how to cook" so you have kids having to wait to get their turn to cook and be grubmaster, but yes we camp once a month (and twice this month) and they stretch it out as far as possible, as in one kid cooks for two kids so they can pass it around..

I also thought joining a Boy Scout troop in Colorado would be intimidating, as in I would now be the “junior camper”, whereas back in Atlanta the kids in my Cub Scout troop asked me if I invented Boy Scouts (true story)..

I have quickly learned that the (Adult) folks in the scout troop here are just as inexperienced campers / backpackers as the majority of the peeps back home were, last campout we arrived in the dark, I set up my REI half dome tent and all the extras in about 10 minutes as I watched almost every other adult aside from the scout master fumble putting their wal mart tents up in the dark..yes I was a good scout and helped them out and just thought to myself… hmm maybe some things are always the same…

It was painful watching the adults start their campfire, I had to retire to my tent where I watched a movie I downloaded on my Ipad


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## Road Guy (Apr 2, 2014)

and cooking in the winter here presents its own problems  check out this picture of kids cooking at the February Campout....mine is the one in the orange coat


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## Dexman PE PMP (Apr 2, 2014)

I'm starting to struggle with keeping the reins in on a dozen 3rd graders. We meet every two weeks, and for a while they would pay attention, participate, and have a good time. The last couple of months I've had to resort to "time outs" for boys not listening and distracting others. Last week, I had to send a boy home early because he hit another. I was happy to see that 3 of the boys weren't coming back in the fall because a smaller group is more managable, but shortly thereafter I've gotten 2 new recruits.

There is no way I would have the patience to be a 3rd grade teacher. 1.5 hours every other week is enough for me.


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## Road Guy (Apr 2, 2014)

having been a den leader twice (full terms) I can tell yuo the bear year is the worst, boring material ,etc

Give it till webelos and you cant at least do fun stuff (change tires on cars, build shit, go camping as a den, etc ) but yeah I was always at my witts end the 3rd greade year.. and 12 is probably too much without some help, assistant den leader, parents, etc and thats what I had in both dens..


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## Dexman PE PMP (Apr 2, 2014)

Most of the parents are there for the meetings, but I'm constantly having to stop whatever I'm doing to get the boys to pay attention.

Material isn't too bad, but it was nowhere near as fun as the Wolf stuff. Looking ahead at the Webelos book, it looks like it's more "hands on" for the boys and less of me just standing there talking through things.


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## Road Guy (Apr 2, 2014)

I had a couple of the same parents in the second den I did, they all noticed that I was a lot "meaner/cut to the chase/ etc" with the second group than I was the first, the first den I was trying to be nice and expected the parents to police their children if they got out of hand.. the second time it was like "look I aint got time for your shit so either shut up and listen or get the hell out of the meeting" well not neceasarily in those words...

first group of kids were better behaved, second group were a lot of kids that I dont think had heard the words "no" very often..

I enoyed webelos years and just spent a lot of the den meetings outdoors when possible.


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## Dexman PE PMP (Apr 2, 2014)

The rowdy ones have not heard NO very often. Luckily there are only a few of those. The problem is that those few feel like they can do anything they want because I'm distracted by a few others who don't believe in "wait your turn". So I will ask the group a question, and these over-zealous kids will stand up and walk right up to me with their hands in the air because they want me to call on them, and while I'm trying to get the sat down and told they don't have to talk with every question, the rowdy ones start messing around.

At the meeting last night I told the boys that if I have to stop the meeting because of a safety issue (I was going through the Frisbee beltloop), that scout would be sat down and they were done for the night. It actually went over fairly well. I may have to continue that trend...


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## Road Guy (Apr 2, 2014)

do you have any contacts with Boy Scout troops in your area? there is a position they have called Den Chief, and they (the boys) need it for rank advacement, if you can get one of them to help even at some of the meetings I found it pretty helpful, the cubs like seeign a slightly older boy scout (in a crisp uniform with lots of patches) that helps out and guides them while your back is turned?


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## Dexman PE PMP (Apr 2, 2014)

Yeah, we will be in contact with one this fall. This year we're still Bear scouts, and the troop we've talked with says they only really do the Den Chief with Webelos 2. I've told them I would like to have one starting in the fall once we start the Webelos 1 stuff, but we'll see how that works out...


