A "Newer" Beginning!?!?(pics alot)

[Broman62]

Hi all,
Well, I decided to cram all this into one post so it would make it easier for me!! Some of it I may have posted before and a lot of it is newer stuff!!I'm calling it a "Newer" beginning for the most part because the last year has had some life changes for me(2nd divorce, mom passed away, a family member having terminal brain cancer...plus a few others...those were/are the bad changes and I have/am handling them the best I could/can!! The good changes that have happened and are in progress right now are exciting me and I guess that's why I'm posting this as a "Newer" Beginning with newer changes!!

In the late spring of last year I had to tear down my 3 lane wood oval for my 1/43 cars(I was soooo sad) in anticipation that in the summer/fall I would be getting my basement/slotcave waterproofed!!! I then decided that I wanted to change racing scales and move up to 1/32 scale and dabble with 1/24 scale also because the eyes are getting weaker for the smaller parts plus everything is soooo much more readily available in 1/32 and 1/24 and I just wanted to join in on the fun of the participation level of these scales here on HRW!! I had picked up those AMT 1/25 slot car kits and was also starting to buy up some Carrera 1/32 cars to...this was the "newer" beginning for me!! So, I had to shut down the slotcave for almost three months, first getting everything ready for the work to be done and then having to wait for cement to dry and then on to the revamped and remolded slotcave!! I was so excited to get this done and once it was finished I was real happy and ready to move on!! I have an 8' x13' "L" shaped table that I have always had 1/43 track on and I decided it was time to tear it all down and get with the 1/32 Carrera movement so I purchased the Carrera track and put up a layout that I really like!! I really like the flow of it(in both directions) and I'm pretty sure this will stay as it is and will be my very final plastic track layout!! Here are 2 pics that show the layout as it is and I have thrown down some scenery items just to get a feel of what I want!!! BUT...it is in a holding stage right now(I can work on that scenery stuff during the summer/fall or winter :lol: ) The pics also show my revamped slotcave with 3 walls all dry-walled and painted and everything back in place with a few newer items!!





Soooo, I decided that I wanted a routed oval track to start running my 1/32 & 1/24 cars on!! I had been ordering stuff from PG, SCC, Prof M and and others in anticipation that once I got it built I could start building cool a$$ chassis/cars like I see all over our site and hopefully participate in the proxies and races going on here!! I had built 1/43 scratch-built chassis' before I and I really liked to do that!! I had my family room available now so that is where I was going to build it!! It was pretty much empty so I started sometime in Jan. and removed the carpeting and padding and cleaned up the bare concrete floor and then layed down 2 coats of enamel floor paint and left it like that!! Next, I had to install some new lighting and went with 4' and 2' LED fixtures to brighten it up...what a difference from what I had and I added a dimmer for ambience :lol: !! Here are a few pics of the progression...all painted and new lighting!!





Now for the new 3 lane routed track...I was sooooooo excited to get started on this!! The pics go in progression from start to where I am now!! I went with kinda 2 separate tables and put them together!! I had to buy everything cut to size to fit in my Equinox except the MFD board which I swapped vehicles with my work buddy to get it home!! This was the first time I used OSB board and man does that stuff STINK until you get a coat of sealer/primer on it!! Once I had the tables all up and the MDF layed on top of it, I forgot it was on inch longer/wider than plywood sheets so I just put a 2x4 layer around the edge and all was good!! It is 4' x 16' and is painted with Behr #N520-6 Asphalt Gray. I asked a "Wise" man about the height of his track and went with the 4' height...I really like that and I will get stools to put out to sit on!! I layed 7/32" copper tape for now from Hobby Lobby and may sometime change it to SCC's braid w/tape backing!! I have the power up now with my 3 controller stations and an older power supply that won't go below 8 volts and fused @5A(not a problem)!! I have 3 corners lifted to 2" and 1 lifted to 1 1/4"...alittle banking and I like it!! The last 2 pics show I'm working on my catch walls and the plastic 6" gutter fencing from Frost King laying on the floor getting flattened out!! I've dropped 2 cars to the concrete floor so running them is on hold till I get the walls up!! So that's it and work is still in progress and I will continue to update as I go along!! No name for either plastic layout or routed layout has been picked yet although my Daughter came up with a good one but I need to think about it!! Feel free to ask questions and I hope you enjoy!! This is my 4th routed track I have done and by far went the best, especially dustless with my router/sweeper set up!! I give a lot of credit to Harry cause a lot of what I have put into my routed builds I have taken from his build write-ups and I'm vey thankful for that!!

