Hmm, somehow I forgot about the track being new. I should still be there Thursday evening (Nov 11th) to corner marshall. This evening I'm burning up, err, testing the mods on the dinky motor and I'll try to remember to get my controller from that track to use on yours.
I had considered making a special base plate with 1/8" pins located about 1/16" in front of and behind a standard 1/2" bit
Fergy, that'll do the job just fine in the turns. For the straights you'll want to space the pins farther apart. The 1/8th inch pins *might* need to be thinned a fuzz. This is because of the nature of MDF being abrasive wearing down the bit plus the natural tendancy of wood to expand a tad so the 1/8th routed slot usually ends up just a little less than 1/8th wide. This combined with pins that are usually just a fuzz larger in diameter than 1/8th inch makes for a less than pleasant experience.
It is traditional to use routers with custom base plates. That's what all those holes in the factory base are for. Lexan, plastic, plywood or whatever will work just fine for base material. I used to be one of those carpenter thingies. Or was it a wood butcher? Guess it depends on who you talk to.
Something that is important to remember is that MDF dust is very fine and mildly poisonous. Formaldahyde is used in its manufacture. So any cutting of the stuff should be done in a well ventilated area and hepa filter masks are a good idea. I'm not saying this to scare anyone, MDF is great stuff for tracks and everyone wanting a track should use it. I'm just pointing out that it isn't good to inhale much of the dust while it's being cut. After it's cut and sealed you need not worry about dust anymore.
I had considered making a special base plate with 1/8" pins located about 1/16" in front of and behind a standard 1/2" bit
Fergy, that'll do the job just fine in the turns. For the straights you'll want to space the pins farther apart. The 1/8th inch pins *might* need to be thinned a fuzz. This is because of the nature of MDF being abrasive wearing down the bit plus the natural tendancy of wood to expand a tad so the 1/8th routed slot usually ends up just a little less than 1/8th wide. This combined with pins that are usually just a fuzz larger in diameter than 1/8th inch makes for a less than pleasant experience.
It is traditional to use routers with custom base plates. That's what all those holes in the factory base are for. Lexan, plastic, plywood or whatever will work just fine for base material. I used to be one of those carpenter thingies. Or was it a wood butcher? Guess it depends on who you talk to.
Something that is important to remember is that MDF dust is very fine and mildly poisonous. Formaldahyde is used in its manufacture. So any cutting of the stuff should be done in a well ventilated area and hepa filter masks are a good idea. I'm not saying this to scare anyone, MDF is great stuff for tracks and everyone wanting a track should use it. I'm just pointing out that it isn't good to inhale much of the dust while it's being cut. After it's cut and sealed you need not worry about dust anymore.
