A Craftsman radial saw, the constructed Tyco Cosmic Wind display rack, and the burn pile

Finished and hung the rack this morning.  Levent did a great job on the Tyco C/L decals, perfect reproduction.  Stickers are peel off; I may go to a smaller size.

What kind of oil can ? Can't beat a hook up like that !

getback wrote:What kind of oil can ? Can't beat a hook up like that !

Some vintage thing Eric with a unique label. I think he sent me a picture, but I can't find it. He reads this stuff, maybe he will send me another.

What a deal! Thats like finding a valuable painting under a print you bought for the frame.

Well that was a definate score for both you and Mark. Nice to see it also works good too. The stand/display you made is very simple, looks great and very functional!

NEW222 wrote:Well that was a definate score for both you and Mark. Nice to see it also works good too. The stand/display you made is very simple, looks great and very functional!

It's made with wood from my daughter's old TV console. Particle board covered with vinyl wood finish. Cutting it leaves one side uncovered. I just stain it with Minwax special walnut. Doesn't do a very good job, but I position that side away from the viewer.

Got the boxed Tyco today with the zip starter, my reason for buying. Looks like it has been run and probably flown once or twice. Engine is a little stiff but free. I have heard some about that starter but never have I seen one. Eager to try it.

Looks like a Cox glow plug clip, only with all black wires. Maybe obtained from Coxes contractor. Colorful empty fuel can. Box a mess but I can fix that.

Hi Robert! Great that you're using the saw! My Soap-Box Derby car was built using my Uncle Ray's DeWalt radial-arm saw! The car had a "Lotus" styling to it.. and the saw made short work of cutting the required angle/bevel-cuts in the 2 X 6 fir floor-pan... a story for another day.

Did mark end up scrapping the jointer/planer? (just curious.. ) Those things can be dangerous I hear.. not unlike a power-saw though..

.. and the oil-can.. Was it a tin-can oiler with a spout?

I have one that was Lynne's dad's. I generally keep it near my drill-press.

Big one roddie, Mark sent me pictures.





Todays container.

https://petroleumservicecompany.com/mobil-600w-super-cylinder-oil-5-gallon-pail/?msclkid=6ea31ce9e677184bff967ecbf2401a26&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Bing%20Shopping%20(Mobil)&utm_term=4583657831381311&utm_content=Super%20Cylinder%20Oil%20%7C%20Mobil



Edit add:

Coincidently I was just reading about the reconstruction of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris after the disastrous fire in April 2019 in the latest edition of The National Geographic when i noticed this gargoyle. Identical to the one on the oil containers label.

The plane came in really good condition , say your going to try the pull starter? and that's a Nice oil can too

roddie wrote:Hi Robert! Great that you're using the saw! My Soap-Box Derby car was built using my Uncle Ray's DeWalt radial-arm saw! The car had a "Lotus" styling to it.. and the saw made short work of cutting the required angle/bevel-cuts in the 2 X 6 fir floor-pan... a story for another day.


]

I did not know that you ran in the Derby roddie or was it a model?  2X6 = inches or feet?

I ran two years in 1951/52 when I was 13/14.  Still have the wheels and T shirts.    I was the 100th boy to register in New Hampshire for the Derby and because of that a sponsor paid for the cost of constructing my car.  Mine looked like a rolling box, not a Lotis.  But I built it myself where others used cabinet makers.  

I live very close to where the Conshohocken Soap Box Derby is held. It takes place on the 4th of July annually. I believe this has been taking place since the 30's. It's really a amazing site and many turn out to watch. It makes me wonder why we don't see more of it. The street is quite a steep grade and lately the area is so built up it's as bad as center city. With the medians going in place and other traffic devices, I can see this coming to an end or shortened beyond purposeful use. Being a carpenter and many of my co workers, we all got together at my good friends cabinet shop a few years back and helped build a car. I would've loved to do this when I was younger.

Ken, New Hampshire had a dedicated Soap Box Derby site located in a park in Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city.  Only used once a year for the Derby. On Derby Day I remember a lot of old guys eager to help.

My Dad was supportive, buying the plywood and base board but he almost got me killed, twice.  I did all the work cutting out the plywood top and sides with an old jig saw with no supervision, and on test day I forgot to safety wire the steering cable turnbuckles.  Dad didn't do a safety check and I doubt if he even thought of one.  

Dad loaded the racer onto our old 1934 Plymouth's cut down car body made into a stake body truck and off we went to the steepest hill in town.  It was remote, but still traveled.  With no-one directing traffic at the bottom of the hill Dad set me off.  Halfway down the hill the right-hand turnbuckle came loose directing a sharp left hand turn over a ditch into a stone wall which knocked me out.  When I came to Dad was laughing and pulling me out of the car.  

Yeah, I kept a scrap book.

