Mr. Renda’s CO2 Car
Goal
Draft, then woodwork a car to race against the rest of the class. Each car should be designed to fit the track, and also a location for the CO2 cartridge.
The Design
Nothing too crazy. Just thought of a cool car design. No weight optimizations done. However, I do remember watching some Mark Rober video about how to win like slot cars or something, and that his tactic was to have weight concentrated at the back to start with more gravitational potential energy. One thing I hadn’t considered though is that this tactic only applies to cars that start on an incline. Our slot cars didn’t lol. I still think my car looks cool.
I remember measuring and cutting out the holes on the drill press. I then drew on the main features, then cut out the ribs of the curves and cutting out the design on the band saw. I also remember sanding the whole thing down by hand. I went crazy on this part.
My Experience
This project was done in my first year of highschool. I remember a key learning objective was to actually learn about how to use woodworking tools, machine shop tools, and how to create drafts. If I remember correctly, I don’t even think we raced the cars. This was like the final project, but ngl, Mr. Renda never even gave me the chance to race my car.
But in all honesty, it was a good introduction to getting familiarized with shop tools. I remember being very anxious even approaching the chop saw because it’s so loud and fear of kickback. Glad I took this couse.