[Kevan]

I don't have a lathe...but I have a drill and a dremel...

I cut spacers with a razor saw then square the ends by pushing the spacer onto an axle with an axle stopper so the spacer sticks past the end of the axle then run the axle in a drill whilst cleaning the end of the spacer with a diamond cutting disc in a dremel.

I've made axle spacers down to 1mm long 

[KensRedZed]

Kevan,

I commend you for your skills.

However. The hand is never as accurate as a lathe. It's just not possible to make the ends parallel. Bearings are too fussy to take a chance.

Looking at the last pic. To get the mesh spot on. There are 2-spacers .010" thick on the right side of the crown. There's a .005" spacer on the left side. You'll have a lot of trouble making those. You're better off going to the slot car store. Might as well pick up a few at .050" while you're there. They aren't expensive. Saves a lot of time.

[chrisguyw]

One last detail. Take the newly installed braid and push it backwards in the guide to spread the braid a bit. It helps to make full contact to the power rails.


Good luck with your braids!

Cheers,
Ken

Ken, et al,........you may want to consider not opening the weave in your braid(s) by pushing the braid backwards............opening the weave makes the braid much more susceptible to picking up and trapping bits of dirt/tire debris etc., which will considerably reduce conductivity........and, the open weave significantly reduces the life of the braid. Additionally with an open weave, the individual strands of wire touching the track will not transfer the power (particularly the current) as well as a tight weave. All of the better racers I have known/met over the years do not "open" their braids.........keep them adjusted properly, and clean them frequently, and you will have zero issues..........poor braid is the most frequent issue I see on cars brought to the shop, in proxies, and at the club level.

As far as spacers, while making your own is certainly an option, if you are looking for the best, look for spacers made by Slick 7,.......these are spacers used by all the high end commercial track guys, and are equally at home on 1/32 plastic cars. They are finished both sides, are extremely accurate, and come in  .005, .010, .015, .024, .050, and  .100
widths. The .005's are a godsend for using between axle bushings/Spurs.......they are also no more costly than those from the toy car manufacturers.
They are also aluminum (in the wider widths),..considerably lighter than brass.

Cheers
Chris Walker

[Kevan]

Kevan,

I commend you for your skills.

However. The hand is never as accurate as a lathe. It's just not possible to make the ends parallel. Bearings are too fussy to take a chance.

Brass is soft, high spots wear and we're talking about an area on the cars where you need a little clearance anyway, you never set the axle with zero side to side movement.

[KensRedZed]

Kevan,

I commend you for your skills.

However. The hand is never as accurate as a lathe. It's just not possible to make the ends parallel. Bearings are too fussy to take a chance.

Brass is soft, high spots wear and we're talking about an area on the cars where you need a little clearance anyway, you never set the axle with zero side to side movement.

Kevan,

We're on the same team.

High spots don't wear when you use roller bearings. High spots prematurely wear out the bearing races.

I never said to set an axle with zero side to side clearance. So I'm not sure where you're trying to go with this?

Let's please have a beer over this instead? 

Chris Walker. I'm always thankful for your input. Slick 7 axle spacers for accuracy. Got it!

Cheers,
Ken

[Kevan]

I was merely highlighting the fact you don't need to work to microns for something basic like an axle spacer.

I've seen a club member saw off a length of brass tube and put it straight on the axle without deburring...and he still wins races 

...beer is good, Guinness or a dark Bitter  

[Mr.M]

Getting back to the original subject of the thread  , I see Scalextric and eyelets mentioned, so I am assuming we are talking about fairly early models - 70s/80s perhaps. One problem I have seen on those is when Easyfit guides were used as replacements for the originals. For some reason, possibly lazy product development, the Easyfit guide has two holes that look like they are for eyelets. But they aren't really deep enough to keep the eyelet in place during use.

Apologies if it is the wire coming out of the eyelet that is your issue, that would be something else entirely, but thought it worth mentioning.

[964rh]

Thanks Mr M

It is the older cars I'm having problems with but i do have some easyfit guides on some cars that I've tried to get eyelets in that need swapping to the older style.

Just waiting for my grub screws to show up and I can make a start on retro fitting to everything