MCGREGOR168 Posted March 17, 2007 Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 Well through reading and looking at different tracks on this forum I am about to atempt a 1.5 x 4.8 rooted track. No not a spelling error probably an apt description after Iam finished with it. The old scaley track (12 months old) was my first effort in track design but it is to tight and I am forever fixing power problems The test track has been contructed out of 12mm mdf ( the final track will be out of 9mm) using a craftech carbide tipped 3mm bit . Test tape was purchased from The Glass Emporium in SA 5.56mm code xm002. Some of the routing (which is the first I have done) I used a radial arm and a template the rest was freehand. I have ordered a routing kit from Luff at oldslotracer which should smooth out alot better than freehand. The paint is cloth grey semi gloss left over from painting the kitchen. and seemed to give reasonable grip. The track design was pinched from San Phoneo then then slightly modified thank you Martin. The track was wired up direct to a variable power source for the test .The Slotit Audi which has no ballast added run lap after lap with the tail out.This car was a dog on the scaley track not the cars fault but the current scaley track had five radius 1 hairpins just to tight for the Audi. Will post more pics and info as the build takes shape. Quote WANT THAT ONE! AND THAT ONE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sports Racer Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Is it really worthwhile building a test track? Quote May the downforce be with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCGREGOR168 Posted March 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Is it really worthwhile building a test track? Well I think it is As I have never seen a routed track,Driven a Router or laid tape . As you can see from the picys practice cuts all over the board. As I Am employed by a very large hardware group starting with B the mdf was a packer total cost of the test track (not including router or bit) was aprox $4.00 mostly tape cost. Regards John Quote WANT THAT ONE! AND THAT ONE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigg64 Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 I'm with you John I am planning to also do a test track. Mainly to test my skills with the router and taping. Got a few off cuts of MDF laying around home. So why not I say Also want to test some minimum radius corners to see how the cars go around. I was always taught "check twice then cut" and another one drumbed into was "prior planning prevents piss poor performance" BUt looking on the forum there is always bog or wood putty if you make a mistake I am trying to source something else for the router guide. Seeing you work at Bs I would have thought they would have had something suitable. I was planning to go up and down the isles in search of a solutiuon myself. Are you splashing out and getting the Luffs DVD as well? Cheers Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalbfellp Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Packing sheets from laminex products make great cheep tracks,Shelmore was build from packing sheets that I managed to get from a joiner friend. Phil Quote Phil https://www.hobartminiaturecarclub.com/ Email Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCGREGOR168 Posted March 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 I'm with you John I am planning to also do a test track. Mainly to test my skills with the router and taping. Got a few off cuts of MDF laying around home. So why not I say Also want to test some minimum radius corners to see how the cars go around. I was always taught "check twice then cut" and another one drumbed into was "prior planning prevents piss poor performance" BUt looking on the forum there is always bog or wood putty if you make a mistake I am trying to source something else for the router guide. Seeing you work at Bs I would have thought they would have had something suitable. I was planning to go up and down the isles in search of a solutiuon myself. Are you splashing out and getting the Luffs DVD as well? Cheers Craig Yes the DVD and routing kit arrived yesterday. Havent had a chance to look at the Dvd yet bit the lexan strip really looks the goods. the strip is 96" long and was posted from Canada in a A3 size envelope rolled up. The best thing I found where I work is in the electrical Dept which is 2 piece square conduit which is quite flexible and holds a smooth edge to route against but its nowhere near as flexible as the lexan strip. regards John Quote WANT THAT ONE! AND THAT ONE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sports Racer Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Does everyone use flexable strips when doing the corners? In my day (oops, showing age here) the router was attached to a rigid arm that pivoted from a fixed point. You did one lane then increased the length of the arm by the lane width and did the 2nd lane, ditto for lane 3 and 4. It ment you had a perfect, constant radius for each lane. Has anyone used a circular saw for cutting the lane on the straights? I've never heard of it being used but wouldn't it be quick and give a dead straight line if run against a long piece of straight wood as a guide? Set it to the required depth and quickly do the straights. Use the router at the ends, and run the router along the newly cut lane to recess the braid if necessary. Or am I just talking out of my a#se? Quote May the downforce be with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slotmad Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 I can't speak for everone, but my first track was built with a (home made) radius arm. The downside is that the corners are constant radius. I have used Luf's lexan strip on the tracks that I have built since then and it's great, you can free-form any type of corner and change the radius right in the middle. It's the only way to go IMHO. As for the circular saw, the width of the cut would have to be identical to the router bit. I'm building a drag strip soon, and I intend to use a circular saw to cut the slot with the circular saw to eliminate any wriggles. Sorry to hijack the thread McGregor169 !!!!! Andrew Quote Stay in the slot http://www.xlr8raceway.