{Custom} Beer Pong Table Build - Plexiglass LED

[Sparky73]

OK, well my 21st birthday is in a little less then 4 weeks (May 26th). I have always been into woodworking and building things, so I figured what would be better then a sweet ass beer pong table. I admit, I have never attempted to build one before, but I have most of the know-how, so I figure what the hell.

I haven't gotten everything figured out yet, so I will probably be changing and adding things along the way. Tips, comments and suggestions are appreciated as it will motivate me to keep posting lol. Please no harsh criticism. I know everyone is going to have a different opinion on whether you like it or not.. but it's mine so

I started out doing lots and lots of research online so I know how large to make it, what it make it out of, and just to get idea's from other custom built ones. I found out that an actual tournament table is 8'x2', and holds 10 cups. I wanted to stick close to the actual sizes and rules, but 2' wide didn't leave me much room. That is when I decided that 8'x3' would be an appropriate size for what I wanted.

Next comes the design. This took a few days to finally decide on something. I originally wanted to go with some kind of design made out of bottle caps, with a thick layer of bar top epoxy sealing in everything. For one, I am not 21 yet.. so actually getting enough caps (without buying them off eBay) would be near impossible. After much thought, I ended up deciding on a "Monster Energy" theme. Honestly, Monster isn't even my favorite energy drink, but the logo looks sweet, and green and black look awesome together.

[Sparky73]

Getting a list of supplies wasn't too bad. I knew I needed a sheet of plywood, some legs for the table and another thinner piece of wood for the design to be cut into. I found a nice clean piece of 1/2" plywood and figured that would be a good base. The best part is Home Depot will rip the 4'x8' board to whatever size you need. Since I was going with 3' wide, that is what I had it cut to.

I also found a piece of 1/8" Hardboard, which I thought would be perfect for a nice smooth top, and I could cut designs in it without the edges chipping like a thin piece of plywood would do. I didn't have this cut to size because I thought maybe their blade, designed for cutting plywood, would mess up the hardboard.

Next I grabbed a few real straight 2x4's that I will just be using for reinforcement underneath the table.

Lastly, I found these great banquet table legs that I think will work awesome. This way, I can fold it up if need be for a LOT easier storage. They were only $16.99 a pair, and came with all the hardware to install them.

[terradactyl]

hell yeah im stoked to see how this turns out

[Sparky73]

I am keeping all receipts, so if anyone is honestly interested in prices and where I got everything, just let me know. The final cost will probably be more then I wanted to spend, but this is whats left of my tax refund money, so I'm not out anything lol. So far with supplies, I think it is around $35, but I really haven't bought that much yet.

[Sparky73]

I got the piece of hardboard cut last night as well, but was way too tired to post the pictures. All I did for this was laid out my 2x4's on a couple of saw horses for support, sat the hardboard on top of that, and then laid the already cut piece of plywood on the hardboard. I carefully lined my edges up and clamped the two pieces together.

The piece of hardboard is actually real flexible, so make sure there is something supporting it within a couple of inches on each side of your cut. The blade on my saw is just like Home Depots, so I didn't want to use that and screw something up. I do a lot of body work on cars as well, so I used this 3" high speed cutter I got from Harbor Freight. It burnt the edge of the wood a little, but left a nice clean cut. I could also just run it right along the edge of the plywood.

I also forgot a couple pictures for my last post just showing the thickness of the plywood and hardboard, so I added them here.

[Sparky73]

I didn't get a whole lot accomplished today is it was my girlfriends' little brothers Birthday and I had to go bowling with their family. Since I got the table part cut to the final size I will be using, I wanted to start taking some measurements to figure out how big to make the logo's and where exactly to place them.

As of right now, I plan on doing a large "M" in the center, then on each end doing the "Monster" part of the logo. I didn't want to go too big as I know when lit with the LED's it will be somewhat bright and don't want the light to be too much.

I decided to go with about 20" high with the center emblem. The width comes out to 14 point something.. I don't remember exactly. I used a freeware program I found online to print the logo on multiple sheets of paper, which made it a piece of cake. The program is called ProPoster and can be downloaded here.

I didn't get many 'action' shots doing this, but basically all I did after printing my logo the size I wanted was tape the sheets together with packing tape and cutting it out carefully with an exacto knife. I then measured out my center on my piece of hardboard as well as my stencil. Since the hardboard is actually going to be my final surface, I didn't want to mark it up with pencil or pen.. that is why you see the masking tape. Once everything was centered out, all I had to do was line up some marks and tape it down. I will be finishing the other stencils and hopefully have it cut out by Monday.

The logo doesn't really look center in the pictures, but I will assure you, it is within a 1/16" from being dead on lol.

(Sorry for the wait on the pictures. After all that, one of the pictures was .1 MB too big and it never told me that LOL)

[kamikazikillah]

That shit is rad man......

Also, lamb of god is pretty much the shit.......

I appluad you

[rvbball]

lookin forward to see how the table comes out

[PeaTearGriffin]

me and a couple buddies made a table, transformers themed, it's prett nice, I'll try and get a pic up.

[PeaTearGriffin]

[NYYstateofmind]

damn, i really liked the beer bottle caps! you should find a way to make it happen.

[Sparky73]

I like the table Griffin, and I am eventually going to make something like that out of beer caps. Just give me a little while to save up LOL. I'll start asking friends to keep theirs too.

[HerrbulFresh]

Originally Posted by Sparky73

I like the table Griffin, and I am eventually going to make something like that out of beer caps. Just give me a little while to save up LOL. I'll start asking friends to keep theirs too.

You could ask a bar at the end of the night, but that wouldnt be as fun.

That table is going to be sick, good luck. I will be checking back for the finished product soon

[Sparky73]

Alright guys, huge update tonight. I've been working on and off pretty much all day. I didn't get as much as I wanted to done, but it's going along nicely. I've almost got an actual table! I am making this this damn near indestructible lol. And I've got a decent chunk of money into it now, so I am taking things slow and doing it right.

It was kind of cold this morning, so I had a hard time getting my ass out of bed to go out and work. I figured I would get on the computer and print up my other logo and get a stencil made. That took about an hour to print, tape and cut. I use packing tape to kind of "laminate" the paper. This will be helpful when it's time to trace. I also noticed a little problem that I never thought of. The word Monster has an "o" and an "r" that would have a part cut out that I needed. I Just left a little extra and will cut it out in the hardboard and just glue to center piece in. You'll see near the end of the project..

[Sparky73]

I next mocked up where my logo was going. I can't decide between 2 locations. I taped everything down in the one that I think looks better, but do you think it would make the game easier with them being closer?

I need your guys opinion here. I know in a tournament beer pong table, the triangle 'cup rack' is right on the end of the table. Well, with how I want my logo, I can't decide where to put it. Pictures are worth 1000 words....