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## Dexman PE PMP (Aug 20, 2014)

So Mini-Dex was a rock star at Monday's pack meeting. They handed out the awards earned over the summer and he is already about 1/2 way done with his Webelos badge and has a couple requirements done towards his Arrow of Light badge.

Some of the things he earned this summer:

Outdoor Activity Award

Outdoorsman Pin

Scientist Pin

5 beltloops &amp; 3 academic/athletic pins.


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## mevans154 (Aug 20, 2014)

In 2003, my son came home from 1st grade and said the Cub Scout Den Leader came to school. He showed the kids what the Cub Scouts did and my son was immediately hooked.

Last year, my son earned the rank of Eagle Scout.

He has gone to two National Boy Scout Jamborees. (and was Senior Patrol Leader for one of the Jamborees)

My son is going into his senior year and still goes to every meeting that he can.

Needless to say, I am a big fan of Scouts and what it provides to the youth of today!!!!!!!!!!


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## Road Guy (Aug 20, 2014)

congrats to your Eagle! (From an Eagle, its something he will always be proud of!)

Congrats to mini-dex as well! So is this his second Webelos year? as in he crosses over to boy scouts this year?

We joined a new troop this year, when I say new, I mean we joined in year 1 of the troops existence. been some organizational challenges, were bottom heavy, lots of younger scouts, few older scouts. But its working..

We came from a mega troop, where you had to email 2 weeks in advance to request board of reviews and SM conferences, here its much less structured... however a little structure is good IMO..

Ive got a 15 year old life scout that needs to find an eagle project and one that just got his tenderfoot last week..


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## Dexman PE PMP (Aug 20, 2014)

He just crossed over to Webelos this summer, so he's just getting started. Won't get into Boy Scouts until the spring/summer of 2016.


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## EngInNJ (Aug 20, 2014)

I conduct interviews for my company from time to time. When I ask about background and intrest, if scouting comes up, + points. If eagle scout, right to top of the list.


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## P-E (Oct 2, 2016)

Mini P-E just joined the cub scouts a few weeks ago.  Went on our first camp trip with the scouts.    I was suprised that the activities were archery, BB gun shooting, tomahawk throwing and axe swinging...for six year olds.   I wonder what their insurance policy costs.  Had to grab him from falling into the fire once or twice.   Okay time but exhausted.


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## knight1fox3 (Oct 2, 2016)

P-E said:


> Mini P-E just joined the cub scouts a few weeks ago.  Went on our first camp trip with the scouts.    I was suprised that the activities were archery, BB gun shooting, tomahawk throwing and axe swinging...for six year olds.   I wonder what their insurance policy costs.  Had to grab him from falling into the fire once or twice.   Okay time but exhausted.


Just sign the dotted line....


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## P-E (Oct 2, 2016)

Glad I'm not a den leader.


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## MA_PE (Oct 2, 2016)

P-E said:


> Mini P-E just joined the cub scouts a few weeks ago.  Went on our first camp trip with the scouts.    I was suprised that the activities were archery, BB gun shooting, tomahawk throwing and axe swinging...for six year olds.   I wonder what their insurance policy costs.  Had to grab him from falling into the fire once or twice.   Okay time but exhausted.


really?  we never did that with cubs.  Only once we were in boy scouts.


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## P-E (Oct 3, 2016)

MA_PE said:


> really?  we never did that with cubs.  Only once we were in boy scouts.


Yup.  We tried all the stuff with a lot of supervision.  We were at camp sayre in the blue hills.


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## Sapper PE LS (Oct 3, 2016)

BB Guns are allowed in cub scouts, but I thought it was only for Webelos.  Archery isn't something my cubs ever did.  I was a Cubmaster for 2 years.  Tomahawk throwing sounds a bit scary.  Yeah, the biggest concern usually with cub scouts is the fire.  They are attracted to it like flies to a picnic and I swear they'd jump in it if they were allowed to.


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## Supe (Oct 3, 2016)

I'm surprised they don't let them do .22 shooting anymore.  I know I used to see at least a lot of 4H clubs do it.


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## Road Guy (Oct 3, 2016)

Cubs are

Supposed to only do BB's and archery at camporees's.(groups of scouts- generally run by the district). But all ranks of Cubs can shoot them.

Sounds like you were at a BSA camporee? (That's where I've see the hatchet throwing). It's usually well supervised and beats kids playing video games all weekend.

They always like to invite Cubs to the bsa camporee but I agree usually a little older when they are close to crossing over..


