Straight Track

Build Your Own Straight Track

I've used both 1/2" thick poplar and pine both of which can be picked up at Home Depot or Lowes. I think poplar looks more like commercially produced track. Poplar has a lighter color and is more consistently colored (growth rings are less noticeable) than pine but pine is less expensive and still looks pretty nice. Start by marking the width of "real" track.

Real track is slightly thinner than 1/2" but it's close enough for me. My kids play with trains on carpet as opposed to a table or other hard surface. That means a 1/32" difference is unnoticeable. If your kids play on a hard surface this might be a bigger issue but I believe simply routing the track channels slightly deeper would solve the problem since train wheels contact the track at the bottom of the channels and not on top of the track.

Use a table saw to cut long strips of track. I use a band saw to cut the long strips down to my desired length.

A belt sander is ideal for smoothing off any rough edges left behind from the table saw.

Router bits built specifically for making wooden track can be purchased. See this website for links to several manufactures. These bits cost $20-$40 each. While these bits would be great, you can achieve the same end result with less expensive, ordinary bits. I use three common bits:(Left to right)

• • 45 degree chamfer bit for the exterior edges of the piece.

  • 1/2" core box bit for to take the sharp edge off the track channels.

  • 1/4" straight bit for the track channels themselves.

Start with the exterior chamfer. I strongly suggest using a trial piece before running your real track. Flip it around and do all four long edges.

Next is the 1/4" straight bit for the track channel. I use a commercially made piece of track (pictured) to gauge the height of the bit and set the fence position. Run one side than flip the piece around and run the other side. Here are the results so far. It really surprised me to see how few steps it takes to get to the point where you have what looks like a real piece of track.

Don't change the fence position after you route the track channels! Switch the bit to the 1/2" core box bit and set the height such that the sharp edge on either side of the track channel gets shaved off. A little hand sanding to clean things up and this is the result.

To finish, see the article about connectors.