Track Braiding

Slot Car Corner offers a complete track braiding system including:

Braid - This is high-quality, 1/4" wide tinned copper (or steel) braid (magnetic and non-magnetic) just like the braid used by commercial raceways.  This braid provides excellent electrical connectivity with very high "ampacity" (safe current carrying capacity) without the drawbacks of copper tape (e.g. limited ampacity, breakage, lifting, electrical connectivity issues).  Unlike the flimsy metal spools some of our competitors use, our braid is spooled on high-quality, heavy duty plastic spools.  These spools provide much better protection for the braid during shipment.

Two-sided Tape - This is special two-sided tape which is easy to install and provides a bond similar to contact cement for securing braid to your track (gains).  As you unroll the tape, the adhesive on one side is exposed which gets carefully pressed into the track "gain".  Once the tape has been installed in the track gain, a special protective backing is removed which exposes the adhesive on the other side of the tape (the side of the tape facing upward) the braid will be attached to.  The tape has none of the drawbacks associated with contact cement (toxic fumes, limited working time, mess).  Designed for use with our 1/4" braid, the tape is sold in 180' rolls.

Special Router Bit - This is a special high-quality, carbide router bit with a 1/8" pin in the exact center of the bit.  The center pin rides in the track slot which keeps the router bit perfectly centered - the result is both "gains" are the same width around the entire layout (even in the corners).  In contrast, using a router base with a 2 pin setup and a standard router bit will result in gains with different widths in the corners (one will be a little too narrow, the other a little too wide).

Finally, we don't just sell these items - we have actually used them on numerous tracks here in the northeast United States and Quebec.  We know from firsthand experience these products work very well and are confident they will for you too!  For more information about braiding a track using this system, please take a few minutes to review this illustrated how-to article.