Alright folks, let’s talk about that wooden dance floor thingamajig. You know, the one I kept calling my ‘pad dancing engineer board’. Sounds fancy, right? Trust me, starting out, it felt anything but.

Getting Dragged Into It

So, there I was, scrolling through stuff online, probably wasting time, when I see these guys dancing on these cool-looking wooden squares. Pad dancers, they call themselves. Looks neat. And my brain goes, “Hey, wouldn’t it be cooler to build my own?” Typical me. See something fun, immediately think about hammering it together.

Digging Up the Bits and Bobs

First things first, I needed stuff. Ran down to the local hardware joint. You know the drill:

• Wood planks: Just simple plywood squares, nothing crazy expensive. Didn’t wanna blow the budget on something that might end up as firewood.
• Thin plastic sheets: Gotta protect that wood floor from the wood floor board? Yeah, logic ain’t perfect. Figured it needed some slide.
• Plastic pipes: For the… engineer part? Really, they were just gonna be feet. Supports. Little short ones.
• Big bags of hardware: Screws, brackets, washers, nuts, bolts. Grabbed a mix, hoping some of it would fit.
• Tools I already had: Drill with bits, saw, screwdriver, measuring tape (crucial!), and a level because ain’t nobody wanna dance on a wonky plank.

Making Sawdust and Sweat

Got it all dumped in the garage. Took a deep breath and started hacking away.

• Cutting the plastic: Measured the plywood squares (roughly, I ain’t a robot). Then laid the slippery plastic sheet over each one. Grabbed my knife and carefully cut around the edges. Took ages to get it neat, and honestly, some bits look like a toddler took a bite. Secured it down with some thin tape along the edges – the plastic needed to stay put while I worked.
• Pipe Problems: Measured where the plastic pipes should go on the bottom. Aim? Keep the board stable and lifted off the actual floor just a smidge. Drilled pilot holes through the plywood where each pipe end would sit. Hooked up the drill with a bit slightly smaller than the bolts. Then grabbed a bracket thingy for each pipe end, a washer, poked the bolt through, stuck it in the hole, and tightened it down with a nut underneath. Sounds straightforward? Try holding the pipe level, screwing the bolt tight, and not stripping the cheap plastic pipe all at once. Pure frustration. Couple of pipes cracked. Had to replace them. Pain in the butt.

It Stands! Kinda…

After much wrestling with plastic, wood, and hardware, I finally had one board looking mostly assembled. Plonked it down on the floor. Gave it a tentative step. Solid! Mostly level. Success! Did a little happy dance on my one completed board. Felt weird dancing on one leg.

Repeated the whole nightmare process for the next board. And the next. Measured, cut, drilled, screwed, swore, fixed mistakes. Eventually, had four slightly imperfect, but undeniably functional, wooden dance pads staring back at me.

Shake Test (aka Dancing)

The real moment of truth. Pushed all four pads together into a bigger square, trying to line them up as best I could. Took a breath… stepped on. Didn’t collapse! Started doing some basic steps. Moving around felt surprisingly okay! The plastic underfoot gave just enough slide without feeling dangerous. The little plastic pipe legs didn’t wiggle too much. Felt sturdy. Different from proper pads, obviously. But it worked. I built a thing. A kinda stupid, totally non-professional thing, but it exists and I can step on it without breaking an ankle.

Yeah, It Actually Works

So there you go. It’s rough around the edges. The plastic pipes feel a bit janky, and the tape holding the plastic sheet might need upgrading soon. But guess what? It assembles. It stays together. It lets me shuffle around without totally destroying my actual floor. Mission mostly accomplished. Total cost? Less than buying one real one. Would it survive a pro dancer? Heck no. But for my clumsy feet? Perfect. Sometimes, just making something work is the win.