Vitamin K builds a Track! (slowly)

[Vitamin K]

So, I've wanted some kind of Pinewood Derby track for some time now. Partially because I want something better to run our Troop races on, partially because I have some big ideas of running community event derbies, and maybe even some kind of local league when the kids are old enough to be out of the house (or at least out of my hair).

After FatSebastian put me onto a sale of some surplus Beta Craft aluminum track segments on ebay, I ordered 4 sets of 6 93" strips. They arrived yesterday, so it looks like I'm actually doing this.

Do to life being life, my free time is pretty slim, so I'll have to sneak time in to work on this when I can. Don't expect a lot in a hurry, but I will try to document things as I go.

The specs I have envisioned for the track are as follows:

- 42' track length
- 4 lanes
- Gravity start gate with electric opening
- Electric finish line system with place/time display
- "Circular" curve slope design (e.g. more in the vein of a Microwizard track than a Best Track).
- Extra-long stop section

I expect to mostly be following the "Challenger" track designs, save for the curved segment.

First order of business will be to fully unpack and inspect the track segments, so I'll post when that's done (with pictures!)

[Vitamin K]

Well, I dragged the boxes out to the living room during my lunch break today. (Yes, my wife is thrilled). Didn't get them all unpacked, but the ones I looked at look very good.

Here's a close up of the tracks.



And here's a picture of me testing the bendability. (It went right back to shape after I released it.)

[Vitamin K]

Well, I finally got around to doing a full inventory of the track segments. Three of the four boxes were in excellent shape, with new and unblemished segments.

One, however, had clearly been re-packed and the pieces had suffered damage at some point. The ends on one side of the tracks were dinged (one severely bent) and the tongue side of all of the tracks had dents.

Disappointing.





I don't think all is lost at this point. The good news is that the running surface of the dinged-up tracks still seems serviceable. Since the track itself is 6 segments long, as long as I put the damaged groove facing on the outside of the track (as opposed to locking into another section), there should be no actual effect on the running.

I've contacted the ebay seller, though, to see if they can help me out somehow.

[FatSebastian]

I've contacted the ebay seller, though, to see if they can help me out somehow

Curious how that turns out, considering that it seems like they depleted the remaining inventory and might lack replacements?

At the same time, these track segments were in production for many years, so there's bound to be pieces (used at least) that folks will eventually want to be rid of, so future spares might still be had should the need arise...

[Vitamin K]

I've contacted the ebay seller, though, to see if they can help me out somehow

Curious how that turns out, considering that it seems like they depleted the remaining inventory and might lack replacements?

At the same time, these track segments were in production for many years, so there's bound to be pieces (used at least) that folks will eventually want to be rid of, so future spares might still be had should the need arise...

Yeah, like I said, I can make these segments work, but I feel like I'm due some compensation for damaged goods, at least.

[Vitamin K]

Good news! The seller is sending out a replacement set of tracks to me!

They actually told me that I could go ahead and keep the damaged ones.

I guess technically if I could massage the damaged tracks into service, I could build another section of track to bring the whole thing up to 52 feet which is...frankly insane.

Another option could be a 5 lane track with the middle lane used for a camera car to give interesting perspective on the race, but...nah.

[Vitamin K]

Another option could be a 5 lane track with the middle lane used for a camera car to give interesting perspective on the race, but...nah.

Honestly, the more I think about this idea, the more I like it.

I mean, if I'm going through the trouble of DIY'ing a custom track, it sort of makes sense to add a feature that I wouldn't easily get elsewhere.

Having a dedicated camera car lane sounds like a pretty sweet value-add.

[FatSebastian]

Honestly, the more I think about this idea, the more I like it. I mean, if I'm going through the trouble of DIY'ing a custom track, it sort of makes sense to add a feature that I wouldn't easily get elsewhere.

+1

As mentioned over in the other thread, there is "something satisfying about engineering and building your own track, especially if you think you have specific needs that aren't quite met with any of the commercial offerings." A five-lane track (even if it you didn't always use the central lane for a video-chase car specifically) would be uniquely cool.

In fact, now it makes me wonder why aluminum track vendors don't offer a 5-lane option. When tracks with ~4" lanes were made of plywood, efficient use of 4'x8' sheets likely drove the number of lanes toward 3, 4, or 6, but that isn't a constraint anymore.

[Vitamin K]

Honestly, the more I think about this idea, the more I like it. I mean, if I'm going through the trouble of DIY'ing a custom track, it sort of makes sense to add a feature that I wouldn't easily get elsewhere.

+1

As mentioned over in the other thread, there is "something satisfying about engineering and building your own track, especially if you think you have specific needs that aren't quite met with any of the commercial offerings." A five-lane track (even if it you didn't always use the central lane for a video-chase car specifically) would be uniquely cool.

In fact, now it makes me wonder why aluminum track vendors don't offer a 5-lane option. When tracks with ~4" lanes were made of plywood, efficient use of 4'x8' sheets likely drove the number of lanes toward 3, 4, or 6, but that isn't a constraint anymore.

The track over at APR racing is a 5-lane BestTrack with a center lane that's not used because league racers don't like their cars running in "inside lanes" due to the "bad air."

Edit: It appears to be a custom build.

I always thought a 5th lane could be put to much better use than that!

[FatSebastian]

The track over at APR racing is a 5-lane BestTrack with a center lane that's not used

Ok, maybe not "uniquely cool"... but still cool!

Edit: It appears to be a custom build.

Just FYI, viewing posts on the boards of the Association of Pinewood Racers (APR) requires registration. But this recent Youtube video clearly shows the five-lane track and its MicroWizard K3 timer.

