4x8 wooden track $20
 

I feel so dirty. I was making all those cardboard plans, and I only made 4 pieces, one of which my dogs ate. I've never been able to use that excuse before, and honestly, I never believed it either. But my dogs ate my cardboard 180° curve. Oh well. Anyway, I haven't deserted the cardboard, but I had a different idea, and it's cheap and more durable.

So, I bought 4 sheets of 1/8" hardboard at Home Depot. It's under $2 for a 2' x 4' sheet.

And I had some 1/2" plywood, actually, I had 20" x 96" of it, but that would cost less than $10, so we'll just call it $10.

And, I bought the cheapest can of Flat Black spray paint I could find. ($2)

That's $20 for materials. I happen to have all the tools I needed.

I drew a plan, and borrowed a lot of ideas from other people. Here's a pic of the 4 sections: (to be continued)

Having a radial arm saw and a jig saw are big helps, but you can get by without. I used brads from a staple gun to hold down the plywood. I attached them from underneath.

I'd post more details about what exactly I did, but instead, the pics speak a thousand words.

Here are the 4 pieces lined up.

There are a few things I need to now. One is to cut a few more pieces (you may see where I just put curved scraps to make turns, I plan to cut some better one piece solutions for these. Then, I want to hinge the pieces so that the whole track folds down to 2' x 4' x 4.5" perfect for storing or moving.

And of course, I'll need to paint it to make it pretty.

I wanted to show y'all unfinished pics because it's easier to see how it's done. I'll post more as I progress.

And lastly I want to thank all the people who have posted their tracks. It's been an inspiration.

Here's what it looks like all folded up. It's pretty small this way.

To make the track folding, you need to invest in some hinges. I want to add some latches like hasps or something to lock it shut, and maybe a suitcase handle or something. With this extra hardware, the cost about doubles to $40. The hinges cost about $10, and I'm guessing that handles and latches will cost another $10. It's not a necessary expense, but it will make it more portable. Feet might also be good buy too. That'll proabably add another $10. It will make it a little more friendly to hardwood floors. I don't think it'll scratch them as it is, but for the minimal expense of feet, I think I'll go get some.

And here's what it looks like in "mid-fold" in case there was any confusion.

I am debating about banking those corners. The 1/8" hardboard is quite flexible, and I could easily get a 1" bank and add a guardrail without hindering its ability to fold. Although, you get some great drift at speed on the flat black spray paint, so I might leave it flat. Oddly enough, it's still quite grippy though driftable. It's a great driving surface.

Well, either way, the final step will be painting it so it doesn't look plywood.

Awesome track. I might make one of those. My mom is a Wood Shop teacher so she should be able to helpt me. We have all kinds of power saws here so hopefully I can make one

-john
awesome job.. have you run cars on the track yet? if so. do the cars run easily over the seams between the sections? I am mid construction on a 4x8 track and I to am looking about the fourms for inspiration. looking forward to your final product.

john, nice work. i really dig the "swiss army knife" quality. :) how much does the whole thing weigh? and tell us about your zz controller mod. almost looks like wire nuts.

Well, the whole thing weighs about... hmm. I don't know. Maybe 20-30 lbs, I'm not sure. I suck at guessing weight, and I don't have a scale. I haven't brought it up from the basement yet, when I do, I'll let you know more. I put some paint on last night. I used paint that I had lying around, so my color choice was limited, but that'll be OK. I'm trying to keep the cost down.

As for the seams, ZZs usually go right over the seams as if they weren't there. Before I added the hinges I drove it a lot. If there was a gap you'd notice it, but it had to be about a cm wide for you to see any difference, otherwise you'd just hear a little click sound as the car went over it. The only time I get an effect is when I hit a seam going around a sharp curve at speed. It can get the car to hop (like a real car would) but it's not the end of the world, and it doens't happen every time. It just makes that turn a little wider than usual.

Oh, and the controller mod is wire nuts! I posted about that here. There are some other good mods in that thread from other people as well.

Thanks for the feed back!

Very nice track, I've been building a folding track too but it folds up to make 2 boxes so that you can have ramps and scenary. I'll have to get the camera out and post some pics.

that is an awsome idea...i have been wanting to build a track but my dad wont let me unless it is small.. but if i can fold it up i could store it a lot easyer.

you don't car if i use that idea do you....lol

Some pics of my track so far, yet to finish details. http://uk.photos.yahoo.com/andrewslegion

link, steal away! I posted how I did it so people could take ideas if they wanted to. I took... I mean... borrowed a few ideas when I made it too.

Legion: WOW! that's one great track! I see the piano hinge on the long side, so I assume that's where it folds. Very nice indeed. I especially like how you've engineered stiffeners to hold the track rigid into the track design. I'm assuming that it's 4x8 feet. I have a bunch of questions for you.

How wide are the lanes? Have you test driven it yet? How do the cars handle the climbs? For that matter, what motor are you using to negotiate all those curves? It looks like you are using thin strips of wood for gaurd rails, is that right? I was going to rip a 2x4 real thin... like 2x.0625... to wrap around the corners if I bank them. Is that what you did? Is it balsa?

Thanks john, it's not finished yet. Yes it's 4x8 foot, it's in two 4x4 foot sections which fold to give you two 2x4 foot 'boxes'. The sides are just under 2 inches high, the ramps leading up to them are 12 inches long (apart from the 'fly over') and the ramps down are 6 inches. The guard rails are micro scalectrix rails.

I'm using 1.6 motors in the cars which handle the slopes with ease and are plenty fast enough for a technical track like this. The lanes are about 6 inches wide at the moment which is fine for most of the track but the chicane section is going to be altered to 8 inches or more (I originally thought of making this section slippy so you would have to drift around)

I've had a few test runs and apart from a few small alterations that are now in the pipe line it is fine (difficult but thats what I wanted as I have some guide rails I use to make easier tracks). When it's finished I'll get some decent pics and post them. Sorry for such a long reply:o , if you want to know anythig else just ask.:)

I wish I'd seen your track before I started this one I'd have used some of your ideas, oh well maybe on the next one:D

Wow, thats a great idea. My 4x8 track takes up too much space in the garage, I wish I had thought if that sooner. Time for a new project!