beer pong table help
#1
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beer pong table help
I am a college student and consequently mildly alcoholic. I have a beer pong table, but there are some things to do to it, and I'm looking for advice.
I have roughly 3/4 inch wood all the way across, and in the middle I cut out a logo of my school's mascot. pic:
On the bottom is a thin sheet of plexiglass. What I would like to do is fill the cutout with ..uhh.. lacquer? I guess? The clear stuff that dries and kind of resembles glass. Like, if I took that carving and inset an exact glass match into it. Thats what I want to do.
Do I use lacquer? Will that work? I don't know anything about lacquer. Please, any advice is appreciated.
Next question!
After I fill it up, I want to mount a light on the underside so it will glow, like this:
Specifically, the "girl" cutouts in green.
What sort of light is that? How do I buy it? What exactly am I looking for?
I appreciate any help!! Thanks!!
I have roughly 3/4 inch wood all the way across, and in the middle I cut out a logo of my school's mascot. pic:
On the bottom is a thin sheet of plexiglass. What I would like to do is fill the cutout with ..uhh.. lacquer? I guess? The clear stuff that dries and kind of resembles glass. Like, if I took that carving and inset an exact glass match into it. Thats what I want to do.
Do I use lacquer? Will that work? I don't know anything about lacquer. Please, any advice is appreciated.
Next question!
After I fill it up, I want to mount a light on the underside so it will glow, like this:
Specifically, the "girl" cutouts in green.
What sort of light is that? How do I buy it? What exactly am I looking for?
I appreciate any help!! Thanks!!
#2
You could get CFLs -- computer lights that don't generate heat, check out svc.com. But easier would be to put a sheet of green transparent sheeting on the plexi, and then put any old bulb underneath. Challenge there is to watch out for heat issues -- you don't want to be the subject of the article "College dorm burns down due to lighted beer pong table." or get decorative rope lighting -- you can get that at stores like Menards, Home Depot, etc.
If you fill the cutout with epoxy or lacquer, I think it'd become a giant dead-spot for bouncing the ping pong balls.
Bit of hindsight, but easier might have been to cut out the logo from plexiglass, then trace THAT on the wood, cut that out, then you'd have a properly fitting plug.
Still another option if you have access to a router, and assuming you mean the cutout goes through 3/4" wood: set the router to a depth that is the same as the thickness of a sheet of plexi that will cover the whole logo. Rout out a square that as the logo in the middle, so you only take off about half the wood -- just enough to drop the square of plexi into. Then you have your logo, you have a more solid flush surface, and no jagged edges (which, again, could affect any ping pong balls).
The one in the picture there probably has a sheet of plexi or glass over the entire top, or fabricated insets...
If you fill the cutout with epoxy or lacquer, I think it'd become a giant dead-spot for bouncing the ping pong balls.
Bit of hindsight, but easier might have been to cut out the logo from plexiglass, then trace THAT on the wood, cut that out, then you'd have a properly fitting plug.
Still another option if you have access to a router, and assuming you mean the cutout goes through 3/4" wood: set the router to a depth that is the same as the thickness of a sheet of plexi that will cover the whole logo. Rout out a square that as the logo in the middle, so you only take off about half the wood -- just enough to drop the square of plexi into. Then you have your logo, you have a more solid flush surface, and no jagged edges (which, again, could affect any ping pong balls).
The one in the picture there probably has a sheet of plexi or glass over the entire top, or fabricated insets...
#3
I believe the last suggestion would be best. If you could find some tempered glass that is being discarded from a construction site that would fit the top, layer it over your plywood logo (too bad it isn't a bulldog, but work with what you have), and frame it in with trim wood along the edges. I believe the glass would offer good bounce and will still let the light in. Being tempered, when someone slams down a beer bottle on it the glass will shatter into small harmless pieces rather than causing green gator blood to spew forth.
Larry
Larry