[exoray]

Another option could be a 5 lane track with the middle lane used for a camera car to give interesting perspective on the race, but...nah.

It would be a cool feature... I would probably build a custom 'train car' where the camera is mounted on a frontal car in front of all the racing cars facing them and using an attached 2nd car behind it with weight in excess of 5oz allowing it to still latch to the start gate and push it down the track, resulting in you being able to get a frontal view of the entire race... Since the camera car isn't bound by the rules, excess weight and even ball bearing wheels should allow it to stay in front of all the other race cars...

Not that I will probably ever actually complete it, but I have tossed up the idea of having a roller coaster style track mounted above the race track carrying a camera to get a similar front view camera view during the race... A middle lane would certainly be easier...

That all said, another option for the extra track sections would be to build an optional extended start area so you could do the tractor/trailer races... A good carbide blade on a slide miter or radial arm will make short work of shortening those aluminum tack sections if needed...

[Vitamin K]

Another option could be a 5 lane track with the middle lane used for a camera car to give interesting perspective on the race, but...nah.

It would be a cool feature... I would probably build a custom 'train car' where the camera is mounted on a frontal car in front of all the racing cars facing them and using an attached 2nd car behind it with weight in excess of 5oz allowing it to still latch to the start gate and push it down the track, resulting in you being able to get a frontal view of the entire race... Since the camera car isn't bound by the rules, excess weight and even ball bearing wheels should allow it to stay in front of all the other race cars...

Ooh, now that's a slick idea. I like that.

[Vitamin K]

Took some time to lay out the damaged tracks to see if I could still make them workable.

To flatten out the dents in the groove side of the track, I packed the groove with densely folded paper, put them between two pieces of 2x4 and banged away with a mallet. I wasn't able to get the groove perfectly smooth, but I got it smooth enough to where the pieces of track would mate with the tongue side of another piece.

The actual running surface of the track is almost completely unmarred, save for a few inches at the end of one lane. This isn't a problem, as it's just a small dent, and I"ll make sure that part is on the other side of the finish gate.

I'm pretty sold on the 5-lane track idea at this point. Laying out the pieces, a 5-lane track is 19" wide for the aluminum parts, so I'll have to see what that comes out to when I plan for the wooden structure.

I also need to figure out what I'm going to mount the first section of the track to, since that one will need to flex. Maybe 1/4" plywood or even 1/8" masonite? (with wooden crossbeam supports at the end and various locations along the length.

Here's a shot of 5 lanes of track laid out.

[FatSebastian]

I would probably build a custom 'train car' where the camera is mounted on a frontal car in front of all the racing cars facing them and using an attached 2nd car behind it with weight in excess of 5oz allowing it to still latch to the start gate and push it down the track

Why not mount a camera on a stiff boom ahead of a single (heavy) car staged normally? Too much vibration? Balance problems? Could you put the camera on the car pointing forward and maybe use a wide-angle mirror on a boom (think dental mirror) to capture the action in the other lanes? Lots of webcams have the option to flip the image, so a mirror image could be corrected. Just thinking out loud...

I have tossed up the idea of having a roller coaster style track mounted above the race track carrying a camera to get a similar front view camera view during the race...

If I had a need / desire to record heats from start to finish using some truss work above the racing surface, I'd consider mounting a stationary but rotatable camera above the finish line area that aims at starting gate, and starts rotating to pointing down at the finish line over the duration of race (~ 3 seconds) when the gate is triggered. It doesn't give a "driver's eye" view, but a helicopter or "bird's eye" spectator's view fixed on the cars, without having to translate the camera - just rotate.

I also need to figure out what I'm going to mount the first section of the track to, since that one will need to flex. Maybe 1/4" plywood or even 1/8" masonite? (with wooden crossbeam supports at the end and various locations along the length.

Have you considered just making another "ladder section" with less rigidity? For example, 1x lumber is stiffer when the longer dimension is vertical, but more flexible when rotated horizontal. There are also composite products like PVC trim that are thin, lightweight, and sometimes more flexible than wood (and although a little more expensive, it doesn't splinter and is maintenance free, and it wouldn't require tons of material if making a ladder shape).

[exoray]

Why not mount a camera on a stiff boom ahead of a single (heavy) car staged normally? Too much vibration? Balance problems? Could you put the camera on the car pointing forward and maybe use a wide-angle mirror on a boom (think dental mirror) to capture the action in the other lanes? Lots of webcams have the option to flip the image, so a mirror image could be corrected. Just thinking out loud...

A boom like that might work, I guess in my mind I see it bottoming out in the curve unless mounted pretty high, and then if mounted pretty high you might get a top heavy car is what I was thinking the dual car... You might also get a teeter-totter effect as you can only add so much weight to the car before it goes too fast and hurts the effect... One would have to experiment I guess, both are valid options to test...

If I had a need / desire to record heats from start to finish using some truss work above the racing surface, I'd consider mounting a stationary but rotatable camera above the finish line area that aims at starting gate, and starts rotating to pointing down at the finish line over the duration of race (~ 3 seconds) when the gate is triggered. It doesn't give a "driver's eye" view, but a helicopter or "bird's eye" spectator's view fixed on the cars, without having to translate the camera - just rotate.

I have tossed up the idea of an automated motion camera, but that just adds more variables that can go wrong and cameras have been the bane of my races thus far

For my next race I will likely be installing multiple light beam sensors across the track, and have them trigger camera changes from 4 different fixed cameras as the lead car breaks the beams... I had 4 cameras for my last race and they were supposed to be gridded on the projector into 4 quadrants but I had computer/camera issues and no time to resolve them before the race start, so I just went with a single finish line camera and a slow motion replay between heats...