Thank you everyone for your comments and likes. Mike worked hard on this slot car track and was very proud of it. I am his wife and I wanted to let those who have asked questions about the build know that Mike passed away almost 16 months ago...I'm so glad he made these videos. Watching them is like having him here again ❤
Mike did an outstanding job on this track. My Godfather was Fred Rannalli and he had his own shop in Orange County. Your table is as nice as his was. RIP Mike.
My family (kids 8,9,10, and 12) just "discovered" slot car racing. The joy that this brings the whole family (including my beautiful wife, whom I will hear off in the room alone practicing her racing at times) is wonderful. The family is just drawn to our Carrera track, daily. So, I looked on like at what pro-level racing looks like and I found Mike Whitley. Watching these videos, I see a true craftsman of vision and integrity in his craft. That is even more valuable than a quick watch on some slot car action. Glad to have found Mr. Whitley and his valuable expression of man's pursuits.
As Im building out a Carrera track in my basement (a mere 16‘ x 8‘ layout), I can really appreciate the planning and work that went into this. Respect.
Very nice job! The best track build video I’ve seen so far. I feel like the sport is picking up steam again. I know my dad raced these a lot from early 80’s to early 90’s then I was into it in the early 2000’s now my kids are coming of age and I think they would enjoy it too. Thanks again for the great videos.
You're a gifted man Mike! Great design and even better execution in building an interesting, challenging and aesthetically pleasing track. Whole family involved too! Those grandchildren have happy memories for life. Thanks for your generosity in sharing your labor of love. God bless.
I really enjoyed your video! A true labor of love if you will. That's a stunning looking track, great layout and I love that you put in a long straight where the cars can build some speed. Well done!
awesome build! my father build one back in the 90's pretty much same design exact a lot bigger an pure flat track 10 lanes 2 outer lanes were not used as tghe wall was 2 close for racing.. those were the days!
greetings from Australia mate ... very nice ... old school work ethic ... like my dad said a long time ago ..if a jobs worth doing its worth doing right ..great job sir
That was such an awesome video series. We don't have the room, so we just have Scalextric tracks set up, but one day I'd love to have this. Such an awesome job man.
I know why you do it, I have grandkids too.. Such a nice layout and safe, no sharp edges for excited drivers to get caught on. Could you please explain the braid install. Thank you and have fun with those beautiful children.
I added 1" to the lower curves. where they are 3' 4" Iayed them out at 3' 5". after the relief cuts on the back side I then drew it in 1". that have me the desired bank I wanted. the big bank at the end of the straightaway has more bend therefore I had to make it more radious. I drew them out on my drawing board first and made changes till I got it like I wanted it. Does this answer your question?
People have asked me what power supply I am using. I started with a cheap 12 volt constant power converter but the cars were too fasy for the kids and the controls would over heat so I swapped it out for a variable voltage DC power supply. A Volteq HY1520EX. Works great. We usually set it at 6.5 volts and the cars are plenty fast. They will still fly off the track if you just hold it wide open so spme driving skills are required. Best thing is the controllers dont burn up from getting too hot.
Very nice work,sir! It's plain to see you don't do things in half measures.Excellent stuff! I hope the kids appreciate the work you put into making that.-Doh! What am I thinking? They'll be too busy having fun.
Really enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to post. Did you cover the slots when you painted the track - or how did you keep paint from filling in the slots? Thanks again!
Fascinating....truly inspirational. I missed the part (in part 2 im assuming) where you actually banked the wood, I saw the cuts you made but I could watch an entire video on just the bending/arcing of the wood. and the laying of the wire tape or whatever, and the wiring and power supply details, I am new to large scale racing, just starting and im eating all this up. GREAT job Mike.....this is truly a wonderful gift to yourself and your family, friends, etc.....your lucky you don't live near me or I promise you, you would need a restraining order!!!....subbed you..
You've done a great job.If you're interested I've got some simple ideas for a basic lap counter timer.Also I really like the copper loops,they look a lot safer than studs like most tracks and save a bit of space.
Hi. Very Nice build! Could you tell me what do you use to prep track. I know a lot of home tracks are using silicone and urethane. No justice for wing cars I’m sure using them for speed. Thanks.
This is a work of art. I wonder how you calculated the size and radiuses of the banked curves as they get smaller when you bank them. This also effects the fitment of the skirt in relation to the base-shape
Hi Mike followed your video great work wonder if you could give me how long your track is and how wide in the centre and at the end couldn’t really get the dimensions off the drawings much appreciate it
WOW! very nice. I could never do anything like that. I do have a 4-lane 1/43 scale track at my house but i used artin and childford track. This is the nicest track out there. Well done. you can see my track i built if you search rcplanetim slotcar. its nothing like yours though. I love all 3 of your build videos. very nice job on the cars too!!
