Slotcar Track Building and Repairing. Last modified: September 2. Start by constructing a durable platform of 2. The racing surface can be routed directly onto the table . The Premiere Outrigger Canoe Racing Site in Northern California by Michael Nyberg. It's the best idea I have seen yet to make a slot car track in wood. With the plan and the jigs completed, it was time to get started. The track surface was 1/2' MDF. This design has no banks. There is also another sheet which has numerous designs that can. The vast majority of commercial layouts typically have. We feel. any more than 8 lanes can be self- defeating due to the difficulty marshalling the track. All the layouts, or anything you can dream up yourself can be built by any. Should you decide you ultimately need a professional, call us. The design you select, and the overall size will depend upon how much.
Commercial builders charge. Naturally, if you know what you’re doing; have all the proper tools; and lots. Small club- type tracks which do not get mega- usage can also be cheaper. Copper tape. is available from Parma International, Inc. Parma also has a. You can obtain these by calling them direct or having a. Copper tape is much cheaper. But be advised that braid has an extended life and. Hobby Outlets. that stock supplies for making stained glass windows)MORE BASIC BUILDING INFORMATION. A flat track can be constructed directly on top of a pre- built. Routed Slot Car Tracks. Invite Friends >> Contribute Now! Lots of tools are needed to build a slot car track. From routers to saws and more, ask about or discuss the 'tools of the trade. Another method (more costly. This. adds considerable overall strength to the layout, but what determines your decision will. Commercial. tracks need to be much sturdier and heavier because people lean against them and some. This can lead to costly. NEVER be permitted under ANY. Tracks built by Altech, American Model Raceways and Stan Engleman in the. The American tracks had ultra- smooth Formica sides. The American. tracks also had . The. original American Model Raceways tracks had racing surfaces made from rather rough, porous. Once the track was assembled, the sections were hooked together with thin- gauge. The power was supplied to the lanes using. AC current to DC. Seldom was there sufficient power. What. usually happened when a car deslotted was a . A track that was priced around $1. By the 1. 97. 0’s, better track. Track owners began to install large, mega- amperage storage batteries in. Orient. There. is a push in many markets today to do away with storage batteries due to the constant. The last thing anyone. The trend in many areas - especially. At nearly $2. 50 apiece, this can get. The sets of wires. One set of nine wires (one ground and eight for each lane) have to be. In order to prevent any type of. The typical tap setup is every. Group 2. 7 and Opens, many places tap every 3. If you have a. track of, say, 1. The best book ever produced on track wiring was written by PAUL. PFEIFFER and his brother and produced and printed through the TOA in 1. A copy can be. purchased by sending a check or money order for $1. ALPHA PRODUCTS and RACEWAY or the. TOA Home Office. The second set of wires (again, nine in all) can be a much smaller gauge. This set connects the eight lanes to a series of. The lanes on the track are turned on. Each pair of wires (one common ground and the other color- coded). These. wires should probably be the same as the lane colors - Red, White, Green, Orange, Blue. Yellow, Purple, and Black - although you can use 9- wire computer cable. Just be sure to. mark them so they are connected from the same color timer on the one end to the same. The third set of wires must be connected from either the. Once a car crosses this. There are several very excellent computerized race director programs on the. Some will operate (somewhat slower) on a. Most in use today are 3. The wires in this set hook up from the computer to the isolated section. The computers used by most commercial raceways are also used. You can call the TOA home office should you need information on the various. They are more than capable of making good. Be aware that the whole world is now run by computers and you must have. I would never open another commercial slotcar raceway or. ANY retail business unless I own a computerized point- of- sale system to keep track of. The masses of wires - especially those which run from the track(s) to. Wiring should be run through PVC. PVC. pipe to the track. Neatness counts! On with more of the tasks involved in building a track. If you do, be. aware that you’re about to make one of the largest, nastiest messes you’ve ever. If that is impossible, do not - repeat DO NOT put ANYTHING. AFTER all the construction and mess- making is complete! To really do the job right you’ll need the following: Table saw and/or radial arm saw. Circular hand saw. A GOOD router and an assortment of bits to do several jobs. A good pocket knife comes in. Portable sanders - one belt and one or two hand- held vibrator models. LOTS of sandpaper. A good volt- ohms meter to do testing when you’re doing hookups. At least one large, heavy- duty vacuum sweeper. You will NOT believe the. If you build on top of carpet, it will require