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Posted on 04/05/08 23:01:54 |
CamZH
 Posts: 773 Reply  |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
looks awesome Rich ! and nice to see someone finally has the balls to design a track with a jump 
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Posted on 06/05/08 18:36:15 |
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richard
Posts: 200 Reply  |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
Applied a few coats of paint to the underside today ... 
Boring, but true ... _________________  |
Posted on 06/05/08 21:21:30 |
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Dave in Perth
Posts: 873 Reply  |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
I didn't bother about painting the underside... which means it's totally unsealed 
shows that track making isn't all glamour and fame 
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Posted on 07/05/08 20:39:57 |
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richard
Posts: 200 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
Couple of coats of "Grey Paver" for the track area: 
The colour was a bit lighter than I expected, but it doesn't look too bad. Also picked up 2L of a 'baby blue' for the edges and inside for a bargain from Bunnings (mis-tinted paint). I think this weekend will be one of rest (as far as the track goes) as the lovely wife needs some attention .... Cheers Richard _________________ |
Posted on 07/05/08 21:19:25 |
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Dave in Perth
Posts: 873 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
racing this weekend 
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Posted on 08/05/08 07:52:20 |
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richard
Posts: 200 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
yep, and that too
And Mothers day ... ! _________________  |
Posted on 12/05/08 18:46:36 |
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richard
Posts: 200 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
Added the blue paint today, it wasn't as ghastly as I imagined it would be: 
Next is adding a few borders around the place, then making a bridge and testing out rails and electricals. Cheers Richard _________________ |
Posted on 13/05/08 20:14:41 |
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richard
Posts: 200 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
Started building the bridge, this is an early pic before routing the slots. 
This has turned out to be a bigger pain than I anticipated, with the two bits of wood that extend upward (the ramps) having been moved away from the main board, are now slightly out of kilter - this means that the ends of the bridge are kinda diagonal, rather than straight. It also seems that the ramp supports for the back area moved, probably when I was trying to put it away a while ago and the milk carton "grabbed" it as it slid up - I thought I'd fixed this problem when I re-attached the ramp supports, but it's now raising it's ugly head. Oh well, just another puzzle to figure out  _________________ |
Posted on 13/05/08 21:59:32 |
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Dave in Perth
Posts: 873 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
I like the blue table/frame, reminiscent of a Fray table 
The electrical bits are fun, it starts to become a working track. |
Posted on 20/05/08 17:49:19 |
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richard
Posts: 200 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
This weekend didn't see too much activity on the track as I was picking up an aviary and engaged in some social events, so today I managed to start sanding and joining the bridge to the rest of the track, this pic is the sanded bridge: 
Then adding plastic wood and some paint it looks like a pretty good join: 
A side pic of the bridge: 
Then stripped a few telephone cables to get this mess: 
Added some copper tape for power to the rails, this goes right through the board and will be soldered on the other side: 
But I wasn't expecting this flex in the bridge, looks like I'll need to add some supports in the middle: 
The track now has a "permanant" place on the wall, a couple of dynabolts hold the stretchy wire thing, and also added some 'feet' to it: 
I'm still getting some scratches as I raise and lower the board, so I might get some carpet offcuts or something to stop it scraping against the wall. That's all for now! Cheers Richard _________________ |
Posted on 20/05/08 19:21:09 |
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Dave in Perth
Posts: 873 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
re bridge flex.. is it also a matter of the flat wire resisting bending over the join? would it be possible to glue  the rail into the bridge centre, maybe solving 2 aspectsof the problem ie the power rails become bridge stiffeners?
