First wooden track

[Stock666]

Hi all have been racing 1/32 and ho for quite a while now
And wanted to make a real track!!!
I want 3 lanes and it needs to fit in a 5 x 3 foot mdf
Board any suggestions on layout and process would be great what benefits are
Copper tape and rail what size between rails and what kind of paint
Should I use what kind of router bit would be interested in any small 3 or 4 lane tracks anyone has done pics would be great I really want to make a multi lane but here in the uk struggle to find track Hence routing one out
Cheers

[Stock666]

Anybody ... any good advice before I start carving wood ?

[tossedman]

Stock666,

There are a bunch of threads below about routing a track. Here's one where I kicked around a bunch of ideas. Ted's got a couple of videos about installing rails here.

Ask away though, I know nothing before reading these forums. Now I know next to nothing.

Cheers eh,

Todd

[Nor Cal Mike]

Buy a high quality double fluted router bit and a GOOD dust mask for starters. Try to route your track out doors or in an area with good ventilation. MDF dust is nasty stuff. it will travel and lodge itself in every nook and cranny. Be creative. Freedom from cookie cutterness is a chief reason to switch to wood. All of the curves need not be constant radius nor the straights need to look as if they were laid out by a laser beam. My newest track that I am building now, doesn't have a straight bit of slot in it. It has broad curves that allow flat out running with the tail of the car out just a bit. Your slots don't have to be constantly the same spacing distance. As for the distance for separating the tape, I like to run my tape with just a little bit of spacing from the edge of the slot. About 1mm or so. You are going to love your track. Once you go to wood, there is no going back to plastic. Good Luck!
Mike

[sacesta]

Here are lessons I learned routing a few tracks:

http://www.slotcarillustrated.com/po...ad.php?t=57064

Steve

[DrDiff]

That is almost SLOP sized. I'd suggest a single lane first to learn the router and get electrical down.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[boopiejones]

3x5 is not nearly enough space for a three lane 1/32 scale track. you need a minimum of 5 inches around the outside. that leaves you with a 26 inch diameter (12 inch radius) curve for the outer lane. then you have a minimum of 3 inch lane spacing, so the middle lane will only be 9 inch radius and the inside lane is only 6 inches. 6 is about the bare recommended minimum for a 1/32 corner, and you don't have a lot of room so you're likely stuck with a simple oval or maybe a kidney bean shape. but there are going to be huge differences between the inner and outer lane. you might be able to pull it off with a figure 8...

if 3x5 is your maximum, i'd probably go with a 2 lane track, or 1/43 or HO scale... although in my experience, routing an HO scale track is much more difficult than routing a 1/43 or 1/32 track.

[Fred Fries]

Guys, you might take notice this is posted in HO forum

[Tsooko]

3' x 5' is still too small for a 3 lane ho track but you could try an oval .
2 lanes would be better. I did a two lane on a display table that is about that size and it is ok to run on but you won't get to full throttle. There is a build thread on here. Just search my posts/ threads. A few guys have put copper tape over the rails and it does work. I've done it.
Measure your plastic track for slot widths and rail distances. I recommend a good trim router for ho. I got a Ridgid model 2401. About $100. This will also work for the larger scales like 1/43 and 1/32
Good bits are a must!!!
Carbide steel at the least but I now use milling bits from a machinist supply store. 1/16" for ho is the size you want. (.062" ) I use Harvey Tools for bits. buy two, in case you break one. Nothing worst than having to wait to buy a replacement on a Sunday afternoon. You can google them. You may also need an adapter as the bits have a 1/8" shaft and most routers have a 1/4" collet.

4" is as small a radius corner you'll want, 5 or 6" is better. It will give a better flow to the track and the mega-g shoes wont hang up on them.

DON'T USE REBARE WIRE for your power rail. What a pain in the south side of a north facing slotter.

Flat or stiching wire is best, at least until you get some experience. Probably the hardest part is finding the right sized lock wire. The weed eater square ine is about the best solution we have found so far but you will need a different bit. A .085" bit works well for that.

Warning!!!
Routed wood tracks are like Pringles, You can't eat just one.
Welcome to the wacky world of track building

Ted

Oh yeah. I used a chaulk board paint on several tracks now. It is an acrylic and has a little grit in it. I find that it does not matter what your tires are made of with it. All seem to work well.

[Stock666]

Wow thanks for all the good advice will give it a go soon
Didn't know the difference about the router bits will def go with double fluted ... Was gonna get a single fluted bit am glad I didn't now
Thank you for the links and the vids they were very informative
To a newbie like me I think I will go with the rails as I don't want to have to put brushes on the wipers just seems like more effort to change all my cars
Thank you all again now to start the wood work am gonna try an oval first with 3 lanes on a 3x4 bit of offcut I know it's small but I think starting with something small might be the way to go
Many many thanks for all the advice and links

[Stock666]

Just a quickie has anyone done a small oval before don't know where to put the squeeze in what would be more fun on the straight or bend and normal or teardrop or tri oval
Has anyone got any experience with small ovals any pictures maybe ????

[Tsooko]

Check out my you-tube channel. Just search for Tsooko on you-tube.
Well here's one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=qO-aVVzDSvA

Carved out on a 2' x 4' mdf chunk.
Small tracks that are done straight forward, no squeezes, are good to start with.
I did a track with a squeeze once and found that I didn't like it much, but that is just me.
Seems to work better for 1/32 where the cars run a little slower and you have time to plan your passes.

Make sure those bits are carbide. The regular bits will burn up in short order.

Happy building!

Ted

[Bananasmoothie1975]

I've done a couple of tracks on 900x1200mm (that's 3' x 4'...), one of them as a 4 lane..

[boopiejones]

Squeezes work best on curves.

[NicoRosberg.]

I think squeezes are a bad idea. The whole point of slot racing is you are in a lane. This lane enables you to get past other cars, sometimes only just, but that is what (analogue) slot car racing is.

They might sound fun, and something to mix things up, but my experience has been they fail on both counts, they merely confuse and irritate.