Looking for a commonly found flat steel to put under track

[Lemosteam]

Don't need to cut wedges, just cut slots most of the way across, then bend away from the slots. It's quite malleable.

Gaps under the tight curves that I'm sure Chris has will defeat the purpose, based on my testing.  JMHO.

[Lemosteam]

I also have an about 6" tall stack of drywall corner in the garage (previous owner left it up in the rafters) I'm sure something out there will work. I just needed ideas. 

John, Do you think a wide piece of steel has more grip than a thin wire? I know when I set the chassis on a 1-2-3 block it nearly rips from my fingers.

Thickness and width has a lot to do with the attraction.  A wire essentially is one tangent line of attraction where as an wide strip provides much.  try this take the track put it on your dryer top and put the chassis on the track.  This will give you an idea of what a continuous strip would be like under the track.

[DKS]

Gaps under the tight curves that I'm sure Chris has will defeat the purpose, based on my testing.  JMHO.

OK, you got me there, I've not done any testing. Although, if one did cut wedges and bent the strap inward, a few taps with a hammer would flatten out any buckling (that much I do know).

 

[Lemosteam]

OK, you got me there, I've not done any testing.

No Gotcha.  I found that continuous attraction is definitely more efficient.  Even in my videos, there was no good way (save CNC routing) to make sure the wire was perfectly centered under the track and as such, some areas permitted less attraction which allowed more wheel slippage.

The main gist of my experiments was to prove out that magnets could improve tractive effort, and prevent stoppage of 4 axle units in dead spots such as the unpowered frogs in the first test above.

Chris' chassis is a nice production intent design that hopefully sustains my testing results.

There is a limit to the size of the magnet if it overcomes the torque of the motor though.  I had a test where I used track nails and they stopped the loco dead in its tracks (pun intended), still slipping under power.

[DMetz]

Do you really need to limit the steel area to just underneath the tracks? Why not use a panel from an old appliance as a benchwork top?

This could be better for the magnetic attraction.  But will this cause problems with thermal expansion?  Similar to another thread here about humidity changes causing the track to buckle?  The sheet of steel will move due to temperature swings, but the track work does not expand the same.

The original track in the video looked like they had the metal strips above the ties.  Or at least up to the top of the ties.  The distance between the magnet and the metal will be critical.  With steel strips, or wires, or paint under the ties, the attraction will be significantly weaker due to the extra distance.  What about using nails or screws under the track.  Or even between the ties, and flush with the tops of the ties.  I am thinking about drywall screws, or something similar.  If they are slightly below the ties, they could be hidden with ballast.

How are turnouts handled?  If the metal strip is centered between the rails, will there be a sideways pull thru a turnout, until the other strip is out of range of the magnet? 

[randgust]

If you start getting really sharp curves....electrical cable staples?   You can get them already blackened, and in some cases, above the tie instead of under it.  Those have a relatively wide and flat head.

The attraction physics here of the distance between the magnet head and the metal is logarithmic, so rail height and tie thickness start to get really critical as well.

[Chris333]

How are turnouts handled?  If the metal strip is centered between the rails, will there be a sideways pull thru a turnout, until the other strip is out of range of the magnet?

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1260/4747/products/3529201.jpg?v=1477398214

[GhengisKong]

What about strips for the straights and about 2 or 3 parallel wires for curves? It would take longer to lay the wire, but at least they can be bent to follow the flextrack.

[metalworkertom]

You can get flat bar to bend hard ways with a little hammering. You will have to bend then flatten a couple times to get it right. Or by hammering on the out side edge it will curve to the opposite side.

[peteski]

I woudl still recommend trying wire (since it is easiest to shape and handle.  Like John's idea of using wire that holds up suspended ceiling framework. But instead of single wire, lay down 3 or 4 of them next to each other. That will create a wider area which still can be shaped easily around the curves.

[Kentuckian]

Iron filings for ballast? Laboratory supply companies stock them, and of course you could make your own.

[narrowminded]

You can get flat bar to bend hard ways with a little hammering. You will have to bend then flatten a couple times to get it right. Or by hammering on the out side edge it will curve to the opposite side.

Try this.  A ball peen with the material bucked up on a solid anvil.  It will definitely bend but I don't know if it will do what you want.  Thickness will help (up to 1/8" or so) and only as wide as necessary.  It would be best if it's just hot rolled or even annealed, which means soft.  This is where that hangar strap might work because it's easy to bend which is an indicator that it's low carbon/ soft.  But the holes will matter and I'm pretty sure that you will find that low carbon isn't as strongly attracted as higher carbon.  And as a side note, coat hangar wire is actually pretty high carbon typically in an effort to keep a small cross section quite rigid.

Another way to do this yourself with household tools would be to use something like 1/8" square and just bending 3 or 4 lengths  parallel and snugly against each other.  Glue them together.  Epoxy together laying on the countertop (flat) and on a piece of waxed paper to not stick and to leave a very flat surface.  Has the width and a good cross section for the magnet to get all magnety with.

[up1950s]

https://www.stapleheadquarters.com/DuoFast_18

The PG is maybe magnetic . Use sideways around a 1/4 " thick ply sub-bed . Split either side to follow curves . MAYBE

[narrowminded]

OK, just tried something.  Rubber kitchen refrigerator magnets.  The material is available in sheets at kraft stores and cuts with scissors.  Acts like rubber sheet, is very smooth, flexible enough, just what the doctor ordered... I think.

Thicker is stronger attraction on neodymium magnets and can be accomplished by starting with thicker material or doubling up the thinner.  The polarity is apparently across the material as it attracted to the magnet in either direction and when placing two refrigerator magnets back to back, they still attract BUT, in one plane when sliding across each other, it feels like there is a notch in the material but it's totally flat.  Turn 90 degrees to each other and there is no notching action, just a smooth slide.  That is the polarity apparently.  I think it would DEFINITELY be worth a try.  Cost, I don't know but it can't be any worse than purchasing steel and then beating it into submission.

Something like this.  http://www.michaels.com/pro-mag-magnetic-sheet-12%22-x-24%22/10265238.html#q=magnet+sheet&start=2

[up1950s]

Why not use their track and veneer the center OEM to look like planks laid there for a between rails walkway for workers during muddy days or confined conditions .

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Chicago_%27L%27_-_Flickr_-_ReneS_%282%29.jpg