PhantomVirus wrote:The Orange Box store had the same ones - ridiculously expensive in the overall scheme of things. 4 foot sections were $2.69 and I needed 18 of them.
I cannot remember how much I paid, but Lowes currently has them listed for $1.97 each. For two lanes I needed 4 per 8ft section. My track is 32' so I needed 16 sections, which today would be ~$32. Perhaps a bit pricey - but the edges of the poplar were milled very nicely. It was important for me to have a smooth lane guide with smooth transitions. Add the cost of the melamine boards for $24 (2 x $12), a couple of rolls of melamine edging to finish the raw edge (~$5 each), box of screws (~$4), hinges (~$3), and a dowel (~$1). So I think I have just under $75 for a 32' track - with a great surface (easy to clean also) and great lane guides - Not bad. Now I cannot wait for my MicroWizard timer kit to arrive. This will about another $100 once I buy the parts for the enclosure and misc. electronics to complete.
At that point I will have about $175 into a 32' two lane test track with MicroWizard timer - with serial output to a computer. Certainly there a different price points for each individual, each with it's own compromise. This was the right mix for me.
PhantomVirus wrote:it just seemed that the boards they had did not have enough 'bend' in them to work.
They seemed stiff to me at an 8' length - but once ripped to 7" wide and joined together at a 32' length - they seem to have the appropriate amount of flex without having too much.