# Securing tomy track to a hollow core door?



## BRPHO (Aug 1, 2006)

Hi guys,

Question?

I built a tomy 4 lane track on a 36" x 80" hollow core door. Should I secure it to the door with caulk or screws?

Pros/cons of either?

If screws what size and do you counter sink them?

Do you use the existing nail holes in the tomy track to put the screws through?

Thanks for any help that can be provided!

Wayne (Bolton's Speed Shop) :thumbsup:

Here is a pic of the track currently sitting on the hollow core door.


http://www.slotcarillustrated.com/portal/forums/picture.php?albumid=1635&pictureid=49426


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

From what I've read, silicone would be your best choice. It's removable should you decide to change the layout, and cures slow enough to give you plenty of time to adjust the track. Countersinking screws is rather tricky, because Tomy doesn't have enough "meat" under the track to give you a fudge factor. If you countersink too far, you end up with a big hole in the track. It doesn't take much to go too far. That solid core door panel isn't very thick, so ribbed nails (like they use to install paneling) would hold best if you choose that route, but finding them with a big enough head can be a royal pain too. 

My advice is use silicone (make sure the stuff you buy hardens up... usually 24 hours to completely cure), and paint the table surface before installation. No paint on the track, and should you redesign, there won't be remnants of bare luann where the track wasn't. The door material should be rough enough even with the paint on it for the sili to stick to it. I would choose gloss for the paint. This will make removing the silicone easier off the door.

This is where that set of encyclopedias come in handy!! :tongue:. Books work best for holding the track down. Oh, and with the silicone, a little is a lot!! Too much makes for a lot of work if you swap layouts, and you don't want it oozing from under your track. :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## BRPHO (Aug 1, 2006)

Thank you for your help.

Very much appreciated!

I was thinking caulk also would be the easiest way to secure to the door for transportation purposes and moving.

Thank you again!

Wayne (Bolton's Speed Shop) :thumbsup:


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## ruralradio (Mar 11, 2011)

*Lag bolts and wing mollys.....*

I went the screw down route with my old A/FX track on a Ping-Pong table, had too many broken tabs to keep it secure, permanent layout anyway. I used #3 screws, #2 would have been better if I could have found 'em locally. Care must be taken with the countersink. I filled the screws and joints on my track, so it's not going anywhere or going to be changed. Was a bit of work but I like it.....


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## slotking (May 27, 2008)

you said hollow core door. I would use a combo

if you track goes to the very end or sides of the door, that where the support wood would be. at those spots you can use small finishing nails. That how I did my complete track. The nail heads end up almost flush with the track surface. touch the nail head with the tip of a soldering iron. The track will slide up flush with the nail head.

But 1st use the silicone adhesive to mount the track
the nail to add a bit more stick if you moving the door around

JMHO


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## tabcomary (Jun 2, 2010)

*"Stickin' It" to foam*

I don't have a spot for a permanent circuit, so I have been making-do with a 30" x 72" table that gets removed (along with the circuit) for the Christmas holidays, and any time we need that corner of the basement. I want to go t something a bit larger, so the hollow-core door is not an option. 

I started looking at the possibility of using 1" insulating foam (the blue stuff), thinking that a circuit mounted to a 4' x 8' sheet would be portable enough to be tucked away for the holidays. My big concern was how to secure the track to the foam since nails or small screws, put in form the top would not hold in the foam. I obtained a 2' x 4' sample of the blue board, and tried some tests. 

The first was to screw the sections to the board by bolting it on from the underside. Many track sections have a circular boss on the bottom that is intended to support a screw or nail put in from the top. This boss is the right size to tap for an 8-32 screw (it might be a 10-32, check first!), so I collected a tap, a few screws and washers and put together a test oval. I put in a screw about every other track section. The plastic is pretty fragile, so I ended up stripping the thread on a couple of the holes, leading to some anomalies in my "every other section" plan. This stays attached very well, but it is something of a pain to figure out where the mounting holes will go, then drilling a through hole and a countersink in a material that really does not like to be machined. I can't imagine doing this for a full 4' x 8' circuit.

My second attempt was to use the silicone method described earlier in this thread. For this I built another simple oval, this time with Auto World sectional track. I did not remove the tabs at each joint because I expect them to help hold the sections together on the flexible blue board. I put a quarter-sized dollop of silicone on every other section, and weighted it down for a couple of days. So far the test circuit seems to be doing well. It is stored vertically, and gets banged-around quite a bit, but everything is still intact. 
It may be time to bite the bullet and build a full track on a 4' x 8' sheet. After all, Christmas is coming!


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## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

When I had my Tomy 6 lane track, approximately, 265 pieces it was secured with just about 900 screws. 
I countersunk the Tomy mounting hole with a 1/32nd bit secured in a hand pin vise protruding the same 1/32nd inch. 
I drilled a hole into the wood table surface using a micro bit, also secured in a pin vise and installed a #1 x 1/2" counter sunk wood screw. 
I can check on the size of the micro bit as I still have the bits and a few hundred screws left.
This method worked well and was useful for final track joint alignment after shimming by tightening & loosening screws as required.
My current 6 lane Max-Track sits on its own weight without screws.


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## BRPHO (Aug 1, 2006)

Thanks for the info guys!

I think I am going to go the caulk route.

It should go down fairly quickly and hold the track in place as needed.

I don't have the patience for the alternative of using the screws.

:thumbsup:


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