1. If you are just getting started in slot car racing, the best way to get started is to buy a race set from your favourite manufacturer and begin by throwing away the track. Typically, you will get two cars, two controllers, a few accessories and a power pack, usually for a price that is not much more than two cars.
 

2. Buy a good 1/8" router bit from a reputable store. Some stores will guarantee them against breakage.... a good bet because you will break or wear down at least one bit during construction.

 
3. Build a small one lane test track first to try out all the tools, techniques and materials. Even a small scrap board two feet square will make a nice circular track which you can use later for tuning your cars or for testing a new building technique.

 
4. Plastic wood (or drywall compound) and sandpaper will fix any router mistake you make.... don’t worry if your circles are a little off or the router slips and takes off a little too much (it happens to us all).

 
5. When designing your track, keep in mind that you should be able to run the cars in either direction. This means you will have two completely different tracks! Walls, kerbs, fences, bridges etc. should leave enough room for cars to swing in both directions.

 
6. Always transfer the full design of the track on to the table surface in pencil before you start routing your first curve. Better to find out that it won’t fit before you start cutting the slots. Either that or get a big container of Plastic Wood.

7. Always start your routing with the corners. The corners are the hard part, connecting two corners with a straight-away is simple.

8. When laying the aluminum security tape for each lane, a small Wallpaper Seam Roller works beautifully to smooth out any small creases in the tape, particularly in the corners where it has a tendency to wrinkle.

9. Make sure that the path of your router bit cuts only wood and does not come in touch with any buried screws or nails. If it does, stop, remove the screw, rescrew it out of harm’s way, route the slot, and fill the old hole with Plastic Wood.

10. Put a 12V fuse, in line, for each lane in order to protect the power pack against accidental shorting or in case your high school electronics training fails you. Keep some spare fuses around.