DIYbanter - Ping Pong Table

In article , wrote:
I am thinking about making my own Ping Pong Table. I want it to be a
good one, like some of the professional tables, so I need 1 inch of
25mm MDF. The two table tops would be 5 x 4 1/2 each, which is not an
easy size to find. Any idea if that can be dound? Looking on the
internet, I did see some wholesalers that have something like 2600mm
x 2260mm or close to that, Some may be moisture resistant.

The home center stores don't carry MDF any wider than 49", but dealers that
supply cabinetmaking shops do. It's typically available in 5x9, 5x10, and 5x12
sheets. These are all 1" oversize, so a nominal 5x9 is actually 61"x145",
which is long enough to give you two 60"x54" pieces even after allowing for
the saw kerf across the middle.

Do any of you have blueprints for making a table that folds up and
has casters?

Can't help there. But I suspect that you're getting into the territory where
it might be more practical to buy one.

I was thinking of using PVC piping instead of square metal tubes for
the legs. How does that sound?

Better go with _at_least_ 1" Schedule 80 pipe for stiffness. How will you
attach it?

They key will be to make it so that
the table tops meet or come within 5/16 to a half inch of each other.
I would think, if I don't use the PVC, making a metal base might mae
the project out of the question.

You'll need some sort of frame for it anyway, to prevent it from sagging under
its own weight. Aluminum angle might work.

A good table, made out of 25mm MDF sells for from $500 to $1,000.

Any table made of 25mm MDF would fall into the "premium" category, not "good".
Likewise, anything in that price range (assuming you mean US dollars) falls
into the "premium" category. You can get a perfectly fine table, with a 3/4"
MDF top, for US $300 to $400. Here's one example:
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/pr...ductId=1761289

If you're sufficiently serious about the sport that you truly need, and can
benefit from, a premium table -- and you may well be, for all I know -- then
you're also serious enough about it that, before making one, you'll want to
visit the USATT's web site www.usatt.org and have a look at the
specifications for tables. In particular, I'd think that, before going to the
expense and effort of buying and transporting a 5x9' sheet of 1" MDF (it's
heavy, and you can't lay it down flat in a pickup truck), you'd want to make
sure that it actually meets the bounce height specifications -- especially
making sure that the ball doesn't bounce too _high_. It probably does meet
spec, but I'd check first if it were me.

And if you're *not* that serious about the sport, then you should be looking
at something *much* less expensive, for example
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/pr...ductId=1334938

You can buy that, or something like it, cheaper than you can make one.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

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