Interesting story Bob

Nylint models of soap box derby cars, first is model of 1951 winner. They can be find on eBay:

rsv1cox wrote:

roddie wrote:Hi Robert! Great that you're using the saw! My Soap-Box Derby car was built using my Uncle Ray's DeWalt radial-arm saw! The car had a "Lotus" styling to it.. and the saw made short work of cutting the required angle/bevel-cuts in the 2 X 6 fir floor-pan... a story for another day.


]

I did not know that you ran in the Derby roddie or was it a model?  2X6 = inches or feet?

I ran two years in 1951/52 when I was 13/14.  Still have the wheels and T shirts.    I was the 100th boy to register in New Hampshire for the Derby and because of that a sponsor paid for the cost of constructing my car.  Mine looked like a rolling box, not a Lotis.  But I built it myself where others used cabinet makers.  

Yes Robert! Very interesting to know that you did too!! I was the same age and also ran two consecutive years which were 1973/74!!!

A neighbor man organized the 1st official race in our area. which was run on a section of Rt. 120; a two-lane road which ran between Cumberland, RI (Rt. 122) and N. Attleboro, MA. (at the Rt. 1 and 1A junction) with the junction of Rt. 114 (Diamond Hill Rd.) along the way at Arnold Mills. I figured you may know the area; having lived in Tiverton for a while. The section of Rt. 120 that we raced on had a gradual slope with a slight uphill grade just past the finish-line. The road runs dead-straight for a good 1/2mi. or more.. with grass/hay-fields both sides where the race course was. It was a perfect spot.

My Uncle Ray Mercer (my dad's bro-in -law) was an Optometrist with a finish carpentry background. He sponsored my car and provided the shop/tools to design/build it. He built that home (in Franklin, MA) and a large barn with a tack-room and 8 horse-stalls. His daughter "Raye Lynn" would learn to ride "English-style" on their Morgan horses. I used to work at the farm to pay for my piano-lesson. Raye Lynn took piano lessons too. Our teacher was "The Great DeLellis" (self-proclaimed) actually Giuseppe (Joe) DeLellis.. who was a frequent soloist with the Boston Pops (Fiedler era)

Uncle Ray had two IH Farmall tractors. A "Cub" and a "Super A". He let me drive them both.. for various chores.

Below is a Super A like the one he had..



The farm was (and still is..) called "Miscoe Meadow". Those letters were painted on the back-panel of my car.

I have one or two old Polaroid instant-photos in an album somewhere.. I'll see if I can find them.

The 2nd year, I raced in Boston, MA (Waltham I believe..) where my car won a "Best Brake Design" award. The recommended (official design) called for a foot-pedal and cable system to operate (through a system of pulleys) a drag-type (drop-down) block with a rubber shoe just behind the driver's-seat bulkhead. (bring back some memories?) The draw-back of their design was that there were several points of resistance with the indirect-manner in which the cable was routed front to rear. Theirs had the cable running through a tube mounted to the floor-pan alongside the driver; requiring several bends and extra pulleys.

My car had a direct-pull on the cable by running it through a floor-mounted pulley on the center-line and just rearward of the pedal-hinge and through a plastic tube running rearward under the drivers "butt".. through a hole in the bottom of the seat and through the brake itself; which was built as a box (hollow with 3 walls and no top). A 2nd floor-mounted pulley just rearward directs the cable back up and forward to an eye-bolt for attaching the cable to the "top" of the brake-box.. same as with the brake pedal. There were hobby-horse type return-springs attached to either side of the brake-box and to the seat-back bulkhead using eye-bolts. Think of the brake-box as a 90 degree bellcrank but functioning like a control-horn. A turn-buckle was used inline to adjust the cable tension. The key was having only two points of resistance. The "shoe" was made from 2 layers of tractor trailer mud-flap. The shoe-footprint was approx. 24 sq. in. and the shoes were attached to the foot using 6 carriage-bolts in a hole-pattern through the shoes, the foot and through a steel plate on the inside, for the washers/nuts to bear-on. The carriage-bolt "heads" would draw-into the rubber when the nuts were snugged-up against that steel-plate.

My Best-Brake Design award (a plaque) is sadly MIA. I certainly don't get B.O.M. credit.. My Dad and Uncle Ray built the car. It did not win any races.. but was a lot of fun!

Hey roddie, it's great to find someone that shared the Derby experience.  It's not surprising that it's you.

I entered the 1950 race too, but family vacation plans prevented me from competing.

 From the 1950 rule book. 1951/52 rules were identical.  I imagine by the time you entered they had relaxed the rules somewhat. They had no problem with my car when they inspected it.  Obviously, some dumb kid hacked it together.  But some cars there were works of art.  I came in 2nd in my two heats ('51'/52 out of 3).



The rules allowed several different brake options.  Naturally I chose the simplest 12A.  Absolutely no mechanical advantage.  12B/C much better.



