Here are the two layout possibilities I am considering.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f288/micyou03/2009-04%20Slots/HO_Track_Layouts_04-02-09.jpg

I am thinking about using TKO Tracks.

http://cnccustomcutting.com/id53.html

or having my neighbor help me rout the slots, and then lay the rails myself.

Any other ideas?

this is mike king

if i was having a custom track made i would definitely go with an over/under layout. locally i race on both flat tracks and tracks with an elevation.

while i am really happy with my maxtrax (flat layout), i have to admit that the tracks with the elevations are even more fun. except for martyb's track. its crap :tongue:

are you going to have one side of the table against the wall? dave rock, a guy who posts here infrequently, has a nice long and skinny track that is pushed against the wall on one side and has an over/under. its a real fun track. ill try to see if he has a picture.

mike

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your input. I may do elevation changes, even if I don't do an over/under. I am planning on a two lane layout. I sent these layouts out to get an idea of the cost. I will play with my layouts some more and seeif I like any over/unders.

My track is against a wall. Here is basically what I have now. It is slightly different now.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f288/micyou03/2008-01%20Slots/01-13-08HOTrack01a.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f288/micyou03/2008-01%20Slots/01-13-08HOTrack02a.jpg

Here is a layout of the area I am working with.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f288/micyou03/2006%2010%20Slots/Basementlayout10-15-06a.jpg

Of the two layouts shown, the 36 incher would give you larger radius turns and a little more open space for scenery. You should still be able to reach the far edge of the 36 inch version for deslots. A routed track is pretty premanent so I'd go with the biggest practical layout.

while i am really happy with my maxtrax (flat layout), i have to admit that the tracks with the elevations are even more fun. except for martyb's track. its crap :tongue:


I think someone might be jealous.... Hi Mike!!!! :wave:

Choosing between the 2 you have shown there, I would go with the 36" width.

That is one nice loking track, Marty. I could see how it could inspire envy.

I'd love to see a hillclimb layout done in HO. The hillclimb layout was specifically designed to go up against a wall and it has an overpass. Creating one in HO would require some compromises, but with custom routed, it could definitely be done.

An email to me fron Dave Rock
Mike,
There is a picture of my track on this web page. It's mislabeled but it's the 5th track down from the top. Scott has several on his page that might fit the bill. I have it set up so the right side of the track as pictured is against a wall. Works well. About 55 ft per lane. 2 power taps, one on each of the short straights on the left side of the picture. Plenty of room for drivers stations on the left and marshals can squeeze it there too.

http://www.dunlapmotorplex.com/handrouted.html (http://www.dunlapmotorplex.com/handrouted.html)

Personally, I think the track on the top is really cool. shorten it up a few feet and your good

Pontiac said it best - "Wider is Better"

I vote for layout #2. Maybe a little mild banking in the big bend just for kicks . . .

I am working with CNC right now on an oval track and Todd is great to work with, for what it's worth.

Mike King,

You have the 4 x 15 set up against the wall? That is a cool looking track. I would have thought 4 foot would be a reach issue - nice to know it works out. Plus, I am jealous. :drunk::freak:

Dave Rock has that 4x15 against the wall, and it works surprisingly well. he put the long straight against the wall, and its rare to come off there. most of the offs occur on the opposite side which has more corners, and thats where the driver stations are. Most of the time we race on Dave's track we run Crash and Burn. youd need skinny marshalls to get between each drivers station, but its still a really fun track.

Mike: looking at you basement layout it looks like if you lost the set of plastic shelves by your HO track you could make the track 1-2 feet longer. i think you ought to do that. you will have storage under the track, and the extra 2 feet between a 13 foot track and a 15 foot track really is noticable.

My track is the gulf color maxtrax

My track is the gulf color maxtrax

It's a crap track..... :thumbsup:

My track is the gulf color maxtrax

Holy Gnarliness! That is even more cool and I'm even more jealous. Hutt's love Gulf colors and cool tracks. It looks like you even have a cool TM. What's it like?

mking,
what size screw did you use for the track to table? What size drill & countersink?