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## P-E (Oct 3, 2016)

Yes BSA camporee. All Cubs from the pack were invited.  Tiger parents didn't get into it much.  The older dens had better participation and organization.  I didn't complain for fear of being reeled in as a den master.


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## MA_PE (Oct 3, 2016)

I think it's a bit premature to bring 6yos, but that's just my opinion.


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## Road Guy (Oct 3, 2016)

what I have seen with the BSA Camporee's is they only invite the Webelos (4th &amp; 5th Graders)

I am sure SG2S (safe guide to scouting) doesn't permit a cub scout (non Webelos) to throw the "axe"  but I don't see an issue with BB guns and Archery (these are usually like $20 bows you get at wal mart)

P-E I have to say I was a den leader for both my kids from Tiger to Cross Over and also at the same time the Cub Master for our Pack of around 80 kids)  It was at times a ton of work and frustrating to get help but I made some great life long friends with the other scout leaders and even the kids whom I was able to be a small part of their lives &amp; some of the best leaders we had didn't have any scouting experience.. 2 of my 3 kids are in HS (where they don't need any parent help) and I am coaching for my last time this Fall before my youngest goes to HS next year,  But I found being involved in scouting a truly great and fun experience that your kid will remember for a long time.

My first group of den parents became true life long friends, we are all scattered around the country now but they are the adult friends of mine who answer the phone when you call them..

I'm an Assistant Scout Master now at my younger kids troop and I have to admit while the camping is better (all us adults just sort of relax since the boys manage themselves) I do miss the camaraderie we had with our cub scout group (even though it involves lots of work on those cub scout campouts, of which we only did one a year)


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## Road Guy (Feb 13, 2017)

well today was a good day!

I took my sons Eagle Scout application to the main council office to get reviewed and signed off on.  Basically what this means is that he just has to have his Board of Review and then will be "done" an Eagle Scout, 3rd Generation. 

Its been a total PIA this last year and a half to try and get him to do anything on this. Ive been quietly pushing him from time to time but haven't made it "my job"  He had been trying to find a time to take his application to get reviewed (they make sure all his dates of ranks and such are accurate) but they are only open M-F, 8-4:30 so if you are in school its tough to get done, so finally he asked If I would take it and have it done..The Denver office is failry close to my work so I was able to stop by during lunch..

Although I don't want him to put this off much longer this means he can technically receive his rank after he turns 18 (since all the "work" is done) - he turns 18 in August

Now I get to start pushing his little brother (just turned 14) and is "life" rank!


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## NJmike PE (Feb 13, 2017)

It's that time of the year again. Derby time! This year I get two cars to run.


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## MA_PE (Feb 13, 2017)

did you polish your axle?


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## Ble_PE (Feb 13, 2017)

MA_PE said:


> did you polish your axle?


That's a rather personal question to be asking in a public forum.


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## NJmike PE (Feb 13, 2017)

MA_PE said:


> did you polish your axle?


I was going to but then I ended up buying graphite coated axles with the grooves in them. I also bought a tool to set the axles all evenly. Both cars when pushed on flat surfaces run in a straight line neither one pulls to either side.


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## Supe (Feb 14, 2017)

By set axles evenly, I hope you mean three evenly with one not touching.


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## NJmike PE (Feb 14, 2017)

Supe said:


> By set axles evenly, I hope you mean three evenly with one not touching.


Gently not. I tried that last year and they told me that I had to bend one of the axle so that way that all four wheels were touching. So as to avoid that this year, I set all four evenly, that way the car won't pull in either direction and ride the center rail, and creating additional friction


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## matt267 PE (Feb 14, 2017)

NJmike PE said:


> It's that time of the year again. Derby time! This year I get two cars to run.


What's in the box?


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## Supe (Feb 14, 2017)

Protest.  Tell them to show you in the rules where it says that.  Fight the establishment.


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## NJmike PE (Feb 14, 2017)

matt267 PE said:


> What's in the box?


much like my life, emptiness and disappointment.


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## matt267 PE (Feb 14, 2017)

NJmike PE said:


> much like my life, emptiness and disappointment.


I know the feeling.


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## NJmike PE (Feb 14, 2017)

Supe said:


> Protest.  Tell them to show you in the rules where it says that.  Fight the establishment.


It's all good. I have a decent feeling about these cars. And, FWIW, a front wheel on both cars is ever so slightly raised higher. It spins when put in motion, but barely. Just enough so that teh judges wont complain that the cars are up on three of four wheels.