I didn't win anything, but I did draw a lucky number for a can of shell oil (like 3 in 1).

Each entrants Dad got a free lube job at the local Chevrolet dealer.  

BTW, the stone wall crash destroyed the front of my racer.  I remember looking at it and shedding a tear or two with the race just a week away.  Dad pitched in and we had the car repaired and ready for race day.  

The crash slightly bent the front left axle where the wheel rode.

If you ever see the documentary of Jimmy Gronen, I highly recommend it. He was the champion in the early 70's later to be found cheating. I have to admit, this was pure genius. His uncle responsible actually faced mild jail time and fines. I have mixed feelings about the entire situation. I thought the uncle was actually a amazing craftsmen. They never proved if the magnet in the car was all that effective but Jimmy's car seemed to always leave the gate first due to the possibility of the gate pulling out the car.

I read about that when it happened. Big scandal in the SBD community.

Got me to thinking if the gates were steel or wood when I competed in Manchester. All I remember is the thud when they were released and catching a glance to my right and left to see who was catching up to me or passing me. They had placed soft sand at the bottom of the hill to stop us. A test run was required for everybody before the race and sand would get in the wheel's bearings. They gave us carbon tetrachloride to clean it out with, carbon tet a possible carcinogen but they didn't know it at the time.

I would think there was a lot of hanky panky going on, among the Dads mostly. We kids just wanted to have fun. With me it was my sponsor. You have to have more weight they told me. So they went out and got a big block of lead and bolted it in the back of my car. Others were looking for lightness. Weight of car and driver could not exceed 250 pounds. Mine was 239 mostly that lead.

I know Chevrolet stopped sponsoring the races somewhere in this time frame. I'm not certain if this incident was responsible. It certainly sent a ripple through the community. It also left a bad taste in the mouths of many. I personally feel it was extremely innovative and done remarkably well as this went unnoticed for what could've been a few years. This is exactly how my father thinks, he can come up and execute some amazing ideas that no others even think about. Extreme thinking outside of the box.

I recall a incident in grade school when we did pinewood derby. A classmate of mine was living at the time with his mother only. His parents were separated and my dad assisted him in building his car. While I truly enjoyed mine and the ideas my dad offered to help, I can't say enough good about what he did for that other kid. All I remember was his name was Bobby. We weighed our cars, and went to race in the evening. We had to pull the wheels for inspection, my dad handed Bobby 4 small electrical tape squares and told him to put them over the car body where the axles went into the car. Bobby did so when the inspectors returned the cars. Bobby's car was very fast and he ended up winning but then it was recognized that the car had this tape strips , he was disqualified. The rules said no washers, no axles, no bushings, nothing in regards to a anti friction device or tape and my dad was hot. After a hour worth of arguing, Bobby was declared the winner and in my opinion rightfully so.

I'm trying to contemplate/visualize how those four squares would help Ken?



Thanks Levent.  

First SBD winner, 1951 winner a year I competed, and a modern car.



The boxes on these look great, most I had been looking at were pretty beat.  

Been busy on the Radial Arm Saw too, and the Tyco.  Might build a new thread on them.  Kind of interesting.  Burn pile is kaput!

I had some leftover MDF board (Medium Fiber Density) on hand so I used that.  Saved me $30/$50 from buying a new 4X8' sheet. Had just enough to do it, including the fence.





And, Tyco Sky Hawk is finished.








I used a three ring binder glassine interleaf for the window.  Ironed out the crease with a monokote iron on low heat and glued with Elmers white.



Sellers ad photo:

You bought best car designs of Nylint, they seem very pretty

Very neat carboard box restoration you did, as well as engine restorations.

Ken Cook wrote:If you ever see the documentary of Jimmy Gronen, I highly recommend it. He was the champion in the early 70's later to be found cheating. I have to admit, this was pure genius. His uncle responsible actually faced mild jail time and fines. I have mixed feelings about the entire situation. I thought the uncle was actually a amazing craftsmen. They never proved if the magnet in the car was all that effective but Jimmy's car seemed to always leave the gate first due to the possibility of the gate pulling out the car.

I remember the buzz about that! I heard that it was an electromagnet.. and there was a circuit link between the driver's helmet and the steering wheel which de-energized the magnet. This made sense to me, because it was common for drivers to lean forward from a sitting-up position when the gate dropped.. which could help to gain momentum if timed correctly. When his helmet's visor touched the steering wheel, the electromagnet would instantly shut-off. Of course this required concealing a power-source.. so I'm not sure how that was done.  

Is that the story that the documentary tells?

I think that model soap box kits can be made as propeller driven tethered cars.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07ZK4YNM3/ref=sspa_mw_detail_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9kZXRhaWwp13NParams

I looked it up. Three or four articles about it.

https://www.considerable.com/entertainment/trivia/soap-box-derby-scandal-of-1973/