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slider Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 I Have a radial arm saw which has a router attachment and i used it to do the corners yeah they are constant radius but thats cool for for this track i have done . and i used the triton saw bench to do the straights the width is the same as the corners and the whole thing is quite accurate my next track may well be different Cheers Slider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalbfellp Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 A friend who is a joiner by trade cut all the straights for several tracks on a saw bench, and his track were very good. Phil Quote Phil https://www.hobartminiaturecarclub.com/ Email Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoeno29 Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 Your welcome on the design John, which one did you go for ? Lufs kit is excellent from what I hear, but as for the routing guide part of it, I used a rubber hose on the rally track and it worked just fine. Quote Find me at Card Guys for custom trading cards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmc356 Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 I did some experiments first on a small piece of MDF, just to get the hang of using a router. I tried some small radius turns and then just pushed a car through to see how and if they got stuck. I then did a small rally track, which ended up being part of a bigger rally track. I learned lots and mistakes, well yes there were a few but easily corrected and am now planning a 3 lane road course. As for a guide I used a long section of good quality garden hose with nails every 5cm to hold it in place. Worked quite well so will also use this for the road track along with some straight edges for the straights. Good luck, once you get going its great fun building from scratch. Paul Quote Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCGREGOR168 Posted March 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 Your welcome on the design John, which one did you go for ? Lufs kit is excellent from what I hear, but as for the routing guide part of it, I used a rubber hose on the rally track and it worked just fine. Hi Martin I'am using a modified version of your 5.1m x 1.5m san phoeno whithout the squeeze section, the area of my table is 1.5 x 4.8 . I like the long back stretch which will be against the garage wall just to let the cars wind out. The table which has a 19m 2 lane scaley track on it at the moment folds up with a pulley to about 15deg from the perpendicular to allow for the parking of the financial controllers Hyundai. I did try to talk her into parking outside next to mine stating that the car has a five year warranty and if the paint deteriorates it would be covered by the afore mentioned warranty. Didnt work. I tried some little testy cuts with some dfferent hoses but wasnt to sucessful. Still to try black irrigation hose ( which is in the watering section of large hardware stores ) as it seems to be a lot stiffer than garden hose. Talking of stiff Regards John Quote WANT THAT ONE! AND THAT ONE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoeno29 Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 Garden hose would be very flexible, I went with air con hose.... Quote Find me at Card Guys for custom trading cards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCGREGOR168 Posted March 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 Well Ive been drawing track plans on A4 plain paper then was going to graduate to graph paper then I had a very rare event A BRAIN WAVE. When the existing track is folded against the wall the underside is bare save for computer cables and such. So I drew the track on 1-1 scale viola! or any other stringed instument you care for. There will still be a little bit of fidling when it is drawn onto actual boards I might even use a ruler for the straights. Start finish will be approx where the blue and yellow hoisting rope is on the bottom Track will be bi directional althouth will be raced clockwise. regards John Quote WANT THAT ONE! AND THAT ONE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ontheflipside Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 I might even use a ruler for the straights. regards John You could use a plumb bob on the vertical straights. Hope your using magnabraid and will have plenty of magnets in the cars. :band: Quote I can't believe that I wanted to grow up Mount Salt Panorama Track Combined Road and Rally Track built near Salt Pan Creek Padstow - Sydney A quick build rally track 2017 WRP Round 11 at Mt Salt Panorama https://i128.photobu...zpss7sqiwfj.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gref Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 I can't speak for everone, but my first track was built with a (home made) radius arm. The downside is that the corners are constant radius. I yes they do give a constant radius, but if you route 2 or 3 "constant radius' together (different radius of course) you can have any sequence of decreasing/increasing corners. Just gotta route them carefully so they meet nice and neatly. I did this and also used Luf's lexan strip. Quote *fancy signature regards Shane Fuel racing in first track build --> https://youtu.be/nG1EyFkbJSs My second track build --> raceday - https://youtu.be/8WXYQ528iKM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHIPS Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 (edited) Hi John, what are the dimensions of your current track, and how long are the legs (how high).........does it pivot from a fixed hinge on the wall? Just a few questions as I have a track similar size (5.2m x 2.3m) and its a bloody handful to lift up to the wall when you are on your own (I like to keep both 1:1 cars in the garage at night). I plan on setting up a cable/pulley arangement shortly which should make it a lot easier. I have six 19mm MDF legs on mine with the back 3 legs cut on an angle which helps.............I should try to load a photo to show you what I mean. Thanks, sorry for running off topic a little :band: Mark. Edited March 22, 2007 by CHIPS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalbfellp Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 You could always sheet the underside of the table and convert it to flip over and have two tracks! Just a stupid thought. Phil Quote Phil https://www.hobartminiaturecarclub.com/ Email Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slots Posted March 24, 2007 Report Share Posted March 24, 2007 You could always sheet the underside of the table and convert it to flip over and have two tracks! Just a stupid thought. Phil Not so stupid.Wish I'd thought of that for mine as I can turn it both ways! Quote Stu Old racers race harder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalbfellp Posted March 24, 2007 Report Share Posted March 24, 2007 slots: You could always build it now! Phil Quote Phil https://www.hobartminiaturecarclub.com/ Email Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slots Posted March 24, 2007 Report Share Posted March 24, 2007 Can't, the scenery on top prevents me from attaching timbers to mount off and there is one beam through the middle holding it together. Will have to think on this one. Quote Stu Old racers race harder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalbfellp Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 Shame! But could be a reason to design and build a new track! Phil Quote Phil https://www.hobartminiaturecarclub.com/ Email Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slots Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Ha, I knew I'd think of something. I could sheet the underside with 10mm Mdf and route in another track. I'd just have to sheet in the opposite direction so I could remove the support beam in the middle. Add lots of screws in the right places to avoid problems with hitting them when the router goes through. Have to wait for a while though until I get into the new residence. Quote Stu Old racers race harder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalbfellp Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Sound good to me. Just keep us informed when you get around to doing it. Phil Quote Phil https://www.hobartminiaturecarclub.com/ Email Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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