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## jeb6294 (Feb 14, 2017)

Nice to see that your, *ahem*, kids are putting much thought and effort into their pinewood derby cars.


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## NJmike PE (Feb 14, 2017)

jeb6294 said:


> Nice to see that your, *ahem*, kids are putting much thought and effort into their pinewood derby cars.


Well, I got the royal treatment last year being the dad who is an engineer, coming in behind the other dads. So this year I decided to up the game a bit


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## MA_PE (Feb 14, 2017)

NJmike PE said:


> I was going to but then I ended up buying graphite coated axles with the grooves in them. I also bought a tool to set the axles all evenly. Both cars when pushed on flat surfaces run in a straight line neither one pulls to either side.


I'm long gone out of the PW Derby but I'm curious about the axles and alignment tool.  Can you post a link so I can see what they look like?


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## NJmike PE (Feb 14, 2017)

MA_PE said:


> > 15 hours ago, NJmike PE said: I was going to but then I ended up buying graphite coated axles with the grooves in them. I also bought a tool to set the axles all evenly. Both cars when pushed on flat surfaces run in a straight line neither one pulls to either side.
> 
> 
> I'm long gone out of the PW Derby but I'm curious about the axles and alignment tool.  Can you post a link so I can see what they look like?


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## NJmike PE (Feb 14, 2017)




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## jeb6294 (Feb 14, 2017)

Soooo you spent $45 to beat a bunch of 8 year olds.

/monthly_2017_02/untitled.jpg.5d397fc2b8d68f22971ad987d978dd50.jpg


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## jeb6294 (Feb 14, 2017)




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## NJmike PE (Feb 14, 2017)

jeb6294 said:


> Soooo you spent $45 to beat a bunch of 8 year olds.
> 
> /monthly_2017_02/untitled.jpg.5d397fc2b8d68f22971ad987d978dd50.jpg


Maybe upfront, but I'll get my money's worth out of both the axles and the axle tool. I'll reuse them each year


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## matt267 PE (Feb 14, 2017)

NJmike PE said:


> Maybe upfront, but I'll get my money's worth out of both the axles and the axle tool. I'll reuse them each year *when I drink the tears of my enemies.*


fixt


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## MA_PE (Feb 14, 2017)

jeb6294 said:


>


He's out of uniform and there's a rocket on his pine wood derby trophy.  Was that the "special" PW derby?

NJMike:  The axles look illegal and I'm not clear on how the axle tool works to assure 4 wheel alignment.


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## NJmike PE (Feb 14, 2017)

MA_PE said:


> He's out of uniform and there's a rocket on his pine wood derby trophy.  Was that the "special" PW derby?
> 
> NJMike:  The axles look illegal and I'm not clear on how the axle tool works to assure 4 wheel alignment.


It's possible that they are illegal. I honestly don't know, however I do know that short of an anonymous call from a concerned citizen, the governing body will never know. As for the tool, on the blue paddle, there is a tongue which fits into the groove in the bottom of the car block. When held firmly against the block, there is only an opening the size of the axle available for the axle to be set into. Now, I'm sure that I could have pre-drilled the opening with a jig, but I opted against it. I was able to clamp the tool against the block and then set the axles, all the while watch them as I hammered them in to be sure that they were perpendicular to the block. Another nice aspect is the metal fork that rests against the side of the car. When set properly, you can hammer in the axles and they will all be evenly gapped due to the thickness of the fork. So the wheel itself will never be too close to the block.

Does that help any MA?


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## snickerd3 (Feb 14, 2017)

In a way I am glad minisnick isn't doing the whole cub scout thing.  meeting times just don't jive with our work schedules


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## knight1fox3 (Feb 14, 2017)

snickerd3 said:


> In a way I am glad minisnick isn't doing the whole cub scout thing.


Famous last words...


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## Road Guy (Feb 14, 2017)

When I ran our pinewood derby we had to check the nails to make sure they looked like the ones that came with the kit. If its not obvious from looking at the nail head that they are not the BSA nails then you can probably squeak by- but they are most defin not legal for BSA / Cub Scout use.  You have to use the nails and wheels that are from the BSA kit.

We were a pack with a lot of overpaid Lockheed martin engineers with a lot of free time, I recall a lot of times under 3.5 seconds..


