Okay, here’s my attempt at a blog post about building a “keel volleyball hard timber” structure, written in a casual, personal-experience style:

So, I wanted to build this thing, right? I’m calling it “keel volleyball hard timber” because, well, it kinda looks like a boat keel, it’s related to volleyball somehow (more on that later), and it’s made of hard timber. I’m no carpenter, just so we’re clear. But I like making stuff.

First, I grabbed some wood. I went to that big home improvement store – you know the one. I’m not mentioning names, but it’s orange. I spent like an hour just wandering around the lumber section, feeling like a total newbie. Eventually, I found some thick, sturdy pieces of timber that seemed about right. They were heavy as heck, which I figured was a good sign.

The Design (Or Lack Thereof)

Honestly, I didn’t have much of a plan. I had this vague idea in my head of what I wanted the final product to look like, but no blueprints or anything. I started by laying the timber out on my garage floor, trying different arrangements. It was like a giant, wooden jigsaw puzzle, except I didn’t know what the picture was supposed to be.

I decided to make a sort of A-frame shape, like the keel of a boat, but upside down. I figured that would be strong. I used a hand saw (mistake number one) to cut the timber at angles. It took forever, and my arms felt like they were going to fall off. My cuts were… let’s just say they weren’t exactly precise. More like “rustic.”

• Problem 1: Hand saw. Should have used a power saw. My bad.
• Problem 2: No precise measurements. Eyeballing it is not a good strategy.
• Problem 3: Wood is heavy. Seriously.

I managed to get the two main pieces of timber joined together at the top, using some big, honking screws and a lot of wood glue. It looked… wobbly. But I persisted! I added some cross-braces, again using screws and glue. That helped a bit, but it still felt a little flimsy.

Then came the “volleyball” part. I had this old volleyball net that I wasn’t using. I thought, “Hey, I could incorporate that somehow!” So, I draped the net over the timber frame. It looked… well, it looked like a volleyball net draped over a wobbly timber frame. Not exactly what I was going for.

I added extra support at the bottom that make it more stable to stand alone, I think maybe I success, at least it looks great, I believe you can have a try to build your own one.

So, there you have it. My “keel volleyball hard timber” project. It’s not pretty, it’s not perfect, but it’s… something. I learned a lot, mostly about what not to do when working with timber. Would I do it again? Probably not. But hey, at least I have a unique (and slightly ridiculous) conversation starter in my backyard.