On December 10, Caleb, a new Cub Scout with Pack 126 attended a Pack Pinewood Derby Session and earned the “distinct privilege and high honor” of creating the 2000th pinewood derby car in Michael’s Woodshop! Caleb’s Cubmaster describes him as an enthusiastic Cub Scout who is a friend to all and who has thoroughly enjoyed the Pack activities. These qualities were on full display as he crafted his car in Michael’s Woodshop. To commemorate the occasion, Caleb was presented with a special Pinewood Derby Car display stand with a 2000th Car inscription. Please join us in wishing Caleb the best of luck in his races, but in our book, he is already a winner!
Michael’s Woodshop is in the midst of its 6th Annual Pinewood Derby Days season. While Pinewood Derby Days is one of the most popular programs, Michael’s Woodshop operates year-round with opportunities for youth of all ages to participate in a variety of shop activities. In addition to supporting summer camp and other camp events, Michael’s Woodshop offers great Baloo the Builder and Webelos Build It workshops for Cub Scouts and monthly Woodwork Merit Badge classes for Scouts. The shop is 
also a great venue for hosting Eagle Scout projects and can be reserved for many other unit activities.
The activities in Michael’s Woodshop are made possible by a dedicated group of adult and youth volunteers. Due to the popularity of Michael’s Woodshop, volunteers are in the process of expanding the shop to provide space to host even more youth activities. To support the additional activities, we are seeking additional volunteers to join the team. Roles are available for adults and youth, from novice to experienced skill levels. Please visit the Michael’s Woodshop webpage for more information about volunteering, shop capabilities and upcoming events and for information about reserving the shop. If you have questions or would like additional information, please email the volunteer team at MichaelsWoodshop.CWBS@gmail.com
to have in their toolboxes and practiced using clamps, sanding blocks, hammers and nail punches. They made a golf tee game board as their “fun project” and after sanding, they applied a clear polyurethane finish. Finally, as their “useful project”, each Bear made their own toolbox. It was a couple of hours very well spent and not only did these Bears learn a few things and have some fun but, they also earned the distinction of having among their Den the 500th Bear to complete the Baloo the Builder Adventure in Michael’s Woodshop!
The Baloo the Builder and Webelos Build It Workshops are two of the most popular activities in Michael’s Woodshop. These workshops are great, hands-on activities that are fun, learning experiences for the Cub Scouts. To learn more about these workshops and the many other shop activities available, or to reserve the shop for an activity, please visit the 
Weekend I: October 20-22, 2023
September 22-24, 2023
October 13-15, 2023
October 27-29, 2023
Have you ever heard of BlastCars?
After 1000+ Pinewood Derby cars, Michael’s Woodshop has perfected a build process. The Blastcar build was only slightly different. Scouts had to ensure that designs do not intersect with the drilled holes for the Co2 cartridges. Additionally, while PWD cars’ starting gates release at the front of each car, Blastcars are lined up against the rear (where the cartridges are!)
The Woodshop machinery as well as Mr. Dave’s expertise made for an incredible experience. Sure, scouts could design blast cars with hand tools. In fact, 2 weeks before the scouts’ woodshop visit, they practiced using hand tools. This juxtaposition led to a greater appreciation of the Woodshop opportunity, and the professional cars they got to design!
For more information about the merit badge classes, shop capabilities, upcoming events or reserving the shop, please visit the Michael’s Woodshop webpage. If you have questions or would like additional information, please email us at 
Scout creativity was on full display in Michael’s Woodshop during Camp William B. Snyder’s second annual Scout Specialty Week. Among the wide variety of merit badge offerings, Michael’s Woodshop offered the Woodwork Merit Badge, a challenging merit badge requiring extended sessions throughout the week. Scouts learned about lumber, shop safety, first aid and tool sharpening. To demonstrate the use of different tools, cuts and joints, Scouts created three projects including a toolbox, a wooden mallet and a cell phone stand. The real fun began when they designed and built their own projects. The results were amazing!
The classes during the merit badge week were led by a group of highly skilled woodshop volunteers. It was a very successful week with 15 Woodwork Merit Badges earned! To see more of the fun activities during the week, go to the 
Normally in Michael’s Woodshop, we use the expression “like kids in a candy store” to describe either our shop volunteers (who just love to be in the shop) or parents who are visiting the shop for the first time and find themselves admiring the well-organized array of tools and great workspace. However, this summer we also used the phrase to describe the Cub Scouts who attended Day Camp and Resident Weekends at Camp Snyder. During their stay, they had the chance to visit Michael’s Woodshop and create their very own candy dispenser. It was a great hands-on project and over the course of the summer the Cub Scouts made 564 candy dispensers!!!
The process started with a safety briefing and some brief assembly instructions and then the fun began! Cub Scouts were guided by camp staff and volunteers in drilling, gluing and nailing together their dispensers. After the assembly process was completed, Cub Scouts sanded all the corners and edges and were then given the opportunity to stamp their project with the official “Handcrafted in Michael’s Woodshop” brand. It was great fun and the activity in Michael’s Woodshop was rated as one of the youth favorites. To see more great photos from summer camp, please link to our 
Michael’s Woodshop operates year-round and is a great venue for Scouts to create and learn. In addition to supporting summer camp and family camping weekends, Michael’s Woodshop offers a number of regular and seasonal activities such as merit badge classes and our annual Pinewood Derby Days! The shop may be reserved by Dens for our Baloo the Builder and Webelos Build It Workshops and may also be reserved for many other events such as District events, Pack & Troop activities and Eagle Scout Projects.