So I’m gonna share exactly how I made that shock absorbing volleyball stand from oak timber. Yeah, oak! That heavy, hard wood. Sounds crazy for something needing bounce, right? But trust me, I got a story.

How It All Started

It kicked off last Saturday morning. My neighbor asked me to come watch his kid’s rec volleyball game. Fun, right? Not really. Saw three kids almost twist ankles landing because their practice stand setup was wobbly junk.

Driving home, I’m staring at these old oak beams leftover from replacing my porch roof last summer. Heavy suckers. Been tripping over them in the garage for months. Suddenly it pops into my head: “Could I actually use this oak to make a better, more stable stand? Make it absorb shock?”

Had to give it a shot.

The Messy Beginning

First thing I did? Hauled those oak beams out. Just propped ’em up like goalposts in my driveway. Measured how far apart volleyball nets usually are. Grabbed the tape measure from my toolbox – always seems to disappear, right? Found it under a pile of rags.

Marked the oak beams where I thought the main uprights should go using a busted crayon. Don’t judge, it was close!

• Sawed the uprights rough. That oak was tough! Blade started smoking once. Nearly needed a break myself.
• Next step: Legs. Needed a wide base for stability. Cut shorter lengths for the bottom cross beams. Tried angling them out, figuring that might help absorb more wobble when the ball hits the net.
• Time for holes. Needed a spot to thread the cord through the top. Drilled right into the oak with my power drill. Sparks flew like crazy! Had to go slow. Like, snail-pace slow. Oak ain’t soft pine.

The Tricky Part: Shock Absorption

Okay, got the basic frame cut. But how to make it shock absorbing? Oak is stiff! Had zero flex. This was the big puzzle.

Started thinking about tennis rackets. You know, how they’re kinda springy? Not building a racket, but the idea stuck.

• Rubber feet idea. Went rummaging in the shed. Found four thick rubber pads leftover from leveling my washing machine. Score! Screwed one onto the bottom of each leg where they hit the floor. Idea was to let those absorb the vibration instead of the rigid wood.
• Tension trick. Instead of cranking the net line super tight (pulling the whole stand), I left it a tiny bit slack. This way, when the volleyball smacks the net, the cord gives a little instead of jarring the whole stand rigidly. The oak frame just sits there solid, and the shock gets “absorbed” by the softer cord and the squishy feet.

Putting It All Together & Testing

Honestly, it felt kinda stupid carrying this heavy oak beast out to the yard. Kids walking past were giving me looks. Doubted myself big time.

Set it up. Pulled the cord through. Adjusted the height. Gave the net line a good hard smack with my palm.

Holy smokes.

The stand barely budged! Just a tiny rock from the rubber feet, then settled right back. Zero rattle. Zero wobble. Like it was glued to the ground, but the shock? Just… vanished into those pads and the cord. My kid whacked it with a volleyball – same thing. Solid base, energy absorbed.

So yeah. Used tough oak. Sounds wrong for absorbing shock, right? But the trick wasn’t making it springy. It was about letting the connections around it take the hit – the rubber feet soften the blow to the floor, the cord loosening gives that fraction of give. The oak? That guy just sits there doing its main job: being a heavy, stable anchor. Doesn’t need to bend if the weak spots around it take the shock. Worked way better than I ever thought it would. Happy accident!