Piste Martini

11900 Views 33 Replies 13 Participants Last post by a Bill, Nov 15, 2004

Ecurie Martini

Discussion Starter · Nov 3, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

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!

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Fergy

· #4 · Nov 3, 2004

I posted on the original thread, but it looks great EM! Fast and smooth.....

I'll appreciate any info on exactly how you did the braid relief routing and installation because that's exactly what I'll be using too!

QUOTE I'm now committed

I was going to suggest that BJ, but I wasn't sure which asylums would take you...

....sorry.... too many Canadian jokes I guess....

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Fergy

· #6 · Nov 3, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

The voice in the back of your head should be saying this....

"Go routed! Smooth, quiet, and ohhhh, such freedom!"

Then remember the other voice....

"Just make sure you think it out!"

Balance the time you spend listening to both voices and you'll have a great track!

...then again.... other than BJ, I may be the only one who hears multiple voices all the time....

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Fergy

· #10 · Nov 4, 2004

QUOTE a 1/2" bit with a 1/8" pilot to cut the braid recess

Okay, I will look into that. 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. The custom bit would certainly make things easier! I assume you used the 3/16" wide braid?

QUOTE the nylon strip was moved around the track until a complete second lane was cut and then moved into the new slot to do another etc. etc.

Now that's a very good idea that I hadn't thought of!

Yes.... sometimes I'm a bit slow on the engineering side...

Traditionally, I have cut all the curves first, using a trammel rod with holes at the desired radius and lane spacing, which makes it fast to cut all the curves but the straights become tedious, setting up a straightedge for each and every straight piece of slot. Your method would be so much faster unless one wanted to chicane a piece of track, but even then the rest of the track could be done your way.

QUOTE small solid-state anti-gravity modules

I believe they warm up faster with a proper bi-polar, phase-shifted AC supply, assuming of course that you have a zero-threshold inverter in the circuit.

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Fergy

· #11 · Nov 4, 2004

BTW, EM, forgot to ask....

Exactly how do you pronounce "Piste Martini"?

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Fergy

· #16 · Nov 4, 2004

QUOTE you can get a low level coriolis effect and the cars may unexpected spin

Can't argue with that! And... the bridge may destroy itself, vibrating at the same frequency as the fluctuation in gravity. Notwithstanding the obvious fact that harmonics may intensify the effect.

Yes.... thank you nurse.... I'll take my meds now.

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Fergy

· #20 · Nov 10, 2004

aBill, you are right on all counts!

As an amateur woodworker, I don't go near MDF, particle board, or even solid wood without protection. It isn't even the poisonous nature of some of the materials, but rather the fact that the fine dust can become temporarily or permanently embedded in the tissue of the lungs, at which time any poisons leach, the capacity of the lungs degenerates, and the potential for cancerous growths increases even if the material is basically poison-free. Again.... no scare tactic, just advise (and I smoke, so go figure

) - a casual user can wear something as simple as a paper mask - regular users should look at hepa filters or respirator masks. Then again, if we were really smart, we'd be wearing these every day of our lives... especially those of us who breath diesel exhaust for 8 hours a day.

As for the pin issue, I have used brass pins for similar projects. They need to be replaced often but are easily sized and give a respectable life in MDF - not so good in particle board! Hardened music wire is what I was thinking of for this application - a little harder to shave initially, but much longer lasting!