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## ptatohed (Feb 14, 2017)

I thought of the Scouts for my boys (now 4 and 6).  A little concerned about the "spirituality" of it though.  How faith-based is it?


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## Road Guy (Feb 14, 2017)

Its very low spirituality based in practice, even though it was originated as a Christian based organization, its very vanilla...


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## matt267 PE (Feb 14, 2017)

ptatohed said:


> How faith-based is it?


Not much these days. I'm thinking about signing up my daughters.


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## Road Guy (Feb 14, 2017)

I just signed my 14 year old and myself up for sea base next summer (living on a sailboat for 10 days in the Bahamas) &amp; I have a 15 year old teenage girl who is absolutely pissed that they don't really have a girl equivalent of boy scouts!  girl scouts is a sad organization- they are almost afraid to do anything "outside"..


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## Ramnares P.E. (Feb 14, 2017)

Road Guy said:


> I just signed my 14 year old and myself up for sea base next summer (living on a sailboat for 10 days in the Bahamas) &amp; I have a 15 year old teenage girl who is absolutely pissed that they don't really have a girl equivalent of boy scouts!  girl scouts is a sad organization- they are almost afraid to do anything "outside"..


I'll take Bahamas over cookies any day.


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## snickerd3 (Feb 14, 2017)

ptatohed said:


> I thought of the Scouts for my boys (now 4 and 6).  A little concerned about the "spirituality" of it though.  How faith-based is it?


depends on the sponsors.  ours is sponsored by the local catholic church if i remember


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## snickerd3 (Feb 14, 2017)

Road Guy said:


> I just signed my 14 year old and myself up for sea base next summer (living on a sailboat for 10 days in the Bahamas) &amp; I have a 15 year old teenage girl who is absolutely pissed that they don't really have a girl equivalent of boy scouts!  girl scouts is a sad organization- they are almost afraid to do anything "outside"..


this is very council dependent.  I went to girl scout camp twice (week long), cots on wood platforms with canvas sides.  we also did local campouts and day trips to local forest preserves.


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## NJmike PE (Feb 14, 2017)

Road Guy said:


> When I ran our pinewood derby we had to check the nails to make sure they looked like the ones that came with the kit. If its not obvious from looking at the nail head that they are not the BSA nails then you can probably squeak by- but they are most defin not legal for BSA / Cub Scout use.  You have to use the nails and wheels that are from the BSA kit.
> 
> We were a pack with a lot of overpaid Lockheed martin engineers with a lot of free time, I recall a lot of times under 3.5 seconds..


last years car ran at 2.89 s and that was slow by comparison to the others. It actually finished middle of the pack for the whole race


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## snickerd3 (Feb 14, 2017)

they really need to have two races.  boy scout and a separate one for the parents so the kids are really the ones making the cars


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## Road Guy (Feb 14, 2017)

probably one of them shorter yankee tracks


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## Road Guy (Feb 14, 2017)

Our scout troop back home (Atlanta) was chartered out of a catholic church, the only real interaction was doing some service projects (as a thank you for them letting us use their lights and space) and maybe a once a year pancake breakfast.  No one shows up at scout meetings to try and make your kid a catholic, religious, etc.

If your the kind of person that cant even be on a church property without going into a cross fit style anti religion rant, then no its not for you   

But its a great program for boys, I cant say enough about it. Plus it is giving me the excuse to live on a boat for a week


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## MA_PE (Feb 14, 2017)

NJmike PE said:


> It's possible that they are illegal. I honestly don't know, however I do know that short of an anonymous call from a concerned citizen, the governing body will never know. As for the tool, on the blue paddle, there is a tongue which fits into the groove in the bottom of the car block. When held firmly against the block, there is only an opening the size of the axle available for the axle to be set into. Now, I'm sure that I could have pre-drilled the opening with a jig, but I opted against it. I was able to clamp the tool against the block and then set the axles, all the while watch them as I hammered them in to be sure that they were perpendicular to the block. Another nice aspect is the metal fork that rests against the side of the car. When set properly, you can hammer in the axles and they will all be evenly gapped due to the thickness of the fork. So the wheel itself will never be too close to the block.
> 
> Does that help any MA?


With only the steel guide at the front I can see it being helpful but not not too much better than one could do unaided and being careful.  However I do endorse that once they're in position to satisfaction some 5 minute epoxy will keep them there.



snickerd3 said:


> they really need to have two races.  boy scout and a separate one for the parents so the kids are really the ones making the cars


I believe there are some Cub packs that have done just that.


