# Track update



## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Today was the day I inlaid my track into the table.It wasn't really that hard,and I give myself a 9 on the job I did.I thought I might have to take up heavy drinking again to do this,but It went rather smoothly.There are a few minor clunkers that I have to fix,nothing earth shattering tho.

I used 1/4" sheetrock.It was ok to work with,I think I might have been better off with MDF,but this will do the job.I cut it out with one of those cheezy 20 dollar jig saws.

Next step will be gluing and painting.Shouldn't be so bad if I do it in small sections.Pics will follow.

Mike


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## Lype Motorsport (Mar 14, 2004)

*Nice Job!!!*

Hi Mike
That looks great! Is their any "height" difference from the track to the sheet rock? Thanks for posting the photos, and ya mind if I use your idea? Cant wait to see more photos!

Larry


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## coach61 (Sep 6, 2004)

Looks great Mike!


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Larry.....

The height difference is minimal to none.The pics throw you off a little because nothing is fastened down yet.That fun will begin as soon as I come back from the hardware stor with some grease for the track joints.

Thanks for the kind words.

Mike


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## Anti-Cop (Jan 25, 2005)

That stretch where it becomes 8 lanes is just evil! I love it. Going to have to borrow your idea as well if it was as easy as you say.


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## Gear Head (Mar 22, 2005)

mike,

that looks awesome... great combo of speed and handling

any scenery in the plan??

jason


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

The 8 lanes together is kind of evil now that you mention it.I was so so about it at first,but I really wanted that 15"r turn in the mid section of the layout.
It works pretty well,It's just a lot of track all coming together at once and I really have to deal with the slight warps in some pieces by facing them in different directions to smooth it all out.




Yep,scenery is still kicking around in my skull.Going to use what I learned back in my old model railroading days.The kid says we need a lake,that's about the only thing that I know I will do so far.

Also trying to come up with some ideas for different elevations to make it interesting,but at the same time have NO blind spots.I like to drive really fast.

Mike


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## blackroc (Mar 26, 2005)

Gosh, that looks fantastic. Makes me really wish I had a big basement all to myself.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Can't wait for the finished product. Love that straightaway! :thumbsup: rr


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Thanks all for the kind words,and thanks AFX for the great scenery tips.They will definetly come in handy in the near future.

Yesterday was a track marathon day.I started out around 8 am,and messed with it until about 1 am.

I ground the tabs off the tracks on one section of the layout,hit the connections with some electrical grease and painted the sections with gray primer.Then,rather then scrap the paint from the rails,I scuffed them off with a sanding pad.
Worked out pretty well,it not only took the paint off of the rails,but it scuffed the paint off of some of the track,making it look like oil and rubber on the track.Worked out a lot better then I thought it would.I'll post a pic once I have more of it done.

Also had some low spots,where the wall board was a little high over the edge of the track.
I had bought some foam pads at the local craft store,They look like placemats,about 1/16 of an inch thick.
I cut pieces the width of the track,and about four or so inches wide and placed them under the track in the low spots.Brought the track right up to dead level with the wallboard.

Next step is some painting,as well as assembling a computer from my computer junk box to do the lap timing.And I'm trying to come up with a way to fasten the track without nails or screws,maybe silicone instead.A lot of work ahead,but I really am enjoying this.

I'll keep posting pics and updates.Hopefully I can give a little back to the board.Almost everything I have been doing is based somehow on something I picked up from here.It would be great if some of you out there could use some of the stuff that has been working out for me on my layout.

More to come,stay tuned. :wave: 

Mike


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## Anti-Cop (Jan 25, 2005)

I'll be using some of your lil tid bits of info, and AFXtoo' scenery is starting to pop into my head. The use of silicone on the car accident prone spots is brilliant! I hope my wife is prepared to lose my son and I for a few weekends very soon as we attempt to do a real layout.


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

Cool idea with the sheetrock, but my only concern would be the exposed paper edge where it meets the track. That may get chewed up pretty quickly.

Man I could give you tons of tips on scenery but I think you guys have seen most of my track and stuff. I'm sure you'll really enjoy the new adventures of having inlays level with your track. All kinds of new things happen when racing. Cars on the outside lanes can fishtail in corners enough to do a complete 360 on the infield and then keep going. Tyco pan chassis cars do it best. :thumbsup: Cars can actually slide around outside lanes if you place the gaurdrails away from the track a bit:










You can even paint the inlay to look like the track goes in other directions or has curvy edges so it's not so "square" with the plastic edge: (Stillwell Raceway- _I think this effect would work much better if the lanes weren't striped with colors- groups of small colored arrows are also a good way to indentify lanes, placed in crash prone areas...)_










Your method of applying grass or grass-like areas in the next stages is important. As the track gets more and more use, the top surface will get ripped and scrapped up a bit, especially around corners. I can attest to over 10 years of wear and tear on a landscaped slot car track. If you layer the colors correctly, the wear will look natural if there is an earth color as a base underneath all the "grass". Then the track will look even more realistic instead of eye-sore damaged areas that you have to repair a lot.


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Slot V:Can you post a link to your site please???? I somehow lost it in the 10million links I have in my HO Slots folder.
I want to look at some of the tips you had on there again.

