Alright, so yesterday I decided to mess around with those leftover parquet timber scraps piled up in my garage. Had this stupid idea to make some kinda dance pad prototype thing.
Where The Idea Came From
Saw this video online of folks doing shuffle dancing competitions. Cool patterns and all, but they kept slipping on regular wood. Thought: hey, parquet’s got those little interlocking grooves – maybe that helps grip? Dug through my junk pile and found twentyish pieces of oak parquet blocks from last year’s flooring project. They were dusty but solid.
The Testing Phase
Slapped on my work boots and cleared the garage floor space. Tried two setups:
- First attempt: Just laid the blocks side-by-side without fixing them. Took three shuffle steps before everything scattered like pickup sticks. Blocks shot out everywhere and I nearly ate concrete.
- Second try: Used double-sided carpet tape this time. Stuck all blocks onto an old yoga mat. Worked better until the tape lost grip mid-spin turn. Blocks went flying again.
Bent half the blocks fishing them out from under my toolshelf. Not my smartest moment.
Locking System Hack
Remembered these rubber anti-slip pads for rugs my grandma used. Cut twenty squares and sandwiched them between blocks like puzzle pieces. Took forever squeezing them into the wood gaps.
Tried dancing again. Still slipped but less? Added wood glue as mortar between blocks for extra friction. Clamped them overnight under paint cans.
Failed Product, Fun Process
Next morning, the glued pad was rock solid but awkwardly heavy. Tried actual dancing – terrible. Feet kept catching on ridges. Nearly twisted my ankle doing a basic spin.
But! The grip? Absolutely worked. Shoes gripped those glue-filled crevices like velcro. Lasted fifteen minutes of stomping before a corner block cracked.
In the end, it wasn’t a useful dance pad at all. But watching garage dust fly while shuffling on my Frankenstein floor tile monster? Totally worth two bruised knees.
