Track Cutting Service ... Any Interest?

[Turtle]

We here at Muffin Works have acquired a Phazer over the past winter. Whereas we already have some items available for the Phazer, we plan to expand our product line a bit.

With that said, we are going to mod this sled with a new track ... one that we will need to cut down to the 14" width. In the process we may set ourselves up with the proper tooling and fixtures to offer track cutting as a service.

Before we spend the time and investment necessary to offer such a service, we would like to feel this out a bit ... "test the waters" per say.

Is there an interest in the Phazer owners out there for a track cutting service? A service such at this would allow you to choose almost any track for your Phazer. You would send the track to us, we would trim it down to size, and ship it back.

What do ya think?

 

[yzman]

I think its awesome idea , i was very limited for track choice's , so i extented my 144 mtx , to 151 and ran the challenger track with 2.33 inch lugs . but with your service people can keep the same length skid and choose the track they wants!

 

[backcountrymafia]

how much?

 

[boondoggle]

Not a bad idea. I would prefer just to buy the cut track from you first. But if isn't workable for you to sell the track I would be interested in sending a track to get cut if it wasn't cost prohibitive. As it is I am also considering going to the 151 because there are no 14 by 144's. The good news for you is the stock mtx track is real flimsy so you should have plenty of business.

 

[RedPhazer]

Hi Gade-thrasher,

Hope you guys got in a bunch more riding this past winter. Todd and I still would like to hook up with you, Rev-muffin, and Philip for some snowmobiling... to bad it will have to wait until next winter!

Anyhow, I would like to get a Cobra track cut down to 121" x 14" for my Phazer. I've got over 6500 miles on my sled now so I'm thinking I'm going to need a track pretty soon. There have been many threads about cutting tracks and the lack of available tracks for the Phazer. Any idea on cost? Cutting a track is not something I'm looking forward to doing myself!

Thanks,
Tom

 

[yam177]

I would be interested I am working on next years Mod sled and i am going to try a 14x128 under the rear

 

[TRUTH]

If the price is not too high, I would be interested. Give us a ball park figure and some pictures of your work. Thanks, Frank.

 

[Turtle]

Thanks for all the replies. Sorry, I don't have any pics to show as we haven't developed the fixtures/tooling to do this in production yet. For pricing, we are still working on that as how much time it takes will determine our base cost. How much time it takes will depend on our fixtures and method of making the cut.

I know ... somewhat sounds like a chicken vs the egg ... But we should have something going this summer. Overall, it sounds as if the response on this need is pretty positive. So we will keep ya posted.

 

[tapex_07]

So did you end up getting the tooling to cut down tracks?? And figure a price?

 

[Turtle]

So did you end up getting the tooling to cut down tracks?? And figure a price?

After we running all the numbers, we found that to cover our costs and the cost of shipping a person could almost buy a new track for the price we would have to charge. The interest in the sevice was also very low.

So with that said, we have decided not to invest in the tooling and the service is not being offered.

Sorry.

 

[phazerhawkdude]

I don't blame you guys at all. I cut my track down a couple of weeks ago and thought the exact same thing. I kind of figured the cost would be too high after shipping charges and labor and that the interest would not be there. I'm sorry that it didn't work out but thank you for reaffirming my thoughts!

 

[tapex_07]

^^ How did you cut your track?

And thanks for letting us know gade-thrasher

 

[Turtle]

The way we did it was pretty crude ... but the end result was good and confirmed our thoughts about how to do it. Developing of better tooling would give us a better end result and more consistency in the cut.

But ... we setup a straight edge clamped the length of the track and a workbench. Then used a circular saw with a carbide tipped blade to cut the track. We sprayed a soap solution on the blade as we cut to lubricate the blade. When we reached the end of the straight edge, we would unclamp everything, move the track, clamp it back down and continue until we went all the way around the track. It makes a big mess and demolishes the blade. But it worked well.

I've seen other use a table saw with the track looped under the table saw. This was an option we considered, but didn't feel it was safe.

 

[phazerhawkdude]

I cut my track with a table saw. I elevated the table saw so I could loop the track around the saw (inside of the track slid against the table. I set up my fence to cut 1/2" off one side. Then i clamped another fence on the other side of the track. That was just insurance to make sure the track didn't away from cutting 1/2". When I finished one side, I took the track out of the saw, rotated it and put it back on the saw in order to cut the other side. Me and a friend got it done in about 1 hour after setup, cutting, and cleanup.

 

[Yamanimal]

Has anyone ever cut one with a sawsall or one of those held held band saws? I guessing it might cut cleaner. I know those circular saw don't like cutting rubber.