94 replies to this topic

[Hot Deuce]

No he's not John...he doesn't frequent Slotblog at all. I could give you a link to the slot car chat site he does frequent and where the entire article is posted, but that may be against the rules in here....

Man he is fantastic - Thanks for posting those

[MSwiss]

No he's not John...he doesn't frequent Slotblog at all. I could give you a link to the slot car chat site he does frequent and where the entire article is posted, but that may be against the rules in here....

 
No, it's not.

Feel free to post the link.

[garyvmachines]

Cool Track Dude .... Nice layout......

GAV

[BackAgain]

Man he is fantastic - Thanks for posting those

Be careful John, he already has an over-inflated ego....you will make him impossible to live with........

[BackAgain]

No, it's not.

Feel free to post the link.

Here is the link... http://cincyslotrods...er-construction

[BackAgain]

wow i would imagine a track like that would cost over a 1000 dollars

I imagine it would too, Willy... and I would love to tell you how you can get one just like it... another time, another place.

[Steve Deiters]

Awesome workmanship and track. And the first open track day is when...

[endbelldrive]

First Class all the way! Nice going, Butch!

[BackAgain]

Willy, Butch told me the entire track is worth around $10,000 if you are interested in buying it.

[Tex]

When ANYthing is mass-produced, it brings the cost-per-unit down. When someone spends long days and nights custom-building a one-off item, factoring in what a skilled craftsman would charge per hour to do the same job......

No, we wouldn't buy it for $10K, but it's worth that much of Butch's time and it's not for sale.

[BackAgain]

Oh, I'm pretty sure he would sell it for the right price Tex....but you're right, you punch products out like a cookie cutter and they're cheap....but you get what you pay for. Not many family heirlooms come from Walmart.
Willy, it's all a matter of quality of workmanship.....it's the difference between that $10,000 car and say a BMW or Mecedes. How good he is or isn't is not for you or I to judge from a picture....but I will bet if he sold that track for $10,000, based on the hours of planning, designing, testing, building and cost of materials, he would probably make less per hour than you do at your $20,000/year job. Then, throw in the cost of tools, the workshop, lighting, heating/cooling, shipping the materials.....learning the skills....doesn't seem a bad price to me

[Horsepower]

When ANYthing is mass-produced, it brings the cost-per-unit down. When someone spends long days and nights custom-building a one-off item, factoring in what a skilled craftsman would charge per hour to do the same job......

No, we wouldn't buy it for $10K, but it's worth that much of Butch's time and it's not for sale.

I understand what you're saying, Tex! I WILL say that when you spend your time doing that kind of work, the time goes pretty FAST!

[Dr. Gamma]

Labor Of Love. Thats something that many people will never be able to understand. If you have never built something that requires HOURS of planning, HOURS of trial and error fabrication, HOURS spent redesigning something that works, but is not quite perfect. HOURS spent just looking at or thinking about what you are trying to build. The YEARS spent developing the patience needed so when you make a major mistake on some little part of your project, you do not to take a big hammer to the whole thing because you are just so frustrated with it.

Its three o'clock in the morning and you just realized that trick little piece of metal that you have been carving on with your Bridgeport for the past four hours is not going to work. If then you ask yourself in a very sarcastic manner, IS THIS ALL WORTH IT. And if it takes you more than ONE SECOND to answer YES, you have lost that Labor Of Love for what you are doing.

To me, Butch's track shows how great his Labor Of Love really is!!!

[Jacob Shiplet]

that is almost half of what i get each year. are you sure you heard him right there is no track worth that much money. i could by a car for that much money. the guy is good but not that good

NEW tracks cost alot of money. I am pretty sure anyone on here that has purchased a new one can agree to that. Hopefully Butch sends me an invite to go run on that beast.

[Tim Neja]

It certainly brings the level of "home build" on slot tracks to a new level. However, I wonder how you marshal the two "inner" turns at each end? The 180 and the last "S" turn going under the donut? The design doesn't seem to incorporate for a marshall on the inside corners. So you'll need to use a "reacher" stick to get to those turns? Maybe I'm not seeing how you can get to those areas? BEAUTIFUL construction style and fantastic track!! Love to have one like it.
Tim

[MSwiss]

I haven't studied it real hard but at on the one end, with it being 4 lanes, and I'm guessing not real
wide lane spacing, you reach the inner 4 lanes from the outside as if you were standing
on the outside of a turn of an 8 lane track.

[Tim Neja]

I don't think with the elevation changes and the "reach" to the inside lanes anyone but a giant could possibly reach over all 8 lanes to marshall a car even with only 4" lane spacing. It's going to have to be done with a reacher. Especially at the donut end--there's quite a bit of elevation difference--and it won't be easy to reach under the donut to pull a car out that comes off in the last of the "S" sections.
Still--ALL tracks have some drawbacks. I just think in his original design, he didn't take into consideration the need for marshalling in those inside turn sections. But I still love the track design--looks very fun and challanging with some very nice unique construction features.
T

[BackAgain]

When Butch designed the track, his aim was to try and take the motor out of the equation as much as possible. He also wanted to fit as much track as he could into the available space while still maintaining some nice sweeping curves. He wanted a track you have to drive.
Like you said Tim, every track has it's drawbacks and that's because there are always some compromises when you are trying to maximise running feet and the desired shape. I'm sure there will be plenty of people wanting to drive that track who will be happy to marshall.

[Hipsticker]

Thia has to be one ofthe most awesome displays of craftsmanship i have seen in many years ....simply perfect sir. gawd i wish i could drive a car aorund it.

[BackAgain]

Couple more shots showing lane striping and driver stations











I see a road trip to Ohio in my future.....Butch has some walls and such to build so I will see if I can get there in time to lend him a hand....my good one anyway...

[BackAgain]

Butch sent me some photos of his slotcar room....he built the dividing wall and put in some work stations. All he needs now is to install the timing system and power supply.
Pretty damn awesome work in my opinion







Seems to me, it's missing the fridge and microwave.....

Great work Butch.....

[Bill from NH]

Butch did a great job on his track & race room. Paul, I don't see the outhouse either.

[Antiochdave]

This is by far the best built track that I have everseen. Not only did he construct a stunning track he built a fantastic room for it with all the accessories, work benches with power supply and yes, I noticed the HVAC ducts in the room and how nice everything was laid out with a lot of thought. Sir - well done

[BackAgain]

Hopefully there is one of those through the door somewhere Bill.
It is an outstanding job David.....I like the red stripe around the room that matches the track....very classy....