Inslot's Checkered Flag Raceway - Renovation (Page 6 of 8)

it sure has, but  it will be trlb free  when all done...

I've been kinda waffling back and forth over re-braiding the entire track or just the new section. After performing some closer inspections today I've decided to bite the bullet and re-braid the entire track. A lot of the existing braid is still good but, the braid adhesive is so old, and has been subjected to so many chemicals in the form of cleaning solvent and tire compound, the adhesive has pretty much lost its adhesive qualities. It many spots it is just kind of an icky goo under the braid, and in other spots it is a crispy, brittle, thin coating. After much research I am going to perform a light skim cut of the braid recess using my special bit for that task. I have been asking a professional track builder for suggestions all during this renovation process and he recommends a skim cut, just a couple thousandths or so to get down to clean wood for the new braid. I can use my router to do this everywhere but under the overpass. I will have to clean the recesses in that area by hand as best I can. Using the router will be much quicker than trying to clean the recess by hand! After the skim cut I will have to re-paint the braid recess, but I still think it will be a better and quicker process than just trying to clean the recess.

So here's an extra credit question: What will these two parts be used for? (A hint: I will need a total of 6 of these).

NICE RICO!

YES! These are to be used for common connection points of the negative contact braids for each lane at each power tap. One hole on each end for mounting points to the underside of the tabletop, four tinned holes for braid connection points, one tinned hole for a jumper wire to the controller hook-up for brakes, and one ear for connection to the main ground that runs the length of the tabletop. This is all just further development of a track wiring system Hugh Ellsworth designed in the early 1980s.

They just might work as a flute, but they're kinda small..........

So today I quit waffling on whether or not to replace ALL the track braid. It's ALL gone!

I put in a good 7 hours today! That's like a full week of work for me! My original plan for the day was to start rerouting the braid recess with just a skim cut to prepare it for new paint and then new braid. To be honest it went so fast I finished pulling off all the old braid and rerouting the braid recesses on the entire track! The skim cut really was the way to go. I know from experience I would have spent at least a week trying to hand scrape and clean the recesses in preparation for gluing down the new braid, and the final outcome would not have been nearly as good. I do still have one area of concern, the underpass. My router will not fit under the banked overpass, and Kirk Smith already warned me about trying to remove the bank or any portion of it. I have an idea that I will research tomorrow.

Here's some more things I learned today:
1. Don't use staples on anything that may have to come off in the future. It's a B removing staples from wood!
2. When routing braid recesses on a finished track use a router with a small diameter base. The smaller diameter base will keep the recess more consistent through portions of the track that are not perfectly level.
3. Don't ever build an overpass with less than 12 inches of clearance!

Here's why cleaning up the braid recess with a router is the way to go:

It probably would have taken me a week to clean all the braid recess by hand. I did the whole track in 7 hours!

Here's the problem:

My router will not fit under there to clean up the braid recess. Not to mention having access to install the new braid! So here's my solution: if you can't remove the overpass, remove the underpass.

This piece of the track did NOT want to come up! I kept thinking I missed some screws. But after some persuasion it finally popped up.

My hammer and a wedge made for a great persuader. Persistence does pay off!

Dude, you keep working like this and you might ruin your recklessly squandered reputation!

You might even have to build my new track for me.

Mine is waiting until I have some spare time.  Not sure when that might actually be, so I am living vicariously through Bill.

I miss mine though, especially now...

Somebody needs  to go check on Bill and make sure he didn't  drop the track on top of him or worse fell asleep on his creeper. Been 4 days and no post......

Bill all that hard work  is stating  to pay off
If you drink three or four red bulls every other hour sleep is not needed for days. You could be all done by Friday.  Looking  great by the way

Da dada dada da da... Tequila

As of today, 750 feet of braid has been installed on the track, 1one 500 foot spool, and one 250 foot spool! 4 full tubes of adhesive were used to secure the braid to the track. With only another 50 feet of braid to lay I should be done soon. Next up is the painting of the lane colors on the new section of track, and a few touch up spots where the underpass track section was removed for routing and braiding. Then it's time to finish up the wiring!