NW California Track

[Nor Cal Mike]

After my initial failure trying to glue wire atop card stock stapled over an existing slot car track, I decided to build this small track just to get started. It is made from one sheet of 3/8" MDO which is a plywood product with a composite outer lamination. I am not sure how many mm that is but I would guess around 10. I chose MDO over MDF or particle board because being plywood, it is much stronger and lighter in weight. Because MDO is intended for use in signs, it is very moisture resistant if well sealed by painting it. These attributes are important as I will be leaning this up against a wall when not in use and may even throw it on top of my SUV for transport to away destinations to share this racing with some of my slot racing friends. I got a deal on this piece from my local lumber store because it had a water stain on it. i paid $25 for it. Normally it is $39 a sheet here.

I cut one end of the sheet down by 1ft. X 4ft. and reattached that piece on the other end of the board to make it wider there. I can't really say this is a test track because I will use it for a long time. But it is a prelude to something larger if I decide magsteer racing is worthy enough to me of replacing one of my slot car tracks.

Here is a pictorial. tour around the track. I enhanced the photos to make the slots show up better because you can barely see them in the originals. It made the edged of the slot look kind of ragged. I hit a screw the day before with the router bit so it isn't very sharp. I didn't want buy a new one right now so I used it anyway given it was cutting such a shallow slot. The slots are not as bad as the photo reflects. I will hit them with a piece of sandpaper before I refill them.



This old Rockwell router has built quite a few slot car tracks. I use shelving track as a guide by drilling small holes through the edges about every 4 inches to place a #4 nail. I usually start out doing all similar radius; beginning from the larger and working in to smaller. This piece also was used to do a slot car track last summer.


This shot is down the only straight. My finger points out where a change plate will be installed to move the outer line into the inside line.


After you round the corner after the straight, you come to to a series of esses. My finger point out where two change plates will be installed to allow cars in either lane access the driving line which straightens the esses out considerably.


Another view of the esses


The driving line goes all of the way around that end of the track Here is a place where the driver can exit to the inside lane.


Here is another set of esses just around the corner from the last set. That is the same racing line down the middle. It is a little less than perfect of a line because I wanted to make room for a car to make a pass on the inside there after using the exit form the line in the last pic

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The racing line ends by merging with the outside lane at the beginning of the straight.

[Keld]

Hi Mike
Great to see you started on a new track, I think you find out later that this will only be a test track, low cost and easy routing will properly convince your self to make a new track soon.

You has to be careful how short the lane change is, I made some only 25 cm (10'') and on the straight the car keep going off there, it was too short.
Wes recommend 60/70 cm around 25'' to be able to take it with full speed.

[Nor Cal Mike]

It looks like I may have posted this in the wrong place again. Probably should have been in the track building section.

I did this whole routing job rather quickly as it was getting dark with a snow and rain storm rolling in. It being the winter months, I have stored a lot of stuff out of the weather inside my small work shop, so the only comfortable place to route right now is outdoors. I operated on the premise that high precision wasn't necessary here since all of the shallow slots will be eventually be filled back in and that my oversized 1/8" (3mm?) slot will allow the wire to follow its own path though there are a couple of places that I will take a quick "easing" pass of the router before I glue the wire in. I will also ease the transitions in a bit when I establish the mounting places for the plates.

I think that these lane changes will work when they are finished. Of the three short transitions, the first pair leading to the racing line (picture 3) are actually not far from a 180* corner, on a strait which is only about half a meter long, so speeds will not be very high there. On the third (picture 5), which is the option to leave the line, it is actually pretty well aligned with the direction that the car is going so a longer route would have increased the angle of departure. I am not adverse to making changes later if I find areas that need improvement so, for now, other than easing some transitions with a very light pass of the router, I think that I will use what is there.

[Vintage 1/24]

I particularly like the third picture down - accessing the driving line from the inside and/or the outside lane could be applied to oval track design - seems like a pretty slick way of doing things... gaining a driving line and a lane change all at once.

I feel really strongly that "The Keld Method" (for lack of a better term - the Dremel Cut-off saw method) is so much easier. Take a look at the pix in my Oval Track thread. The cut-off saw with a piece of 1/4" MDF "foot" affixed makes for the perfect depth and width score or groove - and the wire fits in perfectly - I just used a little wood glue (like the Elmer's stuff - but real wood glue) and the wires hold fast, the glue dried quickly with no mess, and the wires can also be ripped out fairly easily. Also see the pic in my thread of the wire in position - it is about as perfect as you can hope for... No Routers and no fences are needed as you can simply "freehand" and follow any line you can draw. There is VERY little material being removed - It is a piece of cake.

*I strongly feel this is the way to go* - picked up my cutoff saw accessory for the Dremel for $25-30 at Home Depot. Keld has it right.

Keep building and contributing to the slotless knowledge base!

[Nor Cal Mike]

Vintage 1/24,
I agree that the Dremel saw works nicely. I will likely get one before the next track.

[Keld]

I feel really strongly that "The Keld Method" (for lack of a better term - the Dremel Cut-off saw method) is so much easier.

Thx 'The 'Keld Method' is fine

[Nor Cal Mike]

Here is the track as she is now. I've been driving on it for a couple of days after letting it sit over the weekend after gluing the wire.


I put some paint down today to mark out the roadway. I didn't bother filling any of the slots because I assume there are changes to come. I may even flip the board over and do a totally different track on the other side, probably an oval.

Something of note, I had trouble with one of my plates.One end had lifted a little while gluing. I popped it off thinking that I would re-glue down to the board. I noticed my stapler sitting next to me so I thought that I would first try a little experiment. I drove 6 staples from my JT21 staple gun in close succession in a pattern that mimicked the size and dimensions of the plate that I had just removed. I drove the staples down flush with the surface of the track. I put a car on the track to test out my new "plate". The car changed lanes exactly as it should

[Keld]

about the stapler and the lane change, The plates are supposed to flush with underside of wire, leaving a micro space over it to the top of the road surface, this it to get the right amount off drag in the magnets, but it cut be that your staples get the same magnetism.

I have tried without the plates and if I do it with high precision it will work only with 2 wire splitting up, but just a 0.2 mm low wire it will not work.

I will try the staples later today (The Mike Method)

[Nor Cal Mike]

about the stapler and the lane change, The plates are supposed to flush with underside of wire, leaving a micro space over it to the top of the road surface, this it to get the right amount off drag in the magnets, but it cut be that your staples get the same magnetism.

I went back and re-read Wes's tutorial and I didn't see anything there describing the plate being mounted flush to the underside of the wire. It looks to me that he glues his plates on top of the board just the same as he does the wire before filling it all in to make his road bed. If the plate is mounted so low, what happens when you fill in the voids? Does the plate disappear below the surface? Inquiring minds want to know.

I would imagine that the composition and size of the staples would make a difference to the magnet. These JT21's seem to be about perfect. I assume that you folks in Europe get the same staple guns as we do in the States and that their designations are the same. The JT21 is the smaller of the typical sized staplers used in construction. At any rate, my cars are changing just fine over the staples and the other plates which were glued down to the base at the same elevation as the wire.

I won't be doing any more track work or modifications until my "Keld Tool" arrives in the mail

[Keld]

Yes underside of plate and underside of wire are flush.
but the great thing is that there is not only one way to it, many things will work.