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Home
Track
Building
Braid
recess |
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| Constructing the Track
- Braid Recess |
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| Routing the braid
recess |
After all the slots had been
routed, a special bit was used
to route the braid recesses. To
maintain a consistent cutting
depth, the sections were separated
and laid flat prior to routing
the braid recess.
A few weeks prior to this step,
the braid was ordered from a slot
car distributor - the braid was
sold in a 1,000' spool - you should
have the actual braid on hand
prior to this step as it is required
to properly set the depth of the
cutter.
Using scrap wood, test slots were
cut. Using a feeler guage and
a piece of the braid, the cutting
depth was adjusted so the braid
was recessed .010" below
the track surface. With the router
set, the braid recess was routed
in all the sections in a few hours
- this step went a lot faster
than expected.
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The "donut" with the
slots and braid recesses.
The "esses" with the
slots and braid recesses.
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- The braid recess router
bit was 3/4" wide with
a 1/8" pilot.
- The pilot is placed in the
slot and the recesses routed
on both sides of the slot
in one pass.
- The edges of the slot and
the braid recesses were lightly
sanded.
- At the end of the section,
the router was stopped when
the pilot was at the edge
of the section. At first,
I ran the router completely
out of the section ... any
mistake on the exit was readily
apparent as the braid recess
skewed to one side.
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| Routing the braid
recess for the sections |
The most widely used methods
of laying the braid are (1) assemble
all the sections and use a continuous
piece of braid which spans all
the sections and (2) braid each
section individually. While method
1 provides a smoother surface
and less electrical connections,
if the track may be disassembled,
the braid must be removed and
re-applied. Because of the likelihood
this track would be disassembled,
method 2 was selected.
On the edge of each section, a
recess was cut to allow for the
ends of the braid to pass thru
to the underside of the track
where they would be connected
with wire nuts.
With this recess, when the adjacent
sections would be joined, the
running surfaces would still butt
together. |
The router guide clamped to the
straight after cutting the last
of the four recesses.
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- A jig was made from three
small pieces of plywood to
guide the round router base..
- The jig was clamped to the
edge, aligning it to the previously
routed slot recess..
- The router was run up and
down each inside vertical
edge of the jig.
- The depth of the cut was
equal to the thickness of
the braid.
- The edge of the braid recess
was chamfered to keep the
braid from spreading where
it would be bent at 90 degrees.
- An upside down "V"
pattern was used to provide
more clearance for the loose
braids underneath the track
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