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## ptatohed (Feb 14, 2017)

Road Guy said:


> Our scout troop back home (Atlanta) was chartered out of a catholic church, the only real interaction was doing some service projects (as a thank you for them letting us use their lights and space) and maybe a once a year pancake breakfast.  No one shows up at scout meetings to try and make your kid a catholic, religious, etc.
> 
> If your the kind of person that cant even be on a church property without going into a cross fit style anti religion rant, then no its not for you
> 
> But its a great program for boys, I cant say enough about it. Plus it is giving me the excuse to live on a boat for a week


Thanks RG.  I'm cool with all that, I just don't want them pushing religious doctrine on my boys.  It looks like atheists/agnostics are not allowed in the Scouts.  Don't ask, don't tell?


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## snickerd3 (Feb 14, 2017)

the most is probably the oath that they will do their duty


Boy Scout Oath or Promise


On my honor, I will do my best 
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; 
To help other people at all times; 
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.


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## snickerd3 (Feb 14, 2017)

the girl scout one is similar   [COLOR= rgb(84, 84, 84)]On my honor, I will try: To serve God and my country, To help people at all times, And to live by the Girl Scout Law.[/COLOR]


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## ptatohed (Feb 14, 2017)

I like those a lot.  Just not the God part.


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## P-E (Feb 14, 2017)

Here's his, by his I mean my, first PW car.  He _ came in 9th of 89.  I only polished and put graphite on the axles.  The cars that beat us [me] had a wheel up.
_

_

__
 
_

_

__
 
_


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## Road Guy (Feb 14, 2017)

The year I did the least amount of "illegal crap" is the year we brought home the hardware...


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## Dleg (Feb 14, 2017)

I won one year without doing much at all to my car.  It just all felt like luck, to me.


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## NJmike PE (Feb 18, 2017)

So Weigh-ins were last night. Both cars made exact weight and the green TMNT car was accepted immediately. However, the yellow Shopkins cheese wedge was not. @Supe, apparently a front wheel was ever so slightly higher than the other three wheels. Unfortunately there was little that I could to the front wheels in the ways of adjusting them because I feared I would snap the car because it is too thin. So my only option was to adjust the rear wheel on the same side as the high wheel in the front. I got all four to touch and car was accepted. Race begins at 9.


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## P-E (Feb 18, 2017)

NJmike PE said:


> So Weigh-ins were last night. Both cars made exact weight and the green TMNT car was accepted immediately. However, the yellow Shopkins cheese wedge was not. @Supe, apparently a front wheel was ever so slightly higher than the other three wheels. Unfortunately there was little that I could to the front wheels in the ways of adjusting them because I feared I would snap the car because it is too thin. So my only option was to adjust the rear wheel on the same side as the high wheel in the front. I got all four to touch and car was accepted. Race begins at 9.


Godspeed ninja car


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## ptatohed (Feb 18, 2017)

I forgot to ask, what are the costs associated with Scouts?  Thanks.


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## knight1fox3 (Feb 19, 2017)

ptatohed said:


> I forgot to ask, what are the costs associated with Scouts?  Thanks.


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## NJmike PE (Feb 20, 2017)

apparently I left way too much wood weight on these two cars. middle of the pack times again. 2.88 s was our best run. best time for the day was 2.67 s


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## Road Guy (Feb 20, 2017)

I do think you can "overthink " the cars!

But the way I saw it, so long as your kid isn't the one whose car doesn't make it all the way down the track you have done your job!

PH- The cost vary from pack to pack, our "dues" were around $75 a year. You buy the shirt, book, and a few patches. The pack buys the "badges"

If you are considering it for the fall look around ebay for used cub scout shirts in the summer, they will be plentiful as kids grow fast, they will be hard to find once school starts and the pack year begins. We bought a large blue shirt for the kids that gets them through 3rd grade usually.


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## NJmike PE (Oct 22, 2017)

So we're doing the derby again. I let the boy pick out the design for one. I designed the other. Naturally, he picked a Spiderman design. Mine was merely going for the concept of cutting off as much of the wood block as possible so I can put it back in the form of tungsten. Both blocks, are about 1.0 oz... 5 is the max at weigh-ins. Before cutting them down, we pre-drilled the axle slots to assure the wheels are. All level and the track is true. Next we'll grind off the burs on the axles, and the tungsten weights to the blocks, pudding and paint them.

