Deep Slot Guides
"Cheap and Easy"

by
Dan Dyke


 
As is obvious from the last name and from my actions I am a Dutchman at heart.  Cheap, frugal, and skeptical are all words that could apply. I really don't like paying for stuff that I can make and even make better than the commercial product.  Deep slot guide blades? Do I make them or buy them?  The price is pretty hefty at times, but my time is valuable.  Of the two commercial ones I like the TSRF better than the SlotIt, but I am not going to retrofit every car I run at the local Carrera track.  Here are some reasons why:
1.    I am cheap.  It would cost about $100 to start. I would rather buy cars or books.
2.    Some cars have to be modified so the blade will fit and that means a lot of unnecessary work.
3.    When I come home to my Scaley/Ninco hybrid track the car will have to have its blade assembly changed back to its original configuration, but if the chassis has been modified to accept  an after market deep slot guide then I have to come up with a fix that allows me to go to a shallower blade quickly.  Which equals more money and time.
There are two ways to make a deep slot blade.  The first is to take a standard blade and scrape down one side so fresh plastic is exposed and superglue a piece of durable plastic to the side.  When the glue has dried then you can shape the blade to your tastes.  A good piece of plastic is an old credit card.  This works well, but the blade is slightly offset.  I have never had the glue come undone.

The second is to find some very stiff silicone tape with the reinforcing fiber in.  Cut a piece about an 1/8th of an inch longer than twice the length of the guide. Be sure to super clean the guide first. Find the middle of the tape, put it at the front of the guide, and wrap the tape along the two sides of the guide.  A little excess will be at the back of the guide which can be pressed together. To complete the connection be sure to squeeze the tape at the bottom together as tightly as possible.  Trim the tape to preference.  The silicone tape has less resistance than a standard blade.  If it wears out replace it.  The guide in the following picture is from a Ninco Champ Car.  Nobody makes a deepslot guide for the Ninco and SCX open wheel cars.

 
A variant of this is to chop away as much of the guide as possible.  The effect of this is to make a super narrow blade.  The problem is that your tape has less to stick to.

OTHER  COMMENTS

1.    Some guides will not always trip certain lap timers like the Ninco Pole Position timer.  Some think it is because of the  depth of the blade and others because of the color.  Tape can fix both problems.

2.    Crud wipes off my tape very easily.

3.    Certain cars, early Auto Art cars, never do well in non-magnet classes because their blade is too shallow.  My opinion is that some concepts of box stock are too rigid and thus defy the purpose of the class.  Taping the blade should be allowed as it uses less than a penny's worth of tape.  If a guy is a newbie and buys an AutoArt because it is pretty, you can write his name in the last place slot for every heat.

4.    What brand of tape did I use?  I don't know, it was some Tom McNay gave me along with the idea.  If you get the wrong stuff, give it to your wife for packing tape.

Dan (Fat Boy #1)