Tools

[mtrcyclu]

Hi all
Pretty new to this hobby have decided to go scalextric analog route. Looking for recommendations on tools needed for cars and track. Looking for advice on basic tools to the advanced ones. Would like to start collecting tools to take cars apart, remove and reinstall motors, tires ,axles etc. Also wondering if there are any recommendations on track maintenance specific tools. For things like screw drivers and hex keys, sizes would be good to know as well. Thanks in advance and I look for to your recommendations

Tom

[Mickey thumbs]

The Slot Car Corner website has a tools section with the commonly used tools for 1/32 scale cars. Very good experiences with them in my 6 months back in the hobby after a long hiatus.

[chappyman66]

Dremel and bits.
Xacto or hobby knife set.....avoid the plastic collet ones, they break.
A couple sets of small screwdrivers, sometimes called jeweler screwdrivers.
A good set of diamond covered files (small ones).
A good soldering station. You can get by with cheap ones for awhile, but a good one will be a decent investment.
Emery boards (detail sanding).
A variable power supply for breaking in motors (old train power supplies are great).

Slot Car Corner has good specialty tools....set up blocks, hex wrenches for gears and wheels, pinion gear pullers and pushers, etc.

[slothead]

I agree with the recommendation to check out Slot Car Corner as a resource for all sorts of items. In addition to what's been mentioned get a good pair of needle nose pliers, and both a pinion gear puller and press. Get some spare pinion gears while you're at it. Plastic pinion gears on motor shafts without splines can start slipping and if you don't have any spares on hand the car's useless till you get some.

Also, as stated above a set of small files is a blessing. Never had any till I saw a pack of 5 at our local (long since closed) Radio Shack. I've gotten more use from them than I thought possible.

And some fine sandpaper - 600, 800, 1000 grit. Lighter fluid for cleaning tires. Something to keep your tools in so they aren't strewn all over the place like mine are.

Welcome and have fun!

[dw5555]

And once you've spent all your money on the basic tools save up for a must have Tire Truer.
Dave

[Giddyup]

[bigman]

[waaytoomuchintothis]

By buying specific tools from SCC, you will have the easiest track toward what you want to end up with. As the prices for quality tools have gone crazy, the cheapo junky tools have become more tempting, but take my word for it, take your time and acquire quality tools to start with, even if its one at a time. Also, once you get the feel for these tools, get sets for your bench and use the singles you started with for your traveling box. Its just smarter all around.

By the way, we all started with sandpaper on a block for tire and wheel truing. Mechanical truers (yes, Tire Razor all the way, don't even bother looking elsewhere), eliminate the learning curve involved in static truing which can take months to get just right. I used a block with sandpaper for over 40 years in three scales, and as tire compounds changed for the better, I was less and less effective. I searched for years for a truer that wasn't ripoff expensive, and I even helped one outfit with design (sort of), but I bought Jon's Tire Razor soon after he came up with it. Never regretted it in the least.

I also am religious about never letting any kind of chemical get near my tires. Clean your tires with masking tape and keep racing. Get a wide roll (so both rear tires can be cleaned at the same time), of blue tape, pull about five inches of it, then lay it backwards on the roll without detaching it. Fold under the last inch to stick to the roll, and you have an excellent tire cleaner. Nothing your tires pick up on a track can't be dealt with by just rolling the tires on the exposed tape adhesive. Good luck!