Braiding tutorial

[Dave.616]

Questions answered

Do we want the braid flush with the surface?

How thick is the SCC double side tape?

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Do we want the braid flush with the surface? No braid could be .005 or a little more down from surface.
How thick is the SCC double side tape? SCC has .005 or .010 thick. Have fun.

[The Old Jaybird]

braid gain

Having done a couple tracks with standard SCC braid and sticky tape, the gain depth should be .040 to .045. It depends on how much paint you will put in the gain, either lane color or track surface paint or some of both.

TOJ

[pukplyr]

Do we want the braid flush with the surface? No braid could be .005 or a little more down from surface.

I would disagree with this statement. In a perfect world, the braid would be exactly flush w/ the track surface, however, if you can't be exact, the braid should be slightly below the track surface!

David

[RichD]

In practice in order to set the depth of the gains you should do a few trials on some scrap MDF. That will save having the entire track come out with the braid too high or low.

[rsxer63]

Also if you use a plunge router, make sure you tighten it good and tight. When I did my first track I thought it was good and tight... I assembled the whole track and found out the setting had slipped and about 1/2 the track had to have the grooves a little deeper. The only problem was the banked corners... I had to go get a Ryobi router (due to the small size) to route the banked corners again.

[Al's slotracing]

Depth settings can slip and the cutter can move in the col let if not done up tight.
It's advisable to measure the depth of the braid now and again to check nothing has moved.

[ramcatlarry]

Finished braid depth is also a consideration of the cars to run on it.

1/32 NON-magnetic Homeset cars have a standard SHALLOW flag and it is better for cornering if the braid is flush to a MAXIMUM of .005" low.

1/32 MAGNETIC can be (minimally) above grade since the metal rails on plastic track are also above grade. This does run the risk of tire scrub rolling the braid up, but the magnetic pull will be stronger. Flush is safest.

1/32 and 1/24 cars with the commercial standard guide are able to run on tracks up to .050" deep, but .005 - .010" deep is a goal in building new tracks. Many older commercial tracks are rebraided and some end up rather deep so that homest cars cannot even go around a curve without slipping out.

Contact cements: Aeromatic solvent based countertop adhesives intended for laying formica sheet are all suitable products. I have had NO success using the waterbase products. The solvent could have some chemical reaction with bare copper, but all braid is plated and therefore sealed from the reaction. Just be sure to wash the new braid to degrease it so that any glue will stick as Slapshot has shown.

The small diameter base on trim routers really helps when cutting the recess on banked curve sections. Adjusting the depth to ensure that those curves are deep enough will cut down on arcing and braid damage and repairs under use.