So yesterday I decided to build this basketball rebound trainer thingy, right? Always wanted one but didn’t wanna spend cash. Looked around my shed, found some old timber planks near the back wall, covered in dust. Figured, “Why not?” Grabbed my tape measure – gotta measure twice, cut once, learned that the hard way last summer.

Cutting & Assembling the Frame

Started cutting the longest planks first. Used a circular saw, but man, that old cord kept getting tangled around my legs. Cut four pieces: two long for the legs, two shorter for the top and bottom. Laid ’em flat on my garage floor, got the angle brackets out. Drilled pilot holes – skipped that step once, split the wood like crazy. Learned my lesson. Screwed the brackets tight, forming this basic rectangle frame. Felt solid when I lifted it. Good start.

Adding the Pads

Okay, pads! Had this super thick gym mat from when we redid the basement floor. Perfect. Traced the frame shape onto the mat with chalk, then grabbed my utility knife. Cutting that dense foam sucked, honestly. Blade kept sticking. Had to wipe sweaty palms, change blade twice. Finally got two pieces cut sorta straight. Pulled out my heavy-duty staple gun – the old yellow one that jams if you look at it funny. Slapped the foam pads onto the wooden frame front and back, like a sandwich. Went staple-crazy around the edges. Looked messy, but hey, it’s holding.

The “Engineer” Part (aka Making It Functional)

Here’s the “engineer” bit they talk about. Needed it to fold and stand. Found these cheap door hinges in a junk drawer. One attached at the center where the legs meet. Tried drilling straight… crooked hole. Used some wood filler, waited, drilled again. Ugly but worked. Then added this old leather belt as a bungee strap? Looped it through some screw eyes I hammered in. Idea was for the pad to bounce the ball back. Tested it with my kid’s mini basketball – first throw, bounced sideways into my toolbox. Took a wrench to the head. Nice. Tinkered with the strap tension for ages, moving those screw eyes. Less pull, more angle? Finally got it returning kinda predictable.

• Step recap: Cut wood → built frame → hacked pads → attached pads → added hinges & strap → many, many adjustments.
• Messy part: Sawdust everywhere. Glue smudges on the pads. Probably used the wrong glue.

End result? Stands crooked, pads bulge a little, and the rebound ain’t NBA-quality. But it works okay for driveway drills. Total cost? Some scrap wood and an old mat I wasn’t using. Felt pretty good slapping it together. More satisfying than buying one. Wife says it looks like garbage, but she hasn’t seen the sweat behind it.