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Hi all, other than posting in new member section this is really my first post. I’ve always modeled something throughout my life including airplanes and cars but it all started with static models and slot cars and the marriage of those two and now I’m retired, I want to do that again. I’ve got a great workshop perfectly suited for this but I don’t have a track to test and play on. With limited space, I don’t want to lose a huge chunk of workshop space so I found the tilt options appealing.

Sometimes a hair-brained idea or concept takes up residence in my head and wont leave. I suspect this happens to many of us, but most are wise enough to avoid acting on it. This tale can end two ways. Truth is, I don't know how this pipedream will end, success or failure. What follows is photographic evidence that may clearly illustrate how ill a man can become, or how lucky that same man can be if this hair-brained endeavor actually works.

Like many people wishing to return to the hobby, my largest challenge is space. My garage is all I get other than half of a bed, and use of the kitchen and bathrooms but I’ve been told improvement is needed as those privileges remain on shaky ground. Now 440 sf is a great space and I’m happy to have it. I installed a heat pump and it’s comfortable in there year round. However, this space serves as my cave, workshop, office, and whatever it needs to be at any given whim. All this of course leaves limited square footage available for something that doesn’t somehow “stow away”.

In a nutshell, I had this idea of a tilting mechanism and table support made from PVC fittings and pipe rattling around my head for a couple years but I could never clearly see the bottom part of the contraption.

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u48 ... g7fkzi.jpg


My thoughts were always that ideally the bottom part which supports the tilting assemblies and table should be moveable, and its this part that a stable design always eluded me every time I thought about the tilting assemblies. I would then always file the idea in the hair-brained pipedream compartment of the brain.

At the start of the year I was getting real anxious to have a track again and decided to build a lightweight wood table with curvature leg supports that I had read about on a build thread. It's simplicity was genius and the whole build just made a lot of sense to me so I began clearing the space for its construction.

First step was to remove that ugly electrical rack the previous owner had turned into a dysfunctional shelving unit and left behind for me. It now served only as a catch all for the wife's "projects" and it really uglied up “my nest”. The day has arrived; it must go.

As I emptied this heavy old electrical rack of its odd accumulations that had found their way there I dreamt of my new wood-tilting table occupying this very space so poorly utilized. To stabilize my previously mentioned shaky ground, I generously donated one of my rolling bakers shelving units to house the now displaced collection of oddities. As I lay the rack on it's back to get it out the door, this ugly old dysfunctional shelf unit transformed itself before my very eyes into a glorious metal bench with ton's of storage underneath and most importantly, the answer that had been eluding me for so long, the anchor point for the pipedream tilt mechanism. This might work I thought and I already have 1 inch PVC pipe and fittings left over from greenhouse and wood rack roof PVC projects. Great, forget the proven wood table and choose the unknown path. Brilliant!

Given these circumstances with left over parts and all, my mind justified pursuing this hair-brained pipedream. Below is what the effort look likes thus far. It is not complete as siding and front rail needs to be added to the table top as well as a latching method to keep it folded tight to the wall. Currently it is 12' x 4'5".










Next is to put some sort of siding up and start putting some track down, or vice versa.

Paul

Looks very impressive to me. Well done on your effort.

That turned out pretty slick!
Thanks for sharing the pics! :D

Wow a really good tilt up design, i like it
Well done Paul.
Bob

Paul, I can't help if I don't know a few important features of what you have in mind, so here is a start...

What sort of track do you intend to use? Overlay of routed MDF? Anchored Carrera plastic track? How many lanes? It matters particularly in that your width of platform requires attention to the radius of the turns.

Is the anchor, when folded up, a telescoping size PVC pipe that is secured to the wall? If so, try several cuts as trial, it takes very little capture to hold it up. I learned that from my garden irrigation piping. I must have cut 3 or 4 sections out of the capture pipe to get the desired catch.

Is the platform made of foil-covered rigid foam siding liner?

I'll check in as we go.

I appreciate the encouraging words everyone, the direction of this build really was a spur of the moment as I originally intended to build something entirely different. Sometimes I question the wisdom of that decision but I’m feeling pretty good this can be successful. I see many possibilities that could be explored. I certainly appreciate hearing ideas from those that have been doing this awhile and it should be a fun time as this thing evolves.

I’ll try to answer your questions Waay and add some pics that may clarify things.

Track will be anchored Carrera. I had originally pictured two lanes. I don’t think I have the real estate for 4 lanes. A paperclip oval is a strong possibility and maybe 4 lanes would be ok.

I figured turned radiuses would be less than ideal at these dimensions and I guess my hope was to soften them with varying degrees of pieces. Now here is something interesting to ponder. The table is in fact easily expandable width wise and furthermore can be expanded in sections as well. Currently, all the front rail PVC fittings are still only dry fit. Cut and slide in appropriate size piece of pipe in table frame and drop in a chunk of foamboard. Maybe the pic can clarify better.



My hope was to see if I could live with a layout within the current dimensions first. Although this contraption works perfectly smooth through the tilting process now with no weight on it, I feared it may become cumbersome to handle. We'll see how it reacts with some weight distributed across it.

There is nothing on the wall currently that holds it up other than its actually tilted far enough past the center of the pivot point that it just leans there.





I will be putting something on the wall to secure it but until now I didn’t know how I would latch it. I like the telescoping pipe trick if I’m picturing correctly. I probably should do that soon but I don’t know exactly where the front rails will end up yet.

The platform is 1” pink foamboard, no foil either side when purchased. I applied the foil insulation. This foil stuff is actually small bubble wrap that is foiled on both sides. Mostly I wanted it for sound isolation purposes. I was concerned about the foamboards’ ability to transmit noise. There is no dead mass to this stuff for absorption, but that’s the tradeoff for weight.



The bubble wrap sheeting is applied on the top and bottom. The top is then topped with a $5.00 reusable drop cloth whose color cannot be reproduced even by pros.



Paul

All right! Keep us up to date on your progress.

I've been playing around with layouts and I believe I'm close to starting the supports for track and terrain.
Still tweaking a bit.





Paul