5 replies to this topic

[j patrick]

building my first wood track, copper tape keeps coming up in spots along the edges ......please any help?

[Bill from NH]

Are you burnishing the tape Joe?

[Paul Menkens]

Are you burnishing the tape Joe?

I was going to ask that, also is the track painted with good gloss paint? I've built a couple tracks with copper tape and had excellent results. You will have to go through and replace tape on a regular basis but that's an easy and quick job, just every couple weeks look over the track and use a single edge razor to cut it where the worn tape starts (straight sections will last a lot longer then curves) and then use the razor to strip the tape from the track till you get to good tape again then cut it again. Put the new tape down, overlaping the existing tape by an inch or so, burnishing it with anything handy from your fingernail to a folding bone or a wrench, when you have the tape down solder the joint, you can get contact without soldering but you should still solder all the joints to be sure all lanes get equal power. Make sure the solder lays down flat, which it almost always does. Hope this helps.

[Paul Menkens]

Also, at $6 or so a roll you can buy a lot of tape for the price of braid, and braid will need maintainence too. And it's a lot less work to route for tape then it is for braid.

[j patrick]

I was going to ask that, also is the track painted with good gloss paint? I've built a couple tracks with copper tape and had excellent results. You will have to go through and replace tape on a regular basis but that's an easy and quick job, just every couple weeks look over the track and use a single edge razor to cut it where the worn tape starts (straight sections will last a lot longer then curves) and then use the razor to strip the tape from the track till you get to good tape again then cut it again. Put the new tape down, overlaping the existing tape by an inch or so, burnishing it with anything handy from your fingernail to a folding bone or a wrench, when you have the tape down solder the joint, you can get contact without soldering but you should still solder all the joints to be sure all lanes get equal power. Make sure the solder lays down flat, which it almost always does. Hope this helps.

thanks the guy who routed lined me up on burnishing . replacing a couple sections on the first lane i did . reea learning curve

[MattD]

Best results, are a gloss finish, don't stretch the tape and burnish good with a soft cloth.   It can last years without issues.