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6/15/06
Hanging Track
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By Jeff Harker
THE CONCEPT

This project really needs a bit of background. If you're not interested in this, just skip ahead. I'll make sure to flag the actual project well.

I'm writing this in December 2003. I've only been back into the slot game since February. Here's how that happened.

One of the guys I work with went to a holiday party in January. His friend received a 1/32 scale race set from his mother-in-law for Christmas. In my mind, this was the highlight of the party. My co-worker never had slot cars as a kid but he had a blast racing them at the party. So much so that he talked about it a number of times afterward.

That got me to thinkin'. I had Aurora HO stuff "back in the day". It would be fun to do that again. Do they still exist? Where do you get them? How much? How big? My first bit of research was courtesy of the World Wide Web. I checked eBay and was extremely surprised at the number of PAGES of HO slot stuff for sale. A Google search returned more info. Okay...the stuff is out there. Do I have room? What will the TM say? (TM is Track Manager. Translation - significant other. It took me 2 months to figure this out.) Obviously, the green light was given.

I 'won' some stuff on Ebay and purchased the Tomy International Set from Gregg Braun at www.hoslotcarracing.com. This site is one of my favorites for slot car info. Obviously, HO World is the king. I built the Tuck-away set-up and was quite happy with that for a while. For those unfamiliar, you build a folding table from a solid core door and banquet table legs and install the track on top. Gregg has layouts galore on his site and a few are specifically designed to fit on a 36" x 80" door.

While the track was table-size it was moved around the basement quite a bit. It was enormous fun. I invited people over to race and we had a ball. I raced alone and had a ball. Then I raced against others outside my safe haven...and got my butt kicked. But only on the straights. My cars handled great but I had NO horsepower. I needed a longer track to improve and test my cars. Now I had a space problem. I needed to squeeze more space out of my basement for my track. It had to be longer. Where? How? I figured I could make it about four feet longer. That would be better, not great, but better. However, I would no longer be able to move it about the basement, too heavy and too long. Now what? The TM wanted it out of the way. I needed it to be usable. I built the extension and worked on the space problem. The extra track length allowed me to be a bit more competitive at my next event. Success of a sort but the table was still in the way.

THE SOLUTION

I struck upon the idea of hanging the track from the wall on hinges. And in my case it had to be suspended over a sofa. When the track was being used (most of the time) it would hang down. For non-slot related parties (According to the TM there is such a thing.) it can be tilted up and lie flat against the wall. Good plan. Now to do it.

Measuring the Space

Before you turn a screw you must make sure there is enough space for the table to tilt up along the wall.

1.Measure the widest part of the table. In my case that was 48 inches.

2.Measure your total room height. My basement is 82 inches high from floor to joist.

3.Determine the starting height of your table. Most tables are 28 - 30 inches from the floor. Your slot table could be a bit lower to make reaching across to fix deslots easier. Remember that my table had to clear a sofa. Said sofa is 33 inches high. Close but just enough room.

4.Now measure the height of your track from the bottom of the table to the highest point on the track. Mine was 5 inches. The highest point was the timing tower. This sets the distance that the back edge of the table must be from the wall and determines the necessary strength and number of the supports. Once these measurements were taken I built a sample using scraps just to make sure everything worked. The old adage “Measure twice and cut once.” was written with me in mind and I still screw up.

Determining Support

My table is just over 10 feet long. I chose to use 4 supports along the back wall and 3 legs in the front. I used no actual science since I’m not really a carpenter. The four back supports felt right. The three front legs are all that would fit. My table is a fat ‘L’ shape varying in width from 36” to 48”. The sofa is 40 inches deep so one end of the table only has a front leg in the corner. (These were originally going to be removable or foldable. At the moment they are screwed on with ‘L’ brackets but that may change.) This is the table in the down position.

The most important aspect of this project is making sure the supports are firmly and properly anchored. My slot table is in my basement the walls of which are built with cinder block. Each support is made up of two 2 x 4 boards sandwiched together. The board against the wall is anchored to the block wall with 2 3/4” concrete screws. The outer board is screwed to the inner with 3” deck screws. Each support has a 2 x 6 shelf on top with angled supports cut from the same 2 x 6. A standard 4” door hinge is mounted to the top. It looks like this.

I made sure to measure where the screws for the inner board went so that I wasn't trying to screw into the same place with the outer board. I know that may seem obvious to most but I would hate to not mention it for some. Which brings up another point. Use screws, they hold better than nails for the pulling load of this project. As an added bonus screws allow you to remove or reposition parts as you go. The hinges are bolted through the table and supports. This eliminates the possibility of a screw pulling free. This would be more likely to happen when the table is folded up than when open.

Your track MUST be fastened to the table. Remember you are going to have to fold the table up sooner or later and you don't want your finally perfect layout to move.

All of your wiring must be fastened securely also. Dangling wires are never good. They are definitely dangerous and they don't look professional. Dress up the bottom as much as the top. Show off a little. By dressing up the bottom you are eliminating the temptation for someone to pull on the wires. And the TM will approve of the nicer look when the table is folded. Finally, this is the table in the up position. (My bottom is not yet properly dressed.)

Removal/replacement for racing

I used door hinges instead of a piano hinge so that the table could be removed if I ever get the urge to host a serious event. The rear space would be used for marshal positions. It will take at least three people to disconnect and replace the table. I may never have the space for the number of racers present at a big event but at least the door hinges give me the option.

The only other item would be to make sure to secure the table in the upright position. My table weighs at least 200 pounds. I would hate to have it come crashing down. A strong hook and eye system will work in most situations.