Like I said the pics go in progression from start to where I'm at now:














A very old nut sheller with the tip bent worked perfect to drag around with sweeper and clean out the debris that collected in slot!!











Thanks for looking!!!

[HomeRacingWorld]

Well now, THIS is a nice mancave. You have the best of all world's here, the best plastic track in the hobby in one room and smooth lumber in the other.

Looks like you really did a lot of work, both personally and hobby related, to get where you are.

WELL DONE.

(Note to self, don't show photos of the old skunkworks anymore) :)

[Dodgefarmer]

Hey Bro, good to see movin forward.

Randy

[TuscoTodd]

That is one IMPRESSIVE update! WOW!!!
Very cool set ups!
:text-goodpost:

[midmoslts]

Looking good. Man do I wish I could take over the living room for slot car racing. Walls good, concrete floor bad. We did some significant damage to a few during the testing (couldn't wait to race) of my track. It's hard not to run cars once the track is hot, but it can be hard on them. Heck, it's hard to get back to working on the track after you get to the point that you can run laps. Nice looking man caves, keep up the good work.

[CJR]

Very cool! Seems like a good start to your newer beginning.

[Broman62]

[ourwayband]

Nice looking tracks and Man cave!!!

Rusty

[dreinecke]

WOW! You are not messing around!!! When does the rally stage get built in the bathroom?

Great looking place!

[Broman62]

Well, I started this over an hour ago and BAM the power went out!! :lol: :lol:

So, I got more done over the last couple days on my new wooden oval and I'm really excited about it!! I'm just about there except for a new timing system(which I will be asking questions in another thread) more signage and some kind of infield and a racing type skirt to go around the tables!!

Here's a few pics of my latest work:


It was beautiful outside Sat. so I was able to get out and get my catch fence spray painted. I used Krylon Premium Metallic "Sterling Silver"!! The catch fence is Frost King gutter guard 6" x 20' piece...perfect size for my oval!!


Here is a pic of the few inexpensive items I picked up at Hobby Lobby to use: 1/8" x 12" wooden dowels to use for the posts for the fence which I used the black magic marker to color/paint all 50 of them!! The Frost King fencing, the 75 round wooden balls with a 1/8" hole drilled thru them to set atop the wooden post once I cut them to the right height, 4 Wooden tea cups(painted gold) to use as speakers in the four corners(they really look the part) and the 9" x 12" x 1/8' thick white foam sheets with sticky back to attach to the inside of my walls to help absorb the blow when cars hit them(I've used this on all my layouts where I think cars will hit hard and it works!!) My walls are made from 32" x 40" x about 3/16" thick sheet of poster board that is attached to the sides of the MDF board with white thumbtacks(I've used this before and it holds up nicely with cars slamming into it)!!




Here are 2 pics of each end with the controller stations mounted and power supply mounted!!


Here, my lanes have all been painted. I used some inexpensive paint sticks I picked up at Michael's which worked out pretty good!!


Here is a close-up of the fencing with the wooden balls atop the posts...painted orange!! I added these for aesthetics and to cover the cut ends of the wooden dowels so I won't be scratching my arms reaching over the fence to retrieve cars!! I wove the dowels thru the top and bottom of the gutter guard and then had drilled #20 drill bit size holes along the side to put the dowels in and then I used black ty-raps to tighten it up in the middle!! I think it worked out good and looks the part!!

So there's the progress so far and once I get the rest finished up I will post the last pics!!

The cars are loving it and so am I so far and the one great thing about a wooden track is...is that when you start running yours cars on it, unlike plastic track with magnets that seem to make your cars run smooth, wood brings out all the faults with your cars running performance and you know which need slight work on and which need ALOT of work on!!!!

Again, thanks for looking!!

[HomeRacingWorld]

Oustanding job. Congrats on your new track.

I was going through my first braid job thread and was reading your questions. It amused me as here we are today looking at your finished track. You had a few setbacks, but you made it.

And yes, you are really going to start some tuning now. Just think how well they will go when you put them back on the plastic.

[nhdungeonracer]

Holy Moley Tamoley!!!

Mr Goo-Goo, when you set your mind to something, you sure get it done!!!

Nice job on both tracks!!!! :text-bravo:

[Broman62]

Thanks again guys for the great compliments!! From the way back beginning up till now, the great valuable info I receive here is always much appreciated!! :text-thankyouyellow: