Tuesday, April 15, 2014

DIY Day: Badminton Net

After being burned by a crappy badminton net that literally death-and-decayed during the first rain of 2013, leaving bits of paper all over the lawn, plan to build your next net from scratch. Start with a complex, to-scale engineering drawing. Blue paper and slide rule optional.
Buy 20 feet of 3/4" PVC piping and two end caps at Home Depot ($6.00) and a high quality net on Amazon ($34.00). Drag out all of the tools you never use and mark off the cut / drill points.
Use the miter saw to cut the piping, nonchalantly sweeping the PVC shreddings under the deck.
Whip out your 1995 TI-85 graphing calculator to calculate a good angle for the ends that will let the pole double as a digging implement. Abandon that plan and cut them at 45 degrees after finding that the miter saw maxes out at 45 degrees.
Sit on the poles and drill holes for the guide ropes. Do not hold the pipe where the drill bit will burst through (apply the rules of bagel cutting).
Twist the pointed end of the poles into the ground until you have blisters. If the Loudoun clay prevents the full 14" depth, cheat by cutting a couple more inches off.
MacGuyver a needle-thread device for running the ropes through the pole, using a drill bit and some electrical tape.
Tie off the ends for maximum tension. You now have a regulation height badminton net with a minimum of mowing obstacles!
Enjoy with a friend.

Still To Do:

  • Replace all of the "almost square knots" with adjustable Boy Scout hitches, long since forgotten.
  • Set up a hook system on the outer tension line, so the net doesn't stand at maximum tension for the whole season.

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