# braided ho trak info



## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

i,m thinkin bout routing a braided trak and would like to hear for those who have run on one or built/routed one. my continuious rail trak is starting to bore me and i have heard about braided traks for awhile now. if you have any info or pics or stories to tell please post,em here. i,d like to see/hear,em. man i wish swamper gene would post. that dude can make a nice trak!. this new trak that i want to build should be made out of some mdf and i,m thinkin that the braid should be flush or just a tic higher than the racing surface. if i,m not mistaken you only need to route the the guide pin slot then come back with a bit that will route the the braid/ recessed part in just a total of just 2 passes. or am i trippin! dreamin of a springtime attempt.
thanx fellas.


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## northwest slot (Dec 1, 2009)

I am not sure what you are planning to do. The braided tracks work fine. The mag downforce is a little less. Most cars run fine without modification. We run mostly G cars.

You will need to have some relief on the braid. I would shoot for .008 to .010 above the surface. Too high and the guide pins can break some of the strands, which isn't a huge deal.

Ed Bianchi is an expert on making braided tracks. Look him up.


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

*thanx for that hint*

nw slot i,m so glad that you chimmed in. i guess i should have added more info as to what my intention are. first i run almost all tjets and afx pan cars. but i do have some magntraks but they mostly just sit. so mag down force really is,nt a priority, but that is great to know. and that sound wierd that you could snap a guide pin humm. i heard that a braided trak wont wear out the contacts much. thats a positve. and best of all thanx for pointing me to ed biancci. that is where i,ll head next for more info. i,m starting this info search now so by the time springtime comes i should have enough knowledge to get in trouble! thanx again. and the only other member that i know of that ran on a braided ho trak is parts pig and he said they were great. he should know he,s turned a few laps.


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Some threads I've started in the past that you might wish to review...

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=291479

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=282234

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=258775

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=268062

Joe


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

*wow thats what i needed!*

i just started reading the first thread and had to stop. so i could absorbe all the info. man thanx for posting gran cheap. a good rewad.


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

*rail to braid conversion?*

can this be done? i was just checkin out my continuious rail routed trak and before i tear it down...can it be rerouted and converted to braid? i,ll bet ya it can. ya think anybody has tried this? due to me starting to get busy(thank god) i hav,nt had anytime to dabble to get some ideas. anybody got some thoughts on this. thanx


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

joegri said:


> can this be done? i was just checkin out my continuious rail routed trak and before i tear it down...can it be rerouted and converted to braid? i,ll bet ya it can. ya think anybody has tried this? due to me starting to get busy(thank god) i hav,nt had anytime to dabble to get some ideas. anybody got some thoughts on this. thanx


If I understand your question, you want to pull the rail out of your existing track and replace it with braid? All you would need to do after the rail is removed would be to rout the braid reliefs and glue in the braid. However, building the jig for the braid reliefs is the hardest part.

For you, it becomes a little more scary because if you mess up, you may ruin your existing track.

Joe


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

*nothin to loose*

gran cheap 
in my case i got nuthin to loose. first off i,m gonna try 1 lane first and if that does,nt work i,ll still have my fav lane to run. i should post some pics of what i,m thinkin just no time lately.i did read somemore of the link/threads you posted all very interesting! also any new trak here will resemble boosted,s trak. that is a great lookintrak. the way i,m thinkin is i,ll have all winter to experiment then in the spring go all in for braided trak... i think. thanx for adding in on the future build. my pop used to say"if it was easy everybody would be doin it"


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

This is a posting I had on another slot car board. PM me if you want me to supply you with the link to the whole thread (I don't know if showing it here would violate the TOS), although there's not a lot of other info there.

Joe

=======================
I was wondering if anyone who has ever routed their own HO track and used braid has tried the following method for cutting the braid channels.

Normally, the process to rout an HO track with braid involves first routing the guide slot and then, using that slot as a guide, rout braid channels on each side of the slot. This is a three part process per lane - (1) rout the guide slot, (2) rout the braid channel on one side of the slot and (3) rout the braid channel on the other side of the slot.

This also requires a very accurate jig to get the braid channels the correct distance from the slot - the same accuracy needed on a jig if you were cutting slots for standard rail.

