That Crazy Idea About Beach Volleyball

So yeah, last Thursday morning. I’m just staring at this pile of leftover beech timber scraps in my shed. Beautiful grain, tough as nails, but totally useless for big projects. Then boom. Beach volleyball. Don’t ask why, it just popped in my head. See, we play pickup games down at the park sometimes, but hauling a proper net setup? A pain. Heavy poles, tangled ropes… nightmare. What if, I thought, I could make something super easy? Like, removable pieces I could actually carry without breaking my back? Crazy? Probably.

Digging In With Scraps

Right, no time like the present. Grabbed two of the thickest beech pieces, roughly the same size. They were maybe this wide? Felt solid enough. Figured they’d be the upright poles, kinda. Needed a way they’d stand up. Saw my old shovel handle – metal, hollow – perfect! Cut two chunks off it, short sections like thick cans. Grabbed my drill:

• Drilled holes dead center into the bottom end of each beech ‘pole’. Went slow, didn’t wanna split the wood.
• Made the holes just big enough so those metal sleeves fit snug. Like hammering a stubborn tent peg.
• Got some sturdy steel rods, longer than the sleeves. These would stab into the ground for support.

Stuck the rods in the ground, dropped the metal sleeve over the rod, then jammed the wood pole down into the sleeve. Boom! Vertical. Felt sturdy. First win.

The Problem: Connecting Across

Next headache: connecting the two poles across the top for the net. How to make it removable and strong enough? Found some more beech scraps, thinner this time. Decided to try making horizontal ‘arms’ that stick out sideways. Cut two pieces. Needed a solid joint.

• Marked a big circle on the top of each main pole and matched it on the end of the arms.
• Used a big Forstner bit (makes flat-bottomed holes) to hollow out maybe half an inch deep. Did the same, reversed kinda half-circle, on the arms.
• Sounded clever: the arm sits on top, and the round bits kinda lock together? Yeah, well… it wobbled like crazy. Failed.

Back to the shed. Found these hefty metal ‘L’ brackets. Big ones. Figured, what if I just bolted the arms directly flat against the sides of the poles? Needed beefy bolts. Drilled pilot holes so the wood wouldn’t split. Slammed in coach bolts (those rounded head ones) with big washers, tightened them down super hard. Oh yeah. That felt solid. Arms stuck straight out now, no droop. Major improvement.

Net Time… Almost

Okay, looking good! Had my poles standing firm with arms out. Now the net. Easy part? Hah. The arms need hooks. Forgot those. Luckily, had some big screw-in metal hooks in the toolbox. Screwed those firmly into the ends of the wooden arms on both sides. Hung the net. Sweet! Felt like victory!

Taking It Apart & Reality Check

The whole point was ‘removable’. So I tested it. Unscrewed the net hooks, slid the net off. Unbolted the horizontal arms from the main poles. Then pulled the poles straight up off the metal sleeves in the ground. Pulled the sleeves off the rods stuck in the earth. Finally yanked the rods out. Done. Whole system disassembled into a pile I could carry in two trips.

Took it down to the park Sunday morning. Setup took a few minutes longer than I hoped, mainly getting the rods deep and straight so the poles were level. But… it worked! We played. Net stayed tight. Wind came up a bit – no drama. Packing up was way faster than wrestling with standard posts.

Not perfect though. Weight: Beech is heavy. Even these parts add up. And threading the net hooks on/off is a tiny fiddle. But overall? Massive improvement over dragging the full metal monster. Super happy I used that leftover beech – tough wood took the bolts and punishment like a champ. Removable volleyball court? Totally possible with scrap wood and stubbornness.