Fergy

I built my son his own small HO track/table for Christmas when he was 4. Now 15, he has advanced to helping scratchbuild 1/32 cars, has begun to acquire his own RTR car collection, and is dying to help build my dream routed track. Start 'em young! The dividend comes quickly and grows from there!

I don't recognize some of the names from "down there", but in my experience it's always worth paying a little more to get a tool that lasts. And a router is an amazing tool. Used in both freehand and table mounted modes, it can do more than you can probably imagine. I rank it on the same par, for usefulness, as my compound mitre saw, table saw, drill press, and cordless drill, none of which I scrimp on. My preferred brands, in order, would be Freud, Bosch, and Makita. I view Black & Decker as disposable tools, along with many others. You get what you pay for - and sometimes a cheap router will not just fail before the job is done but it may become a hazard (loosening collets, bearing failures, etc.) Believe me, a router that suffers a collet or bearing failure is not pretty to be around!

And... Paul... just whose dollar is worth more?.... :bday:

Paul, looking at the Jagermeister car, I don't think you should have any problems. The issue arises when large portions of decal (striping, cockpit surrounds, etc., as on my Canadian Rothmans car) must be applied. Otherwise, Patto's decals should be fine since no precise registration is required.

Probably too late if you've ordered them, but if the original body is a Slot.it 962, Patto's decals will not align properly. The registration around the windshield and NACA ducts is incorrect. If the decals you want don't include large sections that surround/cover theses areas (and I don't think yours do) then you will be fine, but mine did and were unusable - I ended up with a fantasy livery based on the remaining decals on the sheet. I love Bruce's stuff but I wish it was indicated as to whose body (if any, other than just pure scale) the decals were originally designed to fit.

Gene, not silly questions at all! Magnets are always the fastest way around a track if the track has magnetic rails or braid. It's like comparing ground-effects vs. non-ground-effects 1:1 scale cars. Even more of a difference in slot cars really, because the magnetic attraction can mask many difficiencies (like bad bearings, out of round tires, etc.) and it is, in fact, stronger at lower speeds. Personally, I prefer non-mag, but I like magna-braid because it keeps all options open, not just for me but for others too that visit or run regularly on the track. A "best of both worlds" scenario. Paul, if your cars often run upside-down, the CPR is gonna play havoc with your paint job!

Not trying to be a smart ass, but it would be roughly 60-85% of the way between running copper tape on wood and running on normal plastic track. Closer to running on plastic track than wood. IF your cars carry traction magnets, of course. I like magna braid because you have the OPTION to run with or without magnets, and I prefer a braided track anyway. Magna braid will never give you as much downforce as plastic track but it can come fairly close. Although I prefer non-mag racing, I am willing to spend a little more and keep my options open. I also see it as a potential way to lend some realism to different classes - no-mag for GT, mild-mag for Prototypes, medium-mag for F1, as an example. (Notice I didn't mention high-mag!) I haven't seen such a scenario develope, but as I say, at least magna braid gives you such options. Mild-to-medium magnets might also be a good way to get new members, especially kids, into a club environment since it won't be such a complete switch from home racing setups, or frustrate them before they learn basic control. I haven't seen any. I used aluminum tape on one track (silver tape on grey paint), and it looked better than copper, but it had higher resistance (though not problematic) and it also oxidized and lifted during periods of disuse (more so than copper). Most tinned braids (copper or steel based) look better than copper tape, in my opinion, but are still very obvious. Slot tracks just always seem to look like... well, slot tracks!

It may well depend on whether the braid is recessed into the surface, level, or slightly raised (there are different schools of thought on that) but, in my opinion, magna-braid is usually slightly less magnetic than plastic track. Plastic track has a much denser concentration of ferrous metal which normally translates to a greater magnetic effect. I think magna-braid, sunk slightly below or close to level with the track surface, will yield about 60-85% of the magnetic attraction of plastic track. Others may have totally different experiences!

