[Denney]

Hey guys. I'm finally getting the wood to create my new routed wooden track tomorrow. I've made up a few designs but this is the only one I really like.

What are some of your thoughts on the layout?

The lanes are almost equal at 18.6 for the red lane and 18.2 for the green lane. I didn't want to tempt making bridges just yet as this is my first routed track.

I'm not sure about elevations but I would like to bank the corners along the back straight to keep up the speed. I would like to fit a pit bay in there somewhere (so my programming time on the track control program isn't for nothing).

The start/finish line is along the front edge that sweeps into the back straight.

 

[ronMcRain]

Hi Denney .. and welcome aboard the Forum!

I think this looks good, you´ve got room for some straights of reasonable length and made the turns at slightly different radiuses.

But a few thoughts, wich are doable if routing .. Try to break up the squareness a bit as a track gets more interesting if not strictly done in straight-line / 90 degree fashion. Give some of the straights a slight angle, for example one of the straights in both of the inner loops could be done that way, cutting the corners a wee bit short from some 220, to 200 degrees instead.

The bends, leading to back straight / the inner corner, those could be made real fast if given broader radiuses and some banking. Thus getting more variation, also increasing the momentum / speed.

You´d have room for a third lane. Why not try to make the design so you could add one later, perhaps a "racing line", inbetween the 2? Make also lane spacing so you can use 1:24 cars, if wanted.

Just some ideas .. best of luck with the project!

-( R )-

 

[Denney]

The lane spacing is 110mm (enough for 1/24, which I also want to run). If I add a third lane, the size get's cut dramatically.

Leaving 150mm on the outside and 70mm on the inside of each lane.

I plan to vary the design abit while drawing it, I just couldn't be bothered on the computer (and you get a better perception of size). Like the straight leading up to hairpin at the top, I plan on making esses.

A few things will change once I get the board today.

I did want the 3 lanes but it seems there just isn't enough room unless I cut the length of the track down dramatically.

 

[Denney]

I've updated the design a bit

:

You can keep up on a more specific progress report at my website:

Denney's Dimension - Routed Slot Track

 

[Denney]

Another small update. I replaced the long esses with a small "busstop". Not sure how this is going to fit on the actual track yet but I want to add some variety to the track.

Anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[Afterburned]

Couldn't you have 3 lanes for 1/32 and just use the outer 2 for 1/24?

 

[Denney]

The problem is my lane spacing I think. From what I've read:

From the inside of the track to the first lane slot: 70mm
From lane 1 slot to lane 2 slot: 100 (110)mm
From lane 2 slot to outside of the track: 150mm

If I use those spacings, I can't fit another lane in without removing quite a bit of the track.

 

[Afterburned]

I started out with 100mm gap between the track and the edge of the table, but ended up cutting it back to 50mm (going up to 100mm on the corners) - plenty of room for a 1/32 car. Maybe you can trim this back a bit to gain the space?

 

[E-racing]

looks very nice!
did you considerto make the corner right/above a bigger radius?

 

[Denney]

I might look at cutting the corners back to 100mm because from what I can tell, the car doesn't slide "that much".

As for the top right corner, I want to see if I can make it so it's 2 x 45 degree corners with a straight in between. That'll allow us to keep up the speed more because we won't have a 90 degree turn to negociate.

 

[Denney]

OK, here it is. This is probably going to be the final design. I like this one because it has almost all elements of the largest racing tracks in the world.

It should be quite a challenge to negotiate at high speed but should be quite easy to negotiate at low speed.

Although I would have liked 3 lanes, I opted for 2 because of space limitations and by using 2 lanes, I can put a pit lane in on the left hand side of the track. I can make my working pit lane again! yay!

 

[Denney]

I just have a quick question that I need answered before I continue...

What is the minimum radii for a corner? most places seem to point at 150mm (6in) but I've seen other places save 100mm and even 60mm for 1/32 scale.

I want to run 1/24 scale on the same track so it needs to be big enough for that. Unfortunately, I only have 1/32 scale cars to scale against.

 

[Denney]

Anyone?

