Over the next post or two, I will repost some of that thread into a summary 'journal' of how my test track was built (with a few pix and a video)...
It starts about here ->
I have been playing with a simple test track made our of 1/4" MDF board - and it really is *much simpler* than routing a traditional wood slot car track. I used a Dremel cutoff saw ("The Keld Method") and added a "foot pad" so it only lightly cuts the MDF board to the depth of the wire (very thin 22swg piano wire). I just drew pencil lines on the MDF and free-handed the cuts - it just gently scores the surface - but it works great, the wire fits very tightly in position - barely needs glue.
Embedded Wire –
I also have done a few preliminary tests and I already have a modified 1/28 scale Ferrari which weighs 144 grams following the wire. The MagRacer cars are light - only 70 grams total. It seems like I may be able to make the leap to something like a brass chassis 1/24 scale slot car - which weigh in around 150 grams... Too early to tell but promising so far. More magnet, more tire, and thicker wire, seems very plausible at this point, if one wanted to run fast brass chassis cars based on 1/24 hard body kits for example.
French curves - Freehand "Routing", and Some Toy Cars –
Anyway, I was racing on NYE 2012 on a bare track that I built in a day, and it was working pretty well. Then I spackled and painted the surface and "lost some magnetism" - that is - I think I went a little too thick on the spackle and paint, and it worked *less well*.
Yesterday I sanded off the spackle/paint layer, and further tweaked a lane change, and then I put a little electrical tape on the hard plastic rims for *some* level of traction - AND - it is actually working the way it should!!
BTW it is so easy to rip out a wire, cut a new groove/score, and put a new wire in place - or replace a wire completely... Much, much easier than re-routing a slot. The Dremel saw trick is the way to go IMO.
Run a slower car or two on the track, and you can work your way through the traffic by making lane choices and picking driving lines - pretty cool experience. I will say the little cars are moving pretty quickly around the short track now - and it is definitely a "chewing gum and walking at the same time" experience - you have to drive the throttle and make steering input choices (sometime 2-3 choices in less than 4 feet, at speed, on the tiny straightaways of my "go kart" test track).
It will keep you focused, if nothing else. And yes, you can drive back onto the track after a spin out - although *without reverse* sometimes you have to marshall - in actual racing with multiple drivers I think you will certainly have to marshall cars.
Also you can give a car the "chrome horn" when it is on the same driving line in front of you... a whole new kind of on-track harassment!
My next step is to paint it, provide a little detail, and shoot a video and then figure out how to post that.
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