I thought about the edges of the paper fraying before I even started this.All said and done,there are very few spots where this happened.
But that will change once I slam som cars into them.I plan on sealing them off with something.I was thinking of brushing on epoxy.or just doing a seal coat to the whole table with a grassy green colored flat enamel to get started.

I really appreciate all of the tips and ideas that I have gotten from you guys so far.I actually remember all of this stuff and have been putting it to good use.
THANKS!!!!!!!!! :thumbsup: 

Mike


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

Its' pretty out of date, but here is the link to my track website:

Vargo Speedway 

And here is the link to the Planet of Speed BBS:

Planet of Speed Bench Racing Network


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## fastlap (Nov 11, 2007)

*Stillwell raceway?*

Scott, 

I was looking through old threads and saw this photo you posted of Stillwell Raceway. Is there a link to other photos? Do you have any links to other pics? Tyring to get ideas for decorating when I start my new track./

Thanks, gar


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## Scafremon (Dec 11, 2006)

I don't think I ever say this thread before. Nice track Mike!

I also don't recall ever seeing an update of your track painted. Did you ever paint it?

How about some updates on this nice looking track!


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Sorry Ive been busy lately and havent been able to update.And Mr Rick,aka Hornet,I'll be getting to your email later or tomorrow.

First up,the lap counter.I was literally ready to just hang it up all together.I tried every and anything to get the LT 2000 software to work on my old PC.I did a perfect to the letter install,thank you Mr Gene.

I had one last idea,and by damn I think it was the trick.

I went back and rewired the whole joystick cable I had done years ago.In the process,I removed or jumped all of the resistors in the circuit.
Im about 99.9% SURE this was it.The short breaks on the fast car want trigging the swith quite enough to trip the sensors.The resistors weakend the signal way to much.

So I did end up painting the track,this week I will stripe the lanes and touch things up.And add borders.

In all the spots where the track felt warped,in between the spots where it is tacked,I drilled a small hole.Then I injected Gorilla Glue.

I used this stuff for the first time over the summer on some guitar repairs.The way that it swells up after its dry,and how strong and hard it is,gave me the idea to do this.

Without a doubt,my track is the smoothest quietest sectional plastic track I have run on.

No BS,this idea worked really well.

But some of you may be saying "Mike,you are a *&*&*&ing idiot.Now you can never change your track design!!!".

And to which I say,that this is my third track in about 5 or 6 years.

First one,sucked.

Second one,did a nice job.Learned how to solder track,make drivers stations,the whole nine yards.

But it was WAY to small for my tastes.It was like a door track size.

So I figured Im into this game for the long haul.And I have the room for any size track I want.

Did a ton of research in planning the design.I like to go really really freakin fast.

Must have long straights.Maybe an oval?????Nah,too boring.Maybe a triangular oval kind of thing.Nah.

So I figured Id build me in one tricky spot,the far right side.You go from really rippin fast to a spot where you have to actually drive through.

I liked the design on Greg Brauns site,I think it was called "Commercial 78" or something like that.

I picked that one,tweaked it a bit and ended up with what I have.

Anyways,a few pics I took tonight:





















And for extra credit,here are some pics of my workbench.What a mess.
It one of those stainless steel restaurant work tables.Excellent work surface,and when it gets really gunked up,I clear it off and hit it with some Easy Off,and shes as good as new.











Mike


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## DCG (Feb 11, 2006)

NICE track. Similar setup to my own. Extra points for the Grindhouse poster!


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

I love the 'axe' being used as a weight!

Here is Jeff Stillwell's website:

http://www.stillwellracing.com/

-Scott


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Looks great Mike.

IR Impressed!

Dig the super practical, easy clean bench top too.


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Slott V said:


> I love the 'axe' being used as a weight!
> 
> Here is Jeff Stillwell's website:
> 
> ...



Scott........

Is Jeff aka Homer?????? That track just RULES!!!!! 

As does yours.You were one of the guys that helped me out many times over the years to make my track what it is..THANKS!!!! :hat: 


The guitar actually has an interesting history and story behind it.

I wont bore you all here with it tho.

Mike


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## fastlap (Nov 11, 2007)

Actually, I noticed what looks like a Gibson ES series hanging against the back wall.. Maybe a ES125??? I have a 40 year old Gibson ES120 that is in perfect condition from my childhood. Was thinking about ebaying it one day. Haven't made that decision yet.


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

fastlap said:


> Actually, I noticed what looks like a Gibson ES series hanging against the back wall.. Maybe a ES125??? I have a 40 year old Gibson ES120 that is in perfect condition from my childhood. Was thinking about ebaying it one day. Haven't made that decision yet.




Actually its a very early Jackson Soloist that I had built for me in the very early '80's by Mr Grover Jackson himself.

With the guitar you have,you might be better off putting it in one of the big vintage guitar shops on consignment.

Too many weasels on eBay that are into the guitar and vintage guitar thing.


Mike


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## beebeak (Jan 8, 2008)

*To Racer X*

Hey Mike,

Kinda crafty of me to find you this way, but its your lil' sister Kelly. I would love to just get together for some coffee or something. Shoot me an email when you have a sec.

pretty cool you are still into all this stuff!!
-k


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## beebeak (Jan 8, 2008)

Mike-my email is attached to my profile here so if you look me up you can message me. Hope to hear from you soon.


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## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :Ya been caught Mike


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