Pinewood Derby – Car Racing for Everyone!

Workshop At a Glance

Price: Starting at $175 per person

Duration: 3-4 hours

Location: Craftsman Ave Workshop at 117 11th Street Brooklyn, NY 11215

Class size: Usually no more than 10 people

Skill Level : Beginner — no previous experience is required.

What You’ll Be Making : A one-of-a-kind race car made of wood and powered by gravity.  You’ll then race your speed machine against the other workshop guests.

What You’ll Be Doing: You will be transforming a block of wood into a racecar using all of the tools and know-how of Craftsman Ave. You’ll then put your masterpiece to the test by racing it against other guests on our vintage Pinewood Derby track. Medals will be awarded to the fastest car, the slowest car, the best looking car, and the most unique car.

What’s Included? All Materials & Tools Provided!

• • Pine wood block, wheels and various flare: Everything you need to build your car.

• • Bandsaw, belt sanders and hand tools: Get a feel for all the woodworking tools needed for simple projects.

• • Expert Guidance: Step-by-step instructions from experienced makers.

• • A vintage Boy Scouts race track: Race your creation against others on a 60 year old regulation track.

What To Expect

Depending on your upbringing, this workshop either offers you a chance at redemption for the pinewood derby race from 1996 that you placed second in, or it provides an opportunity to participate in the pinewood derby race that you would’ve loved to do when you were in the third grade, but didn’t get to due to your mom missing the signup date for cub scouts because she had a new boyfriend whom she had to drive to work every day because his license was suspended (he told her that his car was in the shop but you knew how to check the police blotter archives) and then when “RICHARD” (not his real name) finally skipped town it was too late to enroll, and now every time you need to build a survival shelter in the wilderness or tie a clove hitch knot on the open seas you curse the man who altered your Pinewood Derby destiny and broke your mom’s heart.

Basically: it’s a condensed version of the same drill from back in the day–you’re given a block of wood and 2 hours to turn it into the mean machine that will win the race at the end of the workshop against the other participants.

While there will be some *lite* woodworking skills (we’ll show you how to use workshop saws/power tools if you’d like to craft your car with them), it is also totally possible to join in on the fun if you’d prefer to keep things low-key and manual with sandpaper and a focus on aesthetics. We’ll provide all the “flair” needed to make your car one-of-a-kind, including paint, racing stripes, googly eyes, and all sorts of other things.

The bottom line is that you’re going to have a great time no matter what, designing the car of your dreams and then watching LIVE the most exciting race of all time. Unless you are a debilitatingly competitive person, in which case we recommend bringing some cold, hard cash to butter the palms of the judge.

10% discount to a future workshop offered if you show up in an official or semi-official boy/girl scouts uniform.