50 replies to this topic

[Bob Appelle]

I've been meaning to do this for two years and never made time. Now I have plenty, like everyone else. I'll do my best, hopefully the photos will tell the story.

 

First and foremost, I want to make it clear that I was just a helper. The quality of this build is way beyond my build abilities. LOL. I hope you enjoy.

 

A few bits of info... I was almost 68 and Rick was 69. It took two months working three nights maybe four hours and Saturday and Sunday eight to 10 hours. The first photo were the 2x4s after I ran them through the planer

 

Thanks,

 

Bob

 

[Bob Appelle]

 
These were screwed and glued to each end of the track sections to bolt them together.

[Bob Appelle]

First section

 

[Bob Appelle]

I must have swept the floor a hundred times.

 

 

[Bob Appelle]

The above photos show the dado joint with the the pieces of pine we made to align the sections.

[Bob Appelle]

As the track progressed it became more difficult due to less space to work in.

 

 

[Revtor]

Looks like a great start!

[Bob Appelle]

I haven't figured out how to post pictures without text, sorry.

 

[Alchemist]

Looking great, Bob!

 

What will be the track length when it's finished please?

 

Thanks for sharing, Bob!

 

Ernie

[Bob Appelle]

We started it in March of 2018 and finished it in May of 18. I have quite a few photos to post, but I need to resize them. My wife needs to show me how and I'm not a good student. If you don't see any in awhile, check the Metro Detroit obits. LOL

[Shruska55]

Bob,

 

Great job! Skills required are way over my pay grade, too!

 

What will the final layout look like? Any drawings to show concept?

 

ScottH

[Bob Appelle]

It's finished, track length is 78 feet, 90 amp Bulldog power supply. I'll continue to post construction photos and then the finished track. Thanks for your interest.

[Bob Appelle]

More photos.

 

 

 

 

[Bob Appelle]

More photos.

 

 

 

 

[Bob Appelle]

More photos.

 

 

 

 

[Bob Appelle]

Putting up the side rails were a real effort. 1/2 inch MDF on the straights, two layers of 1/8 on the bank and large radio turns and four layers of 1/8 masonite on the rest.

 

 

 

 

[Bob Appelle]

Almost done.

 

 

 

 

[Bob Appelle]

If you look at the drivers panel you can see it's not attached to the track. It's two pieces bolted together and being captured by the basement support beams.

 

 

 

 

 

[MattD]

Been there and done that. Bob, I bet your extra pair of hands was a lot more help than you think.

 

The worst part about the walls is if you want the wall perpendicular to the floor and your track has banked curves and is not totally flat, you can't just cut straight 8 inch wide strips and go to work. Each piece of wall has to be radiused to fit the up and down of the track. I did find it was much easier to do the walls if you cut pieces about 12 inches wide and put a tie down strap around it and bend it in a circle. Leave it that was a couple days and it kind of takes the curved shape. I found it a lot easier to fit it against the track surface if I did that first.   

 

Then I made a jig for my sabre saw that sat on the track surface and held the saw at the wall height I wanted. That didn't work as good, the saw had a mind of its own. It worked better if I just drew a line around the outside and used my circular saw. I confess to not being a great carpenter. I just kept plugging away and fixing mistakes as I went!!!

 

Bob, what are the lane centers on your track?

[MattD]

How long did it take to clean the dust off everything???

[Tim Neja]

Very nice fun compact track!!  You've got to be proud and having a lot of fun on it!! Congratulations!

[Bob Appelle]

The final clean-up took a Saturday afternoon. We had to dust a few more times, changed furnace filters quite a few times during the build. It wasn't bad doing the work on the floor, it was getting up that was hard. I'm 6 foot 8 and weigh 240 and climbed a lot of ladders and telephone poles for 31 years. It was a real SOB.

[Ramcatlarry]

You may not notice it until you race awhile, but some walls and the drivers ability to see the car may need to be lowered.  If you ever need to go below a one inch wall, clear storm window plastic works well.

[Dominator]

Great job guys!

[MattD]

 

I agree about getting up off the floor, I solved that problem,,,.   Separated the track into halves and built a truss to fit under each half,,,,then used a motor hoist to lift each half and cut the table out from under it!!!!