 

[Afterburned]

The smallest in my circuit is going to be 84mm, no idea when it comes to 1/24, sorry.

 

[Denney]

I've bought the 4 rolls of copper tape today from a glass supplier in Albion. $11 for a 33mtr roll.

I also went to look for a router bit today but I couldn't find one suitable.

I look at Bunnings, Mitre 10 and various other small hardwares. None of them had a 4mm wide bit that was longer than 6mm. Can anyone who lives in Brisbane tell me where I can get the right sized router bit?

I hope to be able to route the board on Saturday and start laying the tape on Sunday.

 

[Denney]

Finally, some progress. The original images of the track design are gone because, well, they didn't fit.

I figure drawing the design directly on the board and then tweaking it over a week or so would be more beneficial.

The tables are now made and there are some small adjustments that need to be made. Then it's up to me to draw out the design and get dad to help me with the routing of it (hopefully in the next weekend or two).

I just setup and aquarium so most of my attention has been on that lately. That and other health related problems.

As usual, you can find more images in my gallery.

 

[Denney]

I've made some more progress (finally!). The track has been drawn onto the new board and after a few minor adjustments, should be being routed this week.

All the tables are complete and the board is ready to be routed. Once I get the thing routed, the real fun can begin. I have all the needed bits and pieces (copper tape, wire, controller, car) ready so after it's routed I can get straight into it and get it complete.

Quite a few people are "pressuring" me to get this complete so they can buy their cars and come race. I opted for a 3 lane design with "squeeze" hair-pins to keep the track tight, fast and long. I haven't measured lane lengths yet but plan on doing that tomorrow before we draw up the templates to guide the router.

Hopefully the 1/24 scale cars will fit on the two outer lanes with the third middle lane for when we race 1/32. 1/32 will be our primary scale but I'd like to collect those Carrera hot-rods and run 1/24 every so often.

This is the new link for the entire gallery.

Off-Topic: I wish we could edit our own posts because the images and gallery links are all wrong in my previous posts now!

 

[masmojo]

You should be O.K. with the 1/32 lane spaceing especially since you presently have no 1/24 cars, I would presume that you would pobably only be running 1 or 2 at a time, so it should be fine!

Regarding the router, just about anything will do. I have a small Porter Cable, but I did some test cuts with a cordless 18volt Ryobi spiral saw fitted with a router bit & it workd great, it also came with a circle cutting attachment that I could utilize as well! My only reservation with the Ryobi is that the base is really small which might be good for routing in those tight sqeeze lanes, but might rquire me to build a more stable base out of clear plexilass or acrylic & I am no sure if I have the patience for that! On another front I saw a Sweet Bosch Palm router at Sears for about $100!!!!! I looks nearly perfect for this application! I am oing to snoop around a litle more & let you know wha I find!

 

[Denney]

We attempted the routing today but unfortunately, our router bit only lasted about 2 meters. I must admit that it was "apparently" a cheap bit according to dad.

I'm going to buy a decent $40 bit on Tuesday. We're also looking at using a circular saw to cut the straights and use the router bit for the corners.

 

[masmojo]

QUOTE (Denney @ 18 Mar 2007, 14:48) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>We're also looking at using a circular saw to cut the straights and use the router bit for the corners.

To quote Mr. Bill "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO . . . "

It might seem tempting, but It's just as easy to use a straight edge to guide a router as it is to guide a saw, additionally the router makes a vertical cut. the cicular saw cut will be shallow at both ends & will require you to route into it to get it even. My experience with circular saws also says that when making a cut that's not going all the way through the wood a circular saw has a tendency to ride up, which might again leave you with an inconsistant slot depth requiring you to even it out with the router! It is highly recommended by people more experienced than myself NOT to make multiple passes with the router if at all possible, go slow if you have to, but try to make your cuts in one pass!

Since you are new to this I would also recommend to keep your slot depth as shallow as will work. Why? If you screw it up, you can alway flip the MDF over and try the other side! If you make the slot too deep it might weaken the MDF too much to leave you this option.