Foosball.com Forums
Chat Area => General Chat => Topic started by: kjs5921 on November 17, 2015, 09:59:49 PM
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So earlier this week I picked up a harvard foosball table from the side of the road. There’s only one problem…. There was a large hole on the playing surface. So I decided to try my hand at making my own playing field for a fun winter break project. After watching some intense tourneys on YouTube I decided I didn’t want just any surface, but one that I could learn ball control and all sorts of fun stuff. I realize that a harvard isn’t the best but I figured with an improved playing field and the rods oiled up it might be a decent table to mess around and learn on. After doing some research it seemed that many people recommend the cyclone II so I tried to find out what makes it so good. I found a helpful article about a DIY foosball table that they tried to model after the cyclone II. Here’s what they said about the playing surface, “In order to closely reproduce the surface of a Tornado (which is non-smooth), our playfield is made of a base 3/4" inch particle board, a paper playfield, and then 1/8" Plexiglas roughed with 60-grit sandpaper, all sandwiched with a clear artists' spray mount adhesive. This gives it a nice, translucent look while giving the right texture for ball pinning.” Does that sound like it would make for a good playing surface? Any feedback or tips about building your own surface would be a help, thank you.
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Does that sound like it would make for a good playing surface? Any feedback or tips about building your own surface would be a help, thank you.
Sure, sounds like it's worth a try. And if it doesn't work you are only out about $20.
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Thank you for the reassurance kgstewar. I'll be sure to post how it turns out
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Harvards are pretty common craigslist table and/or back alley free table... not worth the effort as they have pretty fragile components.
I would suggest you can save your time and just find another one for about $50 used for all its parts, however the playfields are not very stable over time. A friend of mine reinforced his with 1" mdf glued below and it worked out as a net positive but the table is still quite awkward for a number of reasons.
A cabinet maker / wood worker type can likely make you something very similar to a tornado/shelti/fireball using 1" mdf, contact cement, and dark green textured formica (without paint lines). (Beginner / harvard players don't really use the lines anyway). Just make sure the bar to playfield distance remains the same or it will have awkard release and pinning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bmx2tVWQiE
HJ
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