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I have a 55' routed mdf road course track that up to now has had copper tape to transmit the power to the cars. It has worked well except at the season changes when it expands and contracts causing splits and current breaks. In the 4 years I have owned it, it has been retaped completely once and as of now it has multiple patches. This spring I intend to have grooves routed so that copper braid can be installed. SCC has both 3/16" and 1/4" braid. My track is only wide enough for 1/32 cars so I am wondering which width braid will be best for those cars. The price is a little more for the 1/4" braid but not enough to be a deciding factor. But SCC doesn't have the router bit for the 3/16" braid, and I'm wondering if the wider bit can be used with the 3/16" braid. I'm thinking of using the narrower braid since the corner radii are the same as scalextric sport R3 and R4 track sections. I'd like some feedback on this subject from someone who is familiar with using braid on a home track.

Hi Bob,

I would use the 1/4" braid if it is 1/4" wide. I've bought heavy duty 1/4" braid that is actually 5/16" wide which is no problem except when the recess is only 3/4" wide the braid is so close to the slot that in tight turns a fast, heavy car will roll the edge of the braid.

Also, don't route your recess to deep. You want the braid to finish out within a few thousands of an inch below the track surface. Some guys will route the recess so deep the braid is down there 40 thousands and then you have to shim the guide down to get good contact and I've seen deep recesses snap off guide flags on fast tracks routinely. The guide is basically locked into the recess and when you spin out the guide can't get out and the shaft snaps off.

I would also use 3M transfer tape to hold the braid down. It's clean, easy and holds up extremely well. You can get it from Slot Car Corner. It comes in rolls 1/4" x 60 yards.

Do some testing on a scrap piece of wood to set the depth of the recess you want to allow for the thickness of the transfer tape and the braid.

I would recommend going with 1/4" as well. When SCC initially brought in the 3/16" braid, it was aimed at the 1/43 scale cars.
You just never know what you'll run in the future, but going with 1/4" will allow you to run H&R chassis cars as well.

Butch suggest you use tape to secure the braid. I agree with him on that, but having braided a few tracks in the past laying the tape 1st then braid, I highly recommend getting the pre-taped braid. Trust me when I say it's a pain to lay the tape by itself around corners. Having the tape on the braid and laying the braid down that way is SOOOOO much easier. Just remember to not pull it tight as you go around corners.

Thanks for the guidance. I'll go with the 1/4" braid but the pretaped braid costs twice as much so I think we will use contact cement, which I have already purchased and do a little more work at this end.

Good Luck Bob, looking forward to see how it turns out, as i may be doing the same thing in the future.
Best Regards
Bob

The first braided Shoreline Model Raceways tracks used contact cement to stick down the braid, but eventually we switched over using the 3M double sided tape and we have been pleased with that. You do not have to buy braid with the tape already applied to it, you can buy the tape as a separate item from Slot Car Corner. If you must use contact cement be aware that it is nasty stuff and that using it is at least a two man operation. It is best to work outside, if you have to work inside wear a chemical vapor mask, an ordinary dust mask would offer no protection. The Shoreline Gypsy track used contact cement and there is an article on building that here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzLR42 ... sp=sharing
It is much easier for one person to lay down braid using the 3M tape. The braid must be washed in a solvent before use and the gains have to be painted.
There is some good info on track braiding here: https://www.slotcarcorner.com/Reference ... rview-c86/

The materials have been ordered and hopefully by the end of this weekend we will have gotten a good start on the track braid.