DIY Day: Badminton Net
![Badminton Net](/images/news/14/04/15-01.jpg)
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.
![Badminton Net](/images/news/14/04/15-02.jpg)
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.
![Badminton Net](/images/news/14/04/15-03.jpg)
Use the miter saw to cut the piping, nonchalantly sweeping the PVC shreddings under the deck.
![Badminton Net](/images/news/14/04/15-04.jpg)
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.
![Badminton Net](/images/news/14/04/15-05.jpg)
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).
![Badminton Net](/images/news/14/04/15-06.jpg)
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.
![Badminton Net](/images/news/14/04/15-07.jpg)
MacGuyver a needle-thread device for running the ropes through the pole, using a drill bit and some electrical tape.
![Badminton Net](/images/news/14/04/15-08.jpg)
Tie off the ends for maximum tension. You now have a regulation height badminton net with a minimum of mowing obstacles!
![Badminton Net](/images/news/14/04/15-09.jpg)
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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