Ever wonder what to do with that spare clunky piece of plywood sitting in the garage? Well, when you have two boys who love basketball and it's Christmas, the answer is clear. If you build it they will jump!
So after finding a nice solid steel hoop at Goodwill, it was time to alchemize these humble materials into gold, literally.
I start by drawing out the arch of the backboard using the ole' Da Vinci Technique. I named it after his famous, Proportions of Man drawing, it simply means using your limbs as a natural drawing compass. You can use your shoulder, elbow or wrist as the pivot point to get different sized curves that are nearly perfecto. Here I am swinging my shoulder around to get the top arch.
Then it's time for the less cool sounding, Random Container Technique, in order to scribe the little curves for the corners for cutting out with a jigsaw. And yes my hands were pretty grayish blue at this point:/
After cutting out the curves I use a belt sander and router to refine the edges. Now its time to get this thing smoothed out...
Ok, time for the golden touch.
After a few King Solomon style coats of paint I attached the hoop to the board with some big 1/4" lag screws and made a simply brace for the back so it can hang over our metal gate.
The boys kinda tripped out on Christmas morning with the gold hoop sitting by the tree. Visions of sugar plums still dancing in their head they probably thought. They wanted to use it at once! Time for a bit of old school one on one...
I left him hanging...
The boys favorite color is gold and I thought the explosion would be much more fun than the standard square. With plywood, one could make all kings of different shapes and styles of backboards, but there is something to sticking just close enough to the traditional iconic design.
Price Breakdown:
Hoop = $13 @Goodwill
Plywood $1 @Home Depot Off Cuts)
Net - $3 @Big 5 Sports
Paint/Bolts/Tape = $5 @Lowes
Total =$22 big ones
And just when I started to pat my self on the back I soon found out that I wasn't the only one on my block with a custom b-ball hoop!
Whaddya know? A Misfits Crimson Ghost Hoop! I hope to see some more wacky backboards soon...
Who's got next game?
©MonkCarpentero™
All Rights Revealed