Keys to win from the Pinewood Derby king!

This is a must read, by the Pinewood Derby king!

 

I know this is an old post but is oil (as long as it appears dry at the time of the race) a loophole in the wording of the rule? If so and can get away with it I'm definitely going that route. Also, if my pack rules states "must use original slots" is ok to drill above the original slots and then saw to the drill hole using the original slot just modifying it?

 

If your rules say "powdered lubricant only" or "graphite lubricant only" then I don't think oil is a possibility for you. If the rules says "must appear dry at the time of the race" then you might be able to get by with using oil. If it says "must be dry" then oil would be off in the gray area since it's not really dry in the bore.

Do your race rules state that you are allowed to square up the slots? If so, that's what you're doing when you drill above and resaw so I would think that would be allowed.

 

Absolutely. It's not so much a loophole as it is reading what the rules do not say and using it to your advantage. It all depends on how your rules are written. Unfortunately, our rules state " Only graphite can be used for lubricant, no oil or silicone based product is aloud ". Pretty tight rule with little room for interpretation. I've seen the rule written to say "dry lubricant only, such as graphite ". To me, I read "whatever I want as long as it's dry".

It's all in the wording

 

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