How To Build A Carpet Ball (Carpetball)

- March 11, 2011

THIS POST IS OLD. NEW CARPETBALL INSTRUCTIONS ARE HERE!

STEP 1:

First we went to Lowes. Here we bought the materials.

You Will Need To Buy:

Playing Surface 2 : 8x4 Plywood Boards 3/4 Inch Thick
Side Rails 2 : 12x1 Foot 1 1/2 Inch Wood Boards
Legs 3 : 10 Foot 2x4 Boards
Backstop 1 : 8x1 Foot 1 1/2 Inch Thick Board
Support Beam 1 : 12 Foot 2x4 Board
Carpet Top 1 : 6x7 Feet of Carpet
Large Screws 72: 2 1/2 Inch Wood Screws
Small Screws 36: 2 Inch Wood Screws
Staples 200: T50 Staples
Surface Riser 2: 6 Foot 2x4 Boards
Pool Balls 1: 16 Balls

You Will Need These Tools:

Power Drill
Staple Gun
Saw
Hammer (Just In Case)
Scissors

Step 2:

Bring The Materials to where you plan to actually use the Carpet-Ball. You will not have much luck moving one of these after you build it.

Step 3:

Take the Plywood and rip each piece into 3 even sections that are still 4 foot long.
Lay them out flat so that they add up to 12 feet long.
Attach your 12 foot 2x4 to the center of the plywood. Use 12 of your 2 Inch Wood Screws
Now Cut your 3 10 Foot 2x4 boards into 3 even pieces each.
Attach them as the legs at the ends and in the middle. Use 12 of your 2 Inch Wood Screws
The plywood should rest securely on top of the 3 and 4 Inch legs.

Step 4:

Take your 2 6 foot 2x4 boards and cut them into 6 even pieces.
Screw these into the plywood on top, make sure it is flush with the side. Use 12 of your 2 inch wood Screws.
They are each to connect 2 different pieces of plywood together.

Step 5:

Cut your last 8x4 plywood sheet into 3 even parts. Then cut 1 of those sheets in half. Remember that all sheets must remain 4 Foot long so you will always be ripping the plywood.
The second layer of plywood begins 1 foot exactly from the end of each side. This makes your top layer 10 feet.
Begin screwing the plywood into the surface risers. This takes 24 of your 2 1/2 inch wood screws.

Step 6:

It is now time to add the sides.
Take your 12x1 foot 2x4 inch boards and place them on the sides. You will need some support these are heavy.
Only drill into the legs or the surface riser 2x4s do not drill into any plywood. This should come up 6 inches over the top of the playing surface. You will need to use 24 of your 2 1/2 inch wood screws to do both sides.

Step 7:

You can do this step either at 7 or after 8 we chose to do it out of the order that I am advising you to do it here.
Attach the backstops to the table.
Cut your 8x1 foot 2x4 inch board to be flush with the ends of your table.
Attach them only to the sides and not to the plywood. This will take 12 of your 2 1/2 inch wood screws.

Step 8:

Cut your 6x7 foot carpet in half so that you end up with 2 pieces of 3x7 foot carpet.
Use your staple gun to staple the carpet down to the table.
The carpet needs to be flush and meet in the very center of the table.
Staple the carpet on the plywood and also along the sides. You might use all 200 staples.

Step 9:

Enjoy Your Carpet-Ball

If you live in Tennessee, I will come and build this game for you from scratch including the materials for $300.00 Just in case you want it, but don't trust yourself to build it.
I sure hope this was helpful to someone. Until next time -Just Jon