Sir, I don't mean to come off rude by asking but can you ball park approx how much this cost to build? I'm getting too old to be dragging my knees around a motorcycle road race track but I'll need something to race in my geezer years. This has always been something tha fascinated me since I was just a kid. I'm still just a kid according to the wife. You would think by 57 she wouldn't think that. Lol!!! Very very nice track you built Sir.
KoolSolutions ZX12R I have around $4,000.00 in it. I get a little carried away with perfection so you could probably get by with less if you don’t do all the extra trim
I was very interested in how you planned the lane routing in the bank? Did bending cause where the guides go change in width or depth ? A section on gear like power supply brake wiring..etc would make a great follow up
In video 1 if you look at the model on the drawing board you will see where I made a scale drawing and cut outs of the corners. I had to make several before I got the banks like I wanted them. Once I had the turns like I wanted I used that radios and cut them out of the MDF. Routed the slots and cut the relief cuts on the back side. In one of the videos you will see where I used straps to draw the turn pieces to the desired angle and so they would hook up with the strength prices
Very nicely done! Good video too. What if anything would you do differently having gained experience? Also how many places do you feed power to each lane?
Xhech out Vidio #2 WHERE I am routing the radius pieces. I have a piece of 1/8" thick plywood I have mounted my router to. I have drilled holes in the piece of plywood at a point where the slots need to be. Once one la e is routed,I move the nail in the piece of plywood to the next radius and rout the next lane. So there are four holes in the piece of plywood the proper distance from the pivot point to each lane. I have also made a router bit with a 1/8" piece of steel rod epoxied in the end of it to cut the places for the beaded wire. I used it after I made the four initial slots with the 1/8" router bit. Does this answer your question?
Thank you , the paint products i used are The Epoxy primes AWLGRIP 545 primer D8001White base. The finish coat is PPG Performance Commercial Coatings ALK200 Acrilic Enamel. It is catilized.
Mr. Whitley, I recently came across RU-vid videos showing various slot car tracks. Did you by chance compare the cost of buy tracks vs making your own. As a kid, I remember building my cars and racing at a local center. I'm thinking of getting back in to the hobby. Great videos by the way.
Thank you Tony. I enjoy building things and this track is no exception. This is my third slot car tack and I learn something each time I build one. There is a commercial track in a shopping center near me but it is plastic peace. Makes a lot of noise, no banked turns and the peaces are cracking. Probably was easier and cheaper for me.
Nice job sir. Had a dream about building a slot car track last night. May I ask how long it took to build this? You have the exact same router as me, an oldie but goodie. What diameter bit did you use to make the recess for the wire strips? Did you do both at the same time, or one side and then the other? Does one transformer handle all four lanes?
Thank you for the complement. I have about 500 hours in building this track. I don't get in a hurry and a lot of time was figuring out what to do next. Like I said in the video " It didn't come with any instructions". LOL For the router bits, First I used a 1/8'' to make the slots. Then I took a 11/16" carbide tipped dado bit, chucked it up in my metal lathe and drilled a 1/8" hole in the end of it. Then I glued with epoxy a piece of 1/8" tempered rod in the hole. This was my guide that road in the slot. I set it at a depth that equaled the thickness of the wire braid plus the thickness of the 3M VHB tape. (about 1/32" ) This bit was used to make the groove on each side of the slot for the braid. The Power converter I purchased on Amazon. Was only $60.00 and handles all four lanes with no problem.
My track took an uncountable amount of hours. Mine is a slotcar track but does not work with slotcars. I use radio controlled cars with guides on, and more elaborate slots cut in (which takes some engineering in some cases) with the result of lane changing. A couple of years ago I replaced the radio gear with Micro Arduinos and Bluetooth modules, so now I have programmable ghost cars to race against. AI Autonomous Vehicles in 32 scale :) Also no braids are required because cars are self powered. Introduced a pit lane scenario. The 4.2V AAA rechargables are brilliant!
Dean,if you are interested in building one there is a forum that one of the pro builders has a ton of great info and he's always willing to help. its called slotblog dot net and there's also a lot of great info on the Old weird Herald site too.
Sounds just like a MAGracing track setup. Very Nice. How did you find the build? I'm looking to build one as well but wasn't sure where to start. Do you have any posts online where I could see your build?
Great Track and solid build Mike! I am getting a plan together to build a track for my family and friends as well. I will definitely be watching your video a few times to gain some nuggets of truth. BTW, I cant remember if you mentioned it, but what power supply are you using?
I purchased a power converter from Amazon. I am trying to find more information from Amazon but written on it is Nidec Ultraflo Compact Power 1200 Says 12 volt power supply 75 amps/600 watts at 110 volts. it only cost $60..00 and works great.. Consent power to all lanes.
Thanks Bill, not really sure what you are asking for but if you mean the plans I drew to scale to build it by I will be glad to send you a copy of my drawing. Just send me an Email to speedcraftboats@bellsouth.net.