could also cut several small notches into the lower rail edge to help it bend over the transition. no responsibility accepted
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Posted on 21/05/08 13:41:43 |
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richard
Posts: 200 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
No, the wire seems to be OK travelling upwards, I think it's the bridge being made from 6mm MDF - and I chose that as I was originally going to use 6mm perspex so built the supports for that size. In retrospect I probably should have used a 16mm piece which would have had more 'stiffness' to it. I'd rather not glue the rails, that makes them a permanant fixture and this may not be a good thing, as you've probably worked out on your track!! I found some dowel that was intended for some bird boxes after I'd cleaned up, so I'm thinking some of that cut to the right length in either one or two places will fix the issue - which goes back to I'm glad I did the second build of the track - in the initial design the two straights under the bridge were side by side, with about 50mm from center slot to center slot for the inside lane, with this new design, they are 40mm from the edge, and I'd say the edge is around 40mm to each other (ie about 120mm slot to slot) which means there i ample room to put a support under there. All I have to do is build and test it ...
Cheers Richard _________________ |
Posted on 21/05/08 17:48:34 |
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CamZH
Posts: 773 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
I've probably got a few spare bits of foam if you're looking for something to stop it scratching. Not sure i can help on the wire issue and the flex of the bridge. The copper tape looks like a nice neat way to get a power tap in there !
Having played with my 32nd track, i've found that copper tape is pretty good stuff to work with |
Posted on 21/05/08 18:00:34 |
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Dave in Perth
Posts: 873 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
does the bridge hold up if you lock the rail into it? remember there'll be 8 rails for support.. but scale bridge supports would look cooler
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Posted on 22/05/08 20:25:57 |
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richard
Posts: 200 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
@Cam Cheers - but I've got a few bits that I saved from when we bought a new washing machine (2 years ago?). Yes, the copper tape as a power supply was a stroke of genius about 2AM one morning, as I didn't want to solder the rails again (this caused all sorts of grief on the test track) - I was originally thinking about using some of the auto-lugs that you saw at my place and crimping them on the underside, but I think the copper looks better (once trimmed). @Dave Hmm, the bridge probably *would* stay up with 8 rails locking it in place, but I'd rather have the extra support of a couple of pieces of dowel so that if it's leaned on (eek!) the whole thing doesn't come apart. I would have thought no supports would have looked cooler?
Cheers Richard _________________ |
Posted on 22/05/08 21:23:19 |
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CamZH
Posts: 773 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
if you want cool bridge supports, just add Dinosaurs !!! |
Posted on 22/05/08 21:45:43 |
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Dave in Perth
Posts: 873 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA um dinosaurs with LED eyes |
Posted on 25/05/08 08:50:46 |
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richard
Posts: 200 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
Some more pics, made the bridge supports, an early pic, they are now painted blue and in place: 
Gathered tools for laying rails: 
The rails work well, apart from the damn bridge, where the rail routes seem a bit shallow. 'Driving' this car around by touching a 15V connection to the copper tape sent it around pretty quickly: 
Overview of the bridge with shallow rails, looks like I'll need to undo the laid rails and route out some more, then re-lay the rails: 
Laying the rails is killing my fingers; the red lane took the better part of a day to do, and having to press down constantly with your fingertips to get the locking wire in place is painful. Looks like this will be a slow process. Cheers Richard _________________ |
Posted on 25/05/08 14:24:44 |
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Dave in Perth
Posts: 873 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
erm... don't use your fingers... my most valuable tool for adding rails is a piece of plastic used for adding PolyFilla.. used on edge, just run it along the lock wire. I also made a small plastic roller, but mostly used the plastic scraper thing. Re the rail pocket depth, I recommend making an adjustable gouger tool from a 2.5mm screw with a ground end, and any small piece of thick plastic/wood. |
Posted on 25/05/08 18:17:29 |
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richard
Posts: 200 Reply |
Re: WA Routed - Marathon Raceway
Yep, I was doing something similar, except with a jewellers screwdriver, just taxing as you're pressing down. Anyway, managed to fix it up by re-routing the rails on the bridge, oddly it was the two edge lanes that were out, so they should now be fixed. A quick video of the red lane running with a turbo at 6v: Video Cheers Richard _________________ |
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