You will need to have the braid first! I say that because you are apparently hoping to cast a relief to allow for it. Braid varies considerably in thickness (and also noticeably in width) so if you are hoping to cast a relief you will need the specifics of the braid you will be using. Don't rely on manufacturer specs as they vary considerably - have the braid in hand if you are actually doing it this way. The relief (bed for the braid) will need to be as smooth as possible. Allow for adhesive thickness too (usually only a few thou of an inch).

I'm not up on my metallurgy either, but I know the following: Magnets will not adhere (at all) to my stainless steel kitchen sink (just tried a really big one! ) They did not stick to the stainless steel skin on the rear wing of my 1:1 race car. (Tried that hoping to help hold down a car cover). They do not stick to some high-grade stainless steel cutlery that I have. They DO stick to some low-grade stainless steel cutlery that I also have, but that same cutlery exhibits minor rusting from repeated dishwashing. The latter makes me wonder if a stainless steel braid that exhibits magnetic properties might, in fact, be a poor choice in the long term. Not in all cases, mind you, but I know from experience that plastic slot tracks with steel rails (especially HO tracks) suffer from long term rusting issues. Then again, I'm in an area that experiences very high humidity at times. One HO track manufacturer (Model Motoring) created repro versions of the original Aurora HO track but substituted high-quality stainless rails because of the corrosion problem and it was only a partial success because of the total lack of magnetic properties. If you really want magnetic braid without the worry of any long-term corrosion issues, I'd seriously consider the extra expense of Magnabraid as money well spent. I recently bought 1000 feet (306m) of 1/4" braid and paid about $475 (CDN) for it. (I don't even intend to run magnets but wanted to keep the option open). Not trying to rain on the parade, and it may well be a great product, just wanted to give a heads up.

Late as usual, I just picked up on this thread... I'm confused (no surprise there!). But stainless steel is NOT magnetic, except in lower quality alloys which exhibit minor magnetic properties. Jim Honeycutt's Magnabraid is woven from copper coated and tinned steel strands and thus is magnetic. Is this "stainless steel" braid coated by some process, as I don't see how it can compare magnetically if it is actually woven from stainless steel strands?

Just as input, since I'm obviously a million miles away... Our club, which existed for 25+ years, was run by three people. We had both experienced and newbie members each year, and we worked toward a class program that suited all. We solicited the members' input, then formulated class structures that seemed to fit the current group best. It changed year to year, but we always seemed to come up with a workable system. To me, it's better if a club is run by multiple people, preferably three (as it makes executive voting easy) and it seems to keep the club on target. More executive members and it becomes political or just hard to manage, less and it becomes a dictatorship. IMHO, three executive members is perfect. :(

Iracem is correct on the standard 8-lane colours. Black, purple, yellow, blue, orange, green, white, and red. In the (normal) direction of travel, red is on the right, black is on the left. This was a standard scheme developed back in the 1960s during the North American commercial track "boom years". It helped both drivers and marshals, particularly the latter, as they didn't need to "learn" a new sequence when they visited another track. It also aided those who were fully, or partially, colour blind (an interesting accomodation back in the sixties!). Phil mentioned red, yellow, green, and blue for four lane tracks. That is a common convention, although I'm not sure why a subset of the 8-lane colours (in order) was never chosen (such as yellow, blue, white, and red). Another 4-lane scheme (often seen, but also out of order) is green, yellow, white, and red. My three-laner will probably be green, white, and red, to keep to the old standard and also provide good contrast even to those with colour-blindness problems.

Use the syringe without a needle. You can also get craft/carpenters "glue" syringes which have a long, tapered, curved tip which might be perfect for this application.

The ancient bloke who invented fire. My first naughty girlfriend. Canadians Banting and Best who created insulin. The guy who invented latex rubber. Canadian Alexander Graham Bell who invented the telephone. The dude who took latex rubber and invented.... well, you know.... ...am I getting predictable?... Canadian Gilles Villeneuve. Racing, yes, but can't omit him! The inventors of bikinis, tube tops, cut-off shorts, halters.... yes, it is summer here! I'll stop now before the mods step in....