New catch box

Dadvball Wednesday, 5/15/2013

About a month and a half ago we decided we needed a new catch box for the Lincoln Johnny Lightning Race Club track, so I offered to build it. I thought I would post some pics here in case anyone else was looking for ideas. Roughly it measures 12" x 12". The base, top, and the sides are made of 1/2" sanded Birch plywood. The front face is made of some extra Maple I had hanging around. The center piece is 1/4" thick plywood. The center board, both sides, and the underside of the roof are covered with 1/8" colored foam panels I bought at one of those craft stores. Various colors are available and they measure about 8" x 11" I think. The door flaps are the same material, only 1/4" thick. I only used one hinge because two hinges wouldn't work together and close it as the car passed through. As it was, the material is so light weight heavier cars were bouncing off the foam and back out of the box. I solved that by gluing a 3/4" diameter washer to the inside middle and covered it with the 1/8" thick foam. The weight of the washer closes the door very quickly. The front edge of the center divider is covered with a small rubber foam to keep from cars getting damaged if they hit it. So far, between my testing it, a day of racing at the local YMCA Youth Day, and last Saturdays club meet, we've run close to 1,000 cars into it and no problems. The only thing I want to change is the foam on the back. Currently I'm using the 2" x 2" foam you can buy to run around your window ac unit. I've glued two pieces to cardboard, and set it up with sticky tape so I can rotate it in the box and then replace it easily. The problem with this foam though is it's starting to show some wear from being hit in the same spot constantly. One reason why I've set it up so I can rotate the foam. We used an egg crate type gray foam which was more dense in the old box, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. If anyone knows of a better foam please let me know.

Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox


Discussion

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Preacher 5/16/13

Just curious...when the cars come into the box do they flip around after hitting the foam in the back? I have a similar setup for our cars, but its made out of a cardboard box. I'm very glad you posted this...I've talked with Jeremy a few time, and was just wondering about this very thing. BTW very nice job,...looks nice and clean, and very sharp!

Preacher

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Dadvball 5/16/13

Surprisingly there is very little bouncing around. Most cars actually end up right side up. The 3rd pic down you'll notice the gray foam being not actually touching the floor of the box. I left it raised, with a a 1" deep piece of foam at the bottom. It was offset so it would actually catch the cars. Problem was the much heavier funny cars with the longer nose actually hit the lower foam and started to compress it. I was afraid they would eventually hit the wood so I removed it and just lowered the gray foam.
I had forgotten to mention the floor is covered with two layers of felt, also found in the craft store.

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model40fan 5/16/13

obviously a wood worker, looks great, plenty of thought in it... SAVE THE RACE CARS ! ... go dad go !

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redlinederby 5/16/13
Site manager

I need more wood-working tools. Great looking box, man. A catch box is something I still need to add to my setup. Space between the finish line and wall is somewhat tight so often I just have to resort to a rolled up towel. Does the job but it is crazy hacky.

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Dadvball 5/16/13

Thanks for the compliments gents!

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