Mike Kings Track is very nice. Maxx Track is very smooth. Mike and his friends did an excellent job of table construction and I agree about the Gulf Colors. My Track, That would be Dave Rock's track, is much more interesting than it looks in the picture. I have added contours to the layout. It already has an overpass at the far end of the picture and I added a bump midway down the main straight. All of the corners are slightly elevated and banked including the center section of "swerves" which share the same bump as the main straight. Mike is a little off on the marshaling, It can be marshaled by 3 people, only one of which has to squeeze between the 2 center drivers stations. When I built the table top I was concerned about 2 things. Space, and the fact I have little grand kids running around the basement so I wanted to avoid sharp corners. Where the track is located in my basement there is a sliding door so I cut the table down to the minimum which also had the effect of making the doughnut and overpass easy to marshal. I will try and post a picture of the finished track so you can see what I'm talking about.

Later! The, I wish plastic track was smoother because the most fun I had with slots as a kid was changing layouts, Rockinator

we just got our TKO track friday it took about 4 hrs to set up wire and build dr station and we were racing the track is just amazing i would put it up against any bodys track super smooth-easy set up and fast
we are looking into changing THE MONSTER to one of his track but will have to save more $$$ its 116 ft
kevin

I am planning on a two lane layout.

If your route your track, making a 4lanes won't cost a lot more...and you will NOT regret it ! Go from 2lanes to 4 lanes was a big step in my practise of this hobby. 2 lanes more...but 10 times more fun ! :thumbsup:

My Track. Ignore the ball. The legos hold the lights for the infrared sensors.

great looking track rock

If your route your track, making a 4lanes won't cost a lot more...and you will NOT regret it ! Go from 2lanes to 4 lanes was a big step in my practise of this hobby. 2 lanes more...but 10 times more fun ! :thumbsup:


I would love to go to four lanes, but I don't have enough room for the width I would need to make the layout interesting enough for me. For the last 6 years there has only been more than just me on the track about 12 times. I was actually considering a one laner.

Thanks for the input everyone.

I am planning now on taking the shorter leg and running it under the longer leg before I turn it around and come back out. I will work on the design and post it later. I am in no rush, and I am looking for more options. I like the layout I currently have. My objective is really just a smoother track.

I am currently running Tomy. I already took the nubs off and got the track pretty smooth. It is great for X-Tractions, M/Ts and above as far as magnet cars go, but the T-Jets are still bumpy and hop at some of the junctions. I may end up just trying harder to straighten those issues out.

It almost doesn't make sense to invest in the routed track without going to a bigger table. I haven't really decided yet, but I am going to continue investigating, and designing.

Ignore the ball.

OMG!. The. Ball. Cannot. Be. IGNORED!!!!!

You realize of course, Dave, that henceforth you will be known as the Ballinator. :dude:

How wide is a four lane? I am figuring 7.75 inches. 1.63 inches from the track edge to the outside slots, this gives the cars room to do a 360, and 1.5 between lanes.

Ignore the ball

Whoa! Thanks for the warning. I have George Noory on speed dial, and for a moment there, I thought I had an exclusive.

My Track. Ignore the ball. The legos hold the lights for the infrared sensors.

That's a sweet looking track. It has an interesting choice of drivers' sitting too. I guess you really have to be "on the ball" to race on the Rock! :tongue:

Even if you run alone the majority of the time, a 4 lane layout will provide variety as each lane has different points of acceleration and braking. Keeping 4 IROC cars ready pays off when you have guests. I use dog XTraction chassis (that have a functional gear train) and JL Fast and Furious bodies. Stuff that is easy to drive and that I'm willing to scarifice. Only two right now because I've got to get my Tomy track bordered for four. We recently had a group of 10 and 11 year-old boys over for a birthday party. I was suprised at their level of interest. Those two cars were running almost the entire time. One kid passed on pizza and cake because he would rather run a car. They got good and warm, but kept right on chugging. Drunken relatives can be a scream on those long holiday afternoons too. :)

I keep considering a routed track myself. I could have all the guide pin slots CAD drawn and CNC routed for the cost of the material I choose. It's routing the rail slots and railing the thing that holds me back every time. I've also been looking for a uber-cheep 1/24th scale road course (ie: not an oval). Everything is either too far away or far too costly. No doubt the perfect 1/24th scale track would appear on Craig's List the week I finish railing a routed HO track.

maybe an idea here? nd

Good ideas TJR - I like the bottm right for a track that will have scenery and the upper left for the "tripple over-pass" look.