a STRONG. It will probably take you four or five passes. Kirby (or similar) vacuum to get the stuff out of the carpet. OTHER THINGS YOU’LL NEED TO PURCHASE. Fig 1. Enough sheets of 4’ x 8’ x . Figure 3 bolts (with two large flat washers per bolt). Bolts should have hex- heads to fit ratchet, box, or open- ended wrench. These. have to be long enough to go through pre- drilled . The holes will be in 3. The. leg pieces which fasten at the junction of two sections of track will have to be notched. You will probably need two quarts or a gallon of yellow carpenter glue. There are numerous coatings which work well on. The current thinking in some quarters is to use a water- base. Latex since latex is . Some folks like to use epoxy and we’ve had good luck with a water- based. Grainger. You will only need the . Some tracks are painted with. While you don’t have to do it, especially if you . These can easily be spray- painted with the same paint you use on the racing surface. Slotcar tracks aren’t moved very often, and. To keep your. place looking neat and tidy, either curtain off the places that people can easily see. If you hang plastic material from the. Go ahead now - even though you don’t need it in the beginning (or. Coleman lantern fuel or Naphtha. You will also need at least one gallon of lacquer. Keep these well away from any spark or fire!! Wire by the mile. You’ll need track hookup wire which should be a. The common (or ground wire) can be 8 gauge, although we’ve seen. You’ll have to. figure how much . All. taps are recommended to be the same length, regardless of how far away or near the hookups. Approximately 1. 00 to 2. Always allow yourself plenty of slack, just in case. Eight heavy- duty relays. It’s also not a bad idea to go ahead and. The sealed. variety are the best and we’ve had good luck with 2. Bosch relays we purchased. Porsche dealer. Some high- powered tracks use relays rated even higher than 2. Check with your local electrical supply house. Boxes of plastic or rubber wire twist- type insulators for connecting. You’ll. probably need a couple hundred before it’s all said and done. Good hand- held or electrically powered staple guns. It’s also a. good idea to have one stapler for wire that shoots rounded staples for connecting loose. You don’t want miles of wire hanging down or. Also plenty of staples for both styles of guns. If you have. access to pneumatic staplers used by carpenters to build kitchen and speaker cabinets. Boxes of assorted lengths of sheet rock screws. These are Phillips head. Fastening side walls to. These should always. All screw. heads on the racing surface and side walls should be carefully counter- sunk at least. Bondo and hardener. You’ll probably need at least a gallon. Also. good, flexible putty knives to apply the bondo. Sanding bondo also makes a large pile of. Assorted nails. Once these are hammered into place, you won’t get. Striping tool, available at any auto parts store to lay the color- coded. Use Pactra paint (small bottles) in the colors you. You might want to also buy at least one . Be sure to stir. each color thoroughly before you pour it into the small glass bottle that comes with the. Stripes should be a minimum of 1/8. Set the wire guide on. This is especially useful in Hillclimb layouts which have a higher top. One box of nickel- plated steel . Not completely necessary, but helpful if you have one. Will discuss later what you will need to purchase for these in a later. Lastly, a LARGE tool box to put all your hammers, screw drivers. If you think you’ll. LAYING OUT AND ROUTING FOR SLOTS. Old style slotcar race tracks had a maximum lane spacing of 4. The older tracks also had very narrow . Modern 1/2. 4th scale slotcars. Because they are wider, and due to the popularity of the larger size 4. In addition, modern day track builders are allowing for much wider. One of the first things he does on a new job site is to build him a. While a bottom is not necessary, especially if your support braces and. You can’t do that on tracks. Adding a bottom to a track also adds several extra days to the. Damon previously, I can tell you this. Adding a bottom to the. I recommend it. A later illustration will show. ROUTING THE SLOTS. Before you do any routing, filling holes with bondo and sanding. You do NOT want to be breathing. Always rout your turns and curved sections first. Only buy and use. We’ll talk about the special bit. Most modern builders cut and. Thankfully. medium density fiberboard is much easier to work with than plywood or particle board and. It took Hasse, Ogilvie, Da. Pron, the Tunkels. Chris Dadds) a lot of trial and error learning how to construct. In the case of wide King layouts. Hillclimbs (which have a high bank which can drop as much as three feet from the top. Damon uses a router affixed. This. gives an ultra- smooth outer- edge which he later uses as a . Once he’s cut the. This method is called . Look at the. difference between old, sixties tracks and modern layouts and you can actually see the. Old tracks started a turn at the very end of a straightaway and the next. With elliptical routing, the turns start. Elliptical routed turns are not 9. If you’re not able to use Damon’s method of cutting the.
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