Okay so this whole thing started last weekend when my nephew’s volleyball net kept collapsing. Kid was getting real frustrated trying to practice serves, you know? That flimsy store-bought setup just ain’t cutting it anymore. Needed something way sturdier but, like, not permanently stuck in the yard. Figured, why not try building a proper removable engineer board for the net poles myself? Timber seemed like the obvious starting point – got stacks of scrap wood from that old fence project anyway.

The Big Idea & Gathering Stuff

First thought was simple: make two heavy timber bases that hold the poles super steady, but I could pull ’em out easy when we needed the space back. Wandered out to the garage, started digging through the scrap pile. Found some decent thick planks left over – felt solid, looked like they could take a beating. Not perfect, some cracks here and there, but good enough for a first shot. Grabbed my measuring tape, the saw, drill, a bag of long bolts, nuts, washers… even found these big metal L-brackets buried under some paint cans. Figured they might come in handy. Already sweating just thinking it through.

Measuring & Cutting Chaos

Marked out where the pole holders would go on top of each base plank. Measured the bottom of the net poles – pretty standard size. Cut some smaller blocks of timber to act as holders. Didn’t go smoothly! First attempt, cut one block way too short. Measured wrong. Shouted at the tape measure. Cut another one. Tried to attach it to the base plank with the L-brackets using my drill. Bit slipped, nearly went straight into my thumb! Dropped the drill, sucked my knuckle, yelled a bit more. Finally got two brackets kinda sorta fastened onto the base plank holding that vertical block up. Looked rough. Real rough. But, the pole stood in it.

The “Removable” Part Headache

Here’s where it got tricky. Needed this whole base to be heavy but not permanent. Drove myself nuts thinking how to anchor it to the ground without concrete. Tried hammering long metal stakes through the timber into the dirt. Worked okay until you hit the net. Vibrations loosened everything! Spent like an hour just whacking stakes back down. Pointless. Then I saw those stackable concrete deck blocks behind the shed. Big, heavy, hollow. Lightbulb moment! I built each timber base assembly on TOP of one of these blocks. The block sat on the grass. The timber base with the pole holder sat on the block.

• Bolted the base plank directly onto the concrete block using the long bolts I had.
• Drilled holes through the timber and right into the solid parts of the concrete block.
• Wrestled the bolts through, used washers, cranked on the nuts with a wrench.

Making it Actually Work (Sort Of)

Put the net poles into the holders on the timber bases. Tightened the little adjustment screws on the holders (barely worked, gotta replace those things someday). Pulled the net tight. Stood back. Gave it a test kick… wobbled a little. Gave it a harder kick… held! The sheer weight of the concrete blocks kept it crazy stable. Kid hit a full-power serve against it. Solid as a rock. Felt like a genius… momentarily. Next big test: could I remove it easily? Undid all the big nuts and bolts holding the timber to the concrete blocks. Lift the timber base with the pole straight off. Could pick up the concrete block and chuck it back behind the shed. Yard was clear again! Easy!

What Actually Went Wrong (Because Stuff Always Does)

Oh man, don’t think it was perfect:

• Those scrap planks are heavier than sin. Barely lifted one base assembly by myself.
• Should’ve sanded the wood first. Got like three splinters wrestling it into place.
• The cheap pole holders I used are garbage. Probably need better clamps eventually.
• It ain’t pretty. Looks like Frankenstein made a volleyball net.

But here’s the kicker. After we packed it all away that first night, I just sat there looking at the yard. Remembered playing volleyball myself back in college before this whole desk job thing. Knee injury wiped that out, doc said no more jumping. Kinda forgot how much I missed the sound of a solid spike hitting the net hard. Didn’t expect this dumb timber project to bring that back. Thought about building a whole court… nah. That’s crazy. Right? Maybe just one little boundary line marker next weekend…