Nice tracks, ALL!! :thumbsup: Wheelszk, My previous 6 lane Tomy track pcs.
were secured w/#1 x 1/2" countersunk screws. For a countersink, I used a
1/32" bit protruding from a pin vise by 1/32in. I pre drilled a starter hole thru
track pc. into MDF table top. Counter sink & install screw. For a layout of
265 track pcs. I used almost 600 screws! Recently rec'd. my 6 lane Max-Track & would appreciate input from anyone w/suggestions for securing a
Max layout.

maybe an idea here? nd


Thanks,

I like the third one. However, I rechecked the area and found that I can comfortably go to 3.5 ft wide, give or take a couple inches. I am going to see if I can do a four lane that I like with the added width I found.

I will have to sell cars to raise money for the track. I will probably make the move in the fall if I do it.

I was running on my track yesterday morning, and it felt pretty good, so there is no real need to rush.

I keep considering a routed track myself. I could have all the guide pin slots CAD drawn and CNC routed for the cost of the material I choose. It's routing the rail slots and railing the thing that holds me back every time. I've also been looking for a uber-cheep 1/24th scale road course (ie: not an oval). Everything is either too far away or far too costly. No doubt the perfect 1/24th scale track would appear on Craig's List the week I finish railing a routed HO track.

I do my layouts in AutoCAD so I have no problem supplying dxfs to a shop to rout the pieces for me. Maybe I can find a local place to do it.

Should I be looking for woodworking shops or machine shops? As far as the rail, wouldn't a small diameter wire be an easy way to go?

I think I would get more satisfaction out of having the routing done and then finishing the rest up myself. But if its not going to save me much money I would just assume let someone who has done it before and knows what they are doing, do it.

The 36" wide layout would be about $770 (two lane) (if it would fit, $1184 for four lane) plus $160 shipping.

I can ask my neighbor across the street to help me out. He does a lot of woodworking, cabinets etc, so he can probably help me hand rout something. If I go that rout I would probably get MDF big enough to do a 13 x 3.5 ft and rout a flat layout in two pieces, carry it across the street and rail it here. I can plot the layout full size at work, then glue it to the MDF to use as a guide for routing. If I do this I could even do a three lane if I feel there is not enough room for four.

Thanks for all your suggestions and discussion. Please continue sharing your thoughts. It helps me think and figure out what I should do.

I do my layouts in AutoCAD so I have no problem supplying dxfs to a shop to rout the pieces for me. Maybe I can find a local place to do it.

Should I be looking for woodworking shops or machine shops? As far as the rail, wouldn't a small diameter wire be an easy way to go?

I think I would get more satisfaction out of having the routing done and then finishing the rest up myself. But if its not going to save me much money I would just assume let someone who has done it before and knows what they are doing, do it.

The 36" wide layout would be about $770 (two lane) (if it would fit, $1184 for four lane) plus $160 shipping.

The company I work for has a cabinet shop with a CNC router. I could get the CAD layout and the guide pin slots routed as a favor. Everything I've read sez the rail slots are better routed by hand so the depth is consistent.

Nice tracks, ALL!! :thumbsup: Wheelszk, My previous 6 lane Tomy track pcs.
were secured w/#1 x 1/2" countersunk screws. For a countersink, I used a
1/32" bit protruding from a pin vise by 1/32in. I pre drilled a starter hole thru
track pc. into MDF table top. Counter sink & install screw. For a layout of
265 track pcs. I used almost 600 screws! Recently rec'd. my 6 lane Max-Track & would appreciate input from anyone w/suggestions for securing a
Max layout.


Thanks Dom,
Got my new Max last week, should be able to lay track in a week or two. Hope to finish the wiring this weekend,then off to drill all the holes.
Bill

How wide is maxtrax?

Micyou03, Max-Trax lane spacing is 1 3/4in centers. With border, overall
width for a 4 lane is 10 1/4in. Total width for a 6 laner is 13 3/4". My Tomy
layout of 6 lanes w/cork borders was about 10 3/4". :)

Thanks

Jack Stinson has a mini Tubbie layout on his site that he used to run on... Looks like a great layout by itself, but how about mirroring it a couple ways? Could probably make a decent 2 laner with this same flavor. Flat-out straights for speed outside and twisty road course inside. Don't have any graphics programs... Just cutting/pasting in MS Paint... nd