On the other hand, my reading has indicated that the larger scale guys can do each lane in only two steps. The first is to cut the guide slot. The next is to use a special router bit that has a pin which rides in the guide slot and cuts the braid channels on both sides of the slot at the same time. So I was thinking, why can't something like this be done for HO?

One consideration is that the larger scales usually use 1/4" braid and the braid channel starts right at the slot. So if the slot is 1/8", the special router bit is 5/8" wide (1/8" for the slot and 1/4" on each side). The braid on larger scale tracks gets placed next to the slot.

In HO, the braid can be as small as 1/8" although there's no reason (other than cost) why you couldn't use the larger braid . And in HO, the braid (or rail) is not right next to the slot, although if the braid is wide enough, it could be.

But let's assume you want to save money and use the 1/8" braid . My measurement of the rail-to-rail distance of plastic track is 9/16"; this seems to also be a good average center-to-center distance for HO pickup shoes. Now, why couldn't you use the same method as the larger scale guys to cut the braid channels? First, cut the guide slot to either 1/16" or 1/8" using whatever method is your favorite. Then, using the same guide/template/slot you used to cut the guide slot use a 5/8" bit (or just slightly larger, say 11/16") and cut your braid channels (which will only be around 1/64" deep). You probably don't need the custom router bit. Whatever method you used to cut the guide slot can be your guide to cutting the braid channels - it's just that the braid channel cut will use a wider bit and not go very deep. Then you glue the braid in at the extreme outer edge of the braid channels. The track surface between the braid and slot will also be recessed, but that may not matter.

This means there is only one jig need - the jig that guides you to routing the guide slots. And that does not have to be "spot on". If you wanted 2" lane spacing and your jig gave 2 1/32" spacing, who cares? All lanes will be the same.

Thanks...Joe


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

*read all the threads*

i took the time tonite to read all the threads and it starts the gears turning in my head. i already know what method/jig i,m gonna use and ill explore what width braid i,ll use 1/8 or 3/16. i,m just hung up on weather to route 2 seperate braid channels or 1 wide one(i,m leaning toward one wide one) still a lil fuzzy bout how deep for the braid channel. i know joe/grandcheapskate has done alot of leg work in this area. .010-.015 above the surface is the number that keeps popping up... does that sound correct? ahhhh glad i still have many more months to gather supplies. and i need to find a supplier of magnetic braid just so i can run magnatraks and other cars. my biggest concern is if my riggen and afx will drag in the back. but this will be figured out when i do some test routing and fitting.it,s a long way off but i better start thinking bout it now!


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

I have yet to rout a real track, so please don't consider me an expert. I've done a bit of reading on the subject and tried a few things, but nothing major yet. I do like to explore possible different ways to do the routing, but so far it has been mostly at the discussion stage. Although, I do believe the method used by the larger scale guys should work for HO as well and not only save a step, but save the making of a braid jig.

Joe


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

well after some research i see there is a braid that is 1/8 wide from magnatech/ jim honeycut in texas. i think this is what could be used on my next trak! i,m thinkin maybe a reproduction of a king trak in ho would be a great choice for a new trak. just kinda dreamin out loud.i,m quite sure i can fit it in my table area...14x5.what do ya think...anybody?


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## JordanZ870 (Nov 25, 2004)

I think yer router is collecting the wrong kind of dust!
'Nuff yappin' & snappin', plug it in and fire it up! 

Seriously, My first routed track was a modified paperclip, 4x16 with big 48 inch
sweepers on the ends. I became so bored with nary a wiggle, running flat out
with my Tjets and Magnatracs for 3/4 of a lap. 
Yes, it was a beautiful track but more suited to tyco 440s and other inlines with
magnets strong enough to pull the rails up.
I have my share of 440s and they were fun but my
preference had changed over the years, yeah? 
Up and back, up and back just doesn't do it for me and my pancakes. 
Maybe consider something a bit more twisty than a King? 
Just my thoughts. Good luck, sir!


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

thats the truth joe z it does have the wrong kinda dust on,er.as for a king trak i,m just throwin it out there n see what sticks.my though is a trak should,nt be so intricate and twisty that ya spend lots of time chasing cars after a deslot! so somewhere in the middle lies the truth.all this trak talk is the planning stage and intel gathering!


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