Piste Martini

When I posted this shot in the Scratchbuilding forum as an excuse for my current relative silence, Swiss asked me to amplify a bit.



It is a 61', 4 lane routed track using 3/16" Magnabraid recessed about 0.007". On the right side you can see the dead strips for the timer/lap counter. I use a PC based system by SRT in California. It is a bit of overkill for a home track being designed for commercial use but it has a lot of nice features and has proven to be absolutely reliable (this track replaced a 4 lane Scalextric track that was dismantled and sold last March)

I promise to add some more shots as the work goes forward but right now I am concentrating on getting ready for the "Grand Opening" in about ten days time.

The material for my Armco barriers has just arrived and I will photograph and describe that part of the project (caveat - I have an idea but have never done it before!)

The track is routed in 1/2" MDF with a 1/8" slot. The track surface is three coats of flat alkyd enamel and is almost velvety to the touch.

Hidden from view at the far upper end are the "esses" that connect the starting straight on the right with the main straight angling down from the upper left. The hairpin at the end of the main straight is the only constant radius corner on the track - all of the others open or close.

I have done only a few laps on it but my initial impression (and the design goals) is that the apparent simplcity is deceptive!

To be continued......

EM

PS - one last note - this is the first routed track that i have done. I assure you that the process is more tedious than difficult!