Almost no one finds it hard to have a great wood ping pong table regardless of online and offline ways. Nowadays, you can search for products on the Internet or go to offline stores for firsthand experience before making a shopping decision.
Have you ever thought of building one yourself from wooden pieces right at your home, though? Believe us, it is just a piece of cake and incredibly worth a try with lots of benefits, which we will mention right away.
But wait! Before getting started, let us ask you a question first.
Do You Really Want To Make A Wood Ping Pong Table?
Honestly, this DIY may be a time-consuming plan unless you are a professional carpenter. In case that it does not matter, making a handmade ping pong table can help save money and bring a lot of joy. Your family members, your friends, or whoever, all of them can give you a hand to make the table. And then you all play to make unforgettable happy memories together.
So, what about the downside?
Using a wood table to play the ping pong game outdoors is never a good idea. This material tends to get worse under the weather conditions such as strong sunlight and heavy rain. You will find the wood decay or termite after a while of use. Not only that, but the wood grain also can affect the bounce of the ping pong ball.
With a plan for practicing seriously, you should think about other better options. An ITTF-approved table price ranges from $400 to $600 (ITTF standing for the International Table Tennis Federation). For less than $1000, you can have a great indoor ping pong table for practice. If you play outside a lot, an outdoor ping pong table with weatherproof paint and a stainless-steel frame will be a nice option.
Tips and guide to make a wood ping pong table
Wait a minute!
Haven’t you forgotten my question yet? Do you really want to make a wood ping pong table?
Oh, thank God! We dare that you really do since you still keep reading the article. So, welcome to the DIY world, and here is our freaking easy instruction.
Preparation
The following is a list of tools and materials required to make a ping pong table. All of them will surely make the table good enough to satisfy the family playing time and help you to save lots of money. Is your curiosity aroused? Let’s see what they are!
- Woodscrews
- A hand or power saw
- Wood glue
- Paint with a paintbrush
- Plywood pieces of ¼ x 70 x 60 inches for thickness, height, and width
- 2/2 lumber pieces
- One net of 6 inches in height
- Clamps for wood
- One masking tape
Choosing Wood
Spruce and pine are the highly recommended types of plywood to make the ping pong table. Both of them come with good softness to offer the ball a good bounce. For a better quality, we suggest trying the medium-density fiberboard (MDF), which is commonly used for kitchen cabinets.
Besides, you should not choose cherry wood. It not only grows termites but also lacks sturdiness for the decent ping pong ball bounce. Another note is that the hard cardboard is not advisable for this DIY due to its moisture absorption, causing an uneven tabletop.
Choosing Paint
For the tabletop surface, people often paint it in dark blue/green color. In addition, the paint needs to be anti-glare to prevent light from reflecting on. Also, it must feature high wear resistance along with high hardness.
We recommend automotive paint. Besides, painting an additional layer of matte polyester paint will make the table more beautiful.
For the line, it is commonly white. Just use the masking tape to paint in a straight line. After finishing, wait for the paint to get dry and then remove the tape.
Instruction
There are five steps in total. And here they are.
Step 1: Forming a base
The 2/2 lumbers are used to create a ping pong table base. You should cut these lumber into two pieces with a dimension of 100 inches x 60 inches. Two 9-inches pieces are for the length, and the others are for the width of the table. Then, screwing them carefully will help to form these pieces into a rectangular frame.
Step 2: Making the tabletop
To make the tabletop, place two 70” x 60” plywood pieces on the base which you have already formed. The seam between them must lie in the middle of the table.
Next, keep the pieces in place by the clamps and then add some wood glue onto the seam. When the glue dries, it can secure the plywood pieces firmly.
Step 3: Making the table legs
In this step, lumber pieces with a sizable thickness of at least two by two inches will be used to make four table legs. A standard ping pong table is 30 inches tall. Hence, the height of each leg is 30 inches minus the tabletop’s thickness.
The tabletop that we use has a thickness of ¼ inches. By the formula above, the leg should be 29.75 inches. After cutting the wood pieces for the table legs, you attach them to the tabletop with screws.
Step 4: Painting
You now pain both the tabletop and table legs with the color of your choice. The dark blue and green are often the standard ones. Then, wait for the paint to dry up.
Next, paint a ¾-inch white line along the table edges and a centerline. Do not forget to use the masking tape for the straight line. And again, let the pain get dry.
Step 5: Attaching the net
You attach the net at the tabletop center and use the clamps to reinforce this part.
Conclusion
When everything gets done, take a moment and look at the result. We know for sure that it will not be a bad wood ping pong table. Otherwise, it could be more perfect for you to play ping pong on it with your beloved.
If you are still in trouble with this DIY, we are always ready to help. So, feel free to drop us a line below this article.