# Does anyone know about running braid on ho track



## munsonator008 (Jan 12, 2005)

I Have A Routered Ho Track Made Out Of Sentra Pvc, I Have Been Trying To Sell It For A While Because I Bought A Max Trax And Dont Need It Also It Has A Problem With The Slot That Was Cut For The Rail, It Is To Deep In Some Areas And To Shallow In Others. I Was Thinking The Other Day That I Might Be Able To Reroute The Rail Slots And Put Braided Rail In It And Just Run T Jets And G Jets On It. Anyone Know Of This Working Thx


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## wm_brant (Nov 21, 2004)

Ed Bianchi (inventor of the Slide Guide) and others have made HO slot tracks using .125x.020 Magnatech magnetic braid.

The tracks reportedly work well, although the magnetic downforce with braid is somewhat less than with a railed track.

Here's a post from Ed that he made back in April 02 to the HO-DL: 

_I use two depths. I rout 0.025 to 0.030 inches deep for what I call 'Flush 
Braid'. That is braid where the top is level with the surface of the track. 
Flush braid is best for Slide Guides, and it is the easiest and fastest to 
install, and has the best record for problems in the field -- none.

For 'Raised Braid' -- braid that projects up maybe 5 or 10 thousandths above 
the surface of the track -- enough so that standard pickups will work -- I 
rout the braid reliefs 0.015 to 0.020 inches deep. I try to keep the depth 
even more tightly toleranced than that -- more like 0.016 to 0.018 inches. 
Just because I'm picky. I've never had a problem with braid reliefs cut to 
the wider tolerances.

Raised braid does impair sliding a bit, but no more than raised rails do. 
And there have been instances where the braid has lifted in spots. But those 
can be glued back down again, no problem. Otherwise raised braid performs like 
flush braid -- good for decades of use with no maintenance.

Routing the braid reliefs for 'raised braid' takes a little extra care. I 
make more test cuts on scrap to check the cut depth before routing. Of 
course I check the tightness of the bit and the depth adjustment on the 
router before starting. And I make two passes with the router to help assure 
I got full depth on the braid relief around the entire track. (Fortunately, 
routing braid reliefs goes VERY fast. I can probably rout 20 feet per 
minute.)

Routing braid reliefs is really no trick at all, once you have your router 
properly set up. All you have to do is pay attention to the details -- keep 
your router guide firmly against one wall of the slot, keep your router's 
power cord from snagging, keep the amount of router dust under your router 
base under control, and keep checking the tightness on your bit chuck and 
depth adjustments (they WILL vibrate loose over time!)_

=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ed uses Elmer's Carpenter's glue and an iron to glue the braid down, which may be why he has run into the occasional bit of braid lifting. Professional 1/24 scale track builders use high-solids contact cement with braid. With a good contact cement, the braid should not lift. However YMMV, especially if you try to run unlimiteds or something else with obscene amounts of magnetic downforce.

Hope this helps.

-- Bill


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