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How to make a beer pong table

Beer pong table

Beer Pong is also known as Beirut. It is a popular beer drinking game. The game goes like this. At the two ends of the beer bong table are placed ten red Solo/Dixie cups each. These cups are placed in the shape of a pyramid. The pyramid is arranged as a 1+2+3+4 type and it has the apex towards the opposition. There are two teams of two players each. Each team throws a ping pong ball, either directly or bouncing it once on the table and tries to land it into the opponent’s cup. A cup into which the ball lands is considered sunk and the opposition has to empty the contents of the sunk cup. There is a central line and the ball has to bounce beyond this line to be considered legal (if one chooses to bounce the ball). The first team to sink all the cups of the opponent, wins.

Ping pong tables or folding banquet tables are often used for beer pong. The trendy thing however, is to design your own beer pong table. Designing one such table is not very difficult and with a little hard work along with this tutorial, you can be the owner of your own beer pong table. Given below are the instructions for this DIY project:

Difficulty level:

The project requires the ability to use a drill, saw, screwdriver and paints. All these require some basic skill level without which there could be damages to both the maker and the table. Hence this project gets classified as ‘Moderate’.

Time required:

Some hard work has to definitely go into making this table. It requires care and patience. Our estimate for this project would be 90 minutes or 1.5 hours.

Resources required:

  1. 4feet X 8feet plywood sheet ( about 1″ thickness)
  2. 28″ table legs (4 nos.).
  3. ‘L’ brackets (4 nos.)
  4. Power drill.
  5. Sandpaper.
  6. Screws.
  7. Screwdriver.
  8. Gallon wood stain
  9. Paint.
  10. Paint brushes.
  11. Wood putty.
  12. Spray lacquer ( 3 cans).
  13. Rubber gloves.
  14. A marking pencil.

Instructions:

  1. Place the plywood sheet on a level surface.
  2. Place the sheet in such a manner that the face which you want as the upper side of the table is facing the floor.
  3. Take one of the 28 inch table legs and place it vertically at one corner of the sheet. The leg should be absolutely perpendicular to the sheet. It is vital that the leg is exactly 28 inches so that the table is of official height.
  4. Take an ‘L’ bracket and place it in such a way that one arm of the ‘L’ is aligned along the plywood sheet and the other arm of the ‘L’ is aligned along the leg.
  5. Once the ‘L’ bracket is properly aligned, mark spots where the screws would go in on the leg and the sheet. Do the markings with the pencil.
  6. Drill the necessary holes into the leg and the sheet based on the markings made.
  7. Place the ‘L’ bracket and ensure that the alignment with the holes is perfect.
  8. Push in the screws into the leg and sheet through the bracket to hold them securely. Tighten completely using the screwdriver.
  9. In the similar manner, attach the other three legs to the remaining three corners of the sheet via the ‘L’ brackets.
  10. Turn the table upright and place it on level floor.
  11. Sandpaper the top surface of the table to remove any roughness and to obtain a smooth surface.
  12. Now, it is time to put on your rubber gloves.
  13. Use wood putty to fill the tiny craters and holes on the surface.
  14. Coat the table with wood stain. ( Choice of color is entirely yours)
  15. Paint the table with colors of your choice. (You can lend the table a personality of its own with the painting.)
  16. Spray the entire table with lacquer.
  17. Once the first coat dries, spray another coat of lacquer. In this manner, spray at least four more coats of lacquer on the table.
  18. Once the coats are set and dry, your beer pong table is ready for use.

Quick tips:

  1. It would be good if the legs are a cuboid in shape rather than being a cylinder. This will help the ‘L’ bracket hold better to it.
  2. Make cardboard stencils to help you make patterns.
  3. Use tape to cover areas of the stencils for further variations within the stenciled ones.
  4. You can enhance the table to a ‘next gen’ variety by attaching bottle tops. To attach caps, use epoxy or Liquid Nails to coat the top surface of the caps. Attach the caps individually in a pattern of your choice. Once the adhesive dries and the caps are in place, spray polyurethane on the caps to prevent them from rusting.
  5. Since there will be alcohol spilling on the table, make as many coats of lacquer as you deem necessary.
  6. Make two coats of paint for better effect.
  7. You could paint the table in your college colors or colors that represent your personality.
  8. For those who are more interested in the game rather than a good looking table, here is a simple solution. Get two barrels or drums. Place the wood board over them and your beer bong table is ready!

Things to watch out for:

  1. When you are doing the painting and spraying, do it in a well ventilated area. These are chemical based substances and can be hazardous if you are exposed to their fumes for a long time.
  2. Ensure that the area where the painting is done is cordoned off from toddlers and children.
  3. Handling the drill requires some care. Be careful not to leave the drill lying around, connected to the electricity.
  4. The table will be quite heavy. Use helping hands while moving or shifting it as individual effort alone may not be sufficient.
  5. While attaching the legs to the table, ensure that the distances from the table edge to the legs are same in all four corners to ensure a symmetrical table.

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