Basic CMF3, ver. 1.1 / 1236-Cc2

[Ol' Slippery]

Amazing stuff, Rick! Really makes me want to build something...

Did you know Lou? He's a fantastic guy. I raced with him a bit before the flood. He may have built the best chassis when Retro started, but he got bit by the rules...

Phil

[CMF3]

Thanks for the kind words, Phil. I've been on a chassis building hiatus myself, and slot cars in general, with all the Florida west coast raceways gone now it makes testing not so expedient, but I was just looking over some designs earlier this week thinking it's about time anyway, if for no other reason just to see if I can build them, which is the real challenge and the part I enjoy most...

I've never had the opportunity to meet Lou. Too bad too, as I always planned to get to Grand Prix Raceways (I have friends up around there too), until that terrible flood. Lou had that beautiful Super-8 there, and that is a track I have always wanted to run on. (If I ever win the lottery, I'm going have to have a Super-8 in my slot car track collection. LOL)

Ricmf3k

[68Deville]

I see you like narrow motor brackets, question is why? I like wide myself because it works for me.
Sure would like your thoughts on that, your choice of size of wires is right up my ally.



Nesta

[CMF3]

Hey Nesta.

The reason I use the 0.75” wide JK motor bracket is simple. It’s small. But there are other considerations that work to my favor in that regard that might not be conducive to most scratchbuilders’ techniques or designs.

The motor bracket on my chassis are not structurally necessary. I only use them because the rules stipulate that you have to have one. Admittedly the bracket does simplify the motor location, but I could still use the chassis even if I never installed the motor bracket, since I build a motor box that goes around the motor.

A lot of other builders will insist the motor bracket has to be this big thick reinforced massive brass contraption. That is their preference. It has no applicability to my designs and builds.

Look at most other builders build sequences. Typically they start their chassis with the motor bracket in the jig (with or without an axle tube, a whole ‘nother story for another time…) and then proceed to run their main rails from there. On my builds I run all my main rails (and other components, like the motor box) off of the rear axle tube, and only add the motor bracket much later in the build. (Historically, or hysterically, I get them mixed up, it was using skimpy motor brackets like the Russkit back in the 60’s where I, along with many others, started building like this.)

All this means is I can get away with using a minimally sized and much lighter motor bracket. Early on to meet the motor bracket rule I was making my own 3-piece brackets out of 0.010 brass sheet, however the rule changed to requiring a 1-piece bracket. For a few chassis I bent up some one piece brackets out of 0.010 brass, but this was tedious (as well as annoying) and back around March 2010 I just started buying the JK 0.75” wide motor bracket (JK-D3F122) instead. It was quicker and easier for me to use the JK bracket after I’d cut away a good amount of it. Even when I started mounting my motors at an angle back in June of 2011 all I had to do was slightly change my modification to the JK bracket to accomplish it.

So when all this is said and done, it turns out I’m probably the worst person to ask regarding the use of motor brackets of various widths, much less all that other rigmarole about motor brackets.

Aren’t you sorry you asked?

Ricmf3k

[68Deville]

Nope?
The reason that I'm asking is I heard teorys about why wide vs narrow is better?
My self I like to build with wide brackets, of course I use narrow as well! I just wanted hear if you know the pro's and con's of either bracket.



Nesta

[CMF3]

Sure, I've heard the pro's and con's, but any "evidence" has all been anecdotal or hypothetical. If someone has built two nearly identical chassis using two brackets of differing widths and compared them under the same conditions, I've never seen it posted anywhere. If anyone knows where someone did, let me know and I'll check it out. Otherwise it's just a subjective opinion and not an objective analysis.

To me and my chassis builds, a bigger bracket is just more mass above the plane of the chassis framing...

Ricmf3k