Mousetrap Vehicle C

[ktrujillo52]

Sorry for the double post but I have a question

Are we allowed to use a razor at all on the vehicle? I just want to use it so that it will cut the string when the rod reaches a certain angle.

[rockhound]

Sorry for the double post but I have a question

Are we allowed to use a razor at all on the vehicle? I just want to use it so that it will cut the string when the rod reaches a certain angle.

I don't see why not.

[ktrujillo52]

Great, thanks.

[robotman]

Are we allowed to use a razor at all on the vehicle? I just want to use it so that it will cut the string when the rod reaches a certain angle.

They may be allowed but why would you need them?
it would be a pain to change you string after each run
and it could pose a risk if the rod hit them and caused them to shatter. it would be simpler to just have the string fall off with a pin and loop

[ktrujillo52]

im just going to tie the string together afterward.

Its a small razor that i'm going to glue onto the rod. It's one of those exacto knife razors. This is the only method I thought of and it's already built. I wish I had checked the wiki earlier, I would have liked to try the pin and the loop.

[beaverkid]

If you tie the string together afterward, wouldn't that change the total length of the string from run to run?

[winneratlife]

Well yes it would, but the change would be incredibly small. In fact, small differences from run to run may not be so bad. It might give a bit of variety, so if one run was a little bit off (like traveling 6.9 meters), the other run wouldn't necessarily be guaranteed to fail.

[beaverkid]

Being able to adjust between the 2 real runs is important, but wouldn't you want a more controllable/precise way to adjust between the two runs?

[ktrujillo52]

Probably. To be honest, I don't think it is anywhere as good as some of what is in the wiki. I wont know until I run it but I do not expect this vehicle to get any medals. I only built it because no one else on my team knew how. But what i am going to do is get a small piece of another string, tie it to one of the broken ends, then the other, and add glue to both knots. Even if the string is a bit longer, the rod will still be the same. And the rod is designed so that once it reaches the other side it sets off the opposing mousetrap.

[winneratlife]

Does anybody know where I can buy some of this stuff, like balsa wood, ratchet+pawl, etc.?