Tips from Tom (GIDDYUP) 1-20-08

Yeah - take your time on the planning...I probably spent 4-6 weeks mulling over Mugello, you know how it is - you think ou have something but after a few days you think of some tweaks and one thing leads to another....But if you're thinking about the longer straight already...you'll probably be disappointed if you don't do it ;O)

Re: the elevations, I used 3/8" MDF for both tracks, once I had routed and cut out the road bed with a jig saw, flipped them over and routed width wise the undercuts...the more you do/closer spacing each cut is, the better the flex...but the weaker the MDF... had a snap on my first track (downhill portion from the mountain) which was a lesson in knowing the boundaries of flex. Happened again on Mugello - was plain careless this time. I followed Luf's page on how to flex...Flexing MDF

Getting he flex and doing the undercutting can be very time consuming. On Tangelwood was very cautious about lining up every undercut and used a jog/brace. On Mugello, strapped down the mdf and did freehand...undercuts were perfectly straight, but straight enough .... and went waaaay faster and flexes good enough.

Caution though, if you are using 3/8" MDF, you'll probably route your slots a hair over 1/4" to allow for all depths/types of guides, so when you flip over for undercutting, recommend you set the router bit depth a little less than 1/4"...if you do the math, you'll see 2/8+ plus 2/8 is > 3/8" = lotsa flex but really weak MDF...so just be careful when you lug a piece around or even flip it over. Also, I think Luf touches on this, start at the top of the elevation then slowly tack it down and work your way to teh bottom. On Tanglewood, took me 3 days of slowly putting pressure on it to get the mtn descent.

Re: bridging 2 pieces, I used a 2x4 or something like and lines it up underneath the joint, brought both track pieces together, screwed both down, actually used wood glue as well, then puttied the joint - sanded, and topped off the joint again with some wood putty (it usuallu shrinks a bit after drying depending on gap, sanded. I didn't route to each edge of the pieces, I left like 5-6" on either so I could route a smooth joint after the pieces were brought together.

Re: driver stations....I used Steve's, in my mind, I couldn't have done a better job and the difference in parts on what it would've cost me...I think it was one of the smartest decisions I've made.