Here is the current status of the car blocks.














Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## humner (Oct 26, 2017)

I was a Boy Scout / Cub Scout leader for 13 years, both sons achieved Eagle Scout.  Both had entered cars over the years and did quite well.  I did help them when using power equipment, but aside from that, they did the work themselves.  My happiest moment was when one of my cub scouts, took a saw, cut a wedge off of the front end of the block and glued it onto the back.  He painted the car with colored markers............He won.  Beat out all the other cars, especially the "Dad" modified cars that looked like months were taken to build and paint.


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## NJmike PE (Dec 8, 2017)

Weigh-ins are this evening. All wheels touch. Right on weight. Let's hope this goes without a problem tonight and tomorrow the cars all run better than average. That's all I want.


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## NJmike PE (Dec 11, 2017)

so the red/blue car finished 2 in the Den, and 15 overall in the pack. not too bad. the black car was entered as a sibling car. While it ran faster than the red/blue car they did not publish the scores, but at least it won for best looking.

Overall, I'm happy with that.


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## Road Guy (Dec 11, 2017)

congrats!  I miss those days!


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## P-E (Feb 2, 2018)

Mini PE and I went to grandpa's workshop and made our car.  We took 1st place.  I never did this with my dad.  Wish now I had.


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## NJmike PE (Feb 2, 2018)

P-E said:


> Mini PE and I went to grandpa's workshop and made our car.  We took 1st place.  I never did this with my dad.  Wish now I had.
> 
> View attachment 10777


nice car, congrats on first place


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## matt267 PE (Feb 2, 2018)

Well done @mini PE


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## P-E (Feb 2, 2018)

NJmike PE said:


> nice car, congrats on first place


Thanks.  We go to the regional race next month.   It will be tough to win there.


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## Road Guy (Feb 2, 2018)

Congrats and good luck! Good looking car - those were fun times with the kids for sure!


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## MA_PE (Feb 2, 2018)

P-E said:


> Thanks.  We go to the regional race next month.   It will be tough to win there.


congrats.  Where are the regionals held?

Back when my son was in the cubs we won the "city-wide" derby at the mall.  We came in second in his pack but the 1st place kid didn't bother with the extra "city-wide" event.  It's fun for them to bring home some hardware.


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## P-E (Feb 2, 2018)

Not sure the location yet.  It will be at the of March, so there's time to make some minor tweeks.


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## NJmike PE (Feb 2, 2018)

P-E said:


> Thanks.  We go to the regional race next month.   It will be tough to win there.


What was the winning time?


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## P-E (Feb 3, 2018)

NJmike PE said:


> P-E said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks.  We go to the regional race next month.   It will be tough to win there.
> ...


3.185 seconds, average of three top runs.


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## NJmike PE (Feb 4, 2018)

P-E said:


> 3.185 seconds, average of three top runs.


Was it a wood track?


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## P-E (Feb 4, 2018)

NJmike PE said:


> P-E said:
> 
> 
> > 3.185 seconds, average of three top runs.
> ...


Metal track.  Not sure the length.


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## P-E (Mar 24, 2018)

P-E said:


> Not sure the location yet.  It will be at the of March, so there's time to make some minor tweeks.


We took first place in the wolves division at regionals.   On to Nationals.


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## P-E (Jun 27, 2018)

PWD Nationals are this weekend in Times Square.   Should be interesting.  I'm not expecting much, but it will be fun just going.


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## MA_PE (Jun 27, 2018)

Good luck!


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## P-E (Jun 28, 2018)

MA_PE said:


> Good luck!


Thanks.  Put a bunch graphite on the wheels.  Should be good to go.


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## matt267 PE (Jun 28, 2018)

P-E said:


> PWD Nationals are this weekend in Times Square.   Should be interesting.  I'm not expecting much, but it will be fun just going.


Sounds like a good time. Have fun and good luck.


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## P-E (Jul 1, 2018)

Well, we were competitive, but no trophy this time.   Good learning experience for him that you don't always win.   Car was consistently at 3.1s.  Winning cars were 3.0s.  Those cars were all super thin simple rectangular shaped with aerodynamic fenders infront and behind the wheels.   All in all, fun trip to NYC.


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## MA_PE (Jul 2, 2018)

glad you had a good time.  too bad you didn't get any new hardware.


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## P-E (Jul 4, 2018)

Happened to be watching an old Seinfeld episode earlier.


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