Okay, here’s my blog post about my experience messing around with keel, basketball, plywood, and timber:

So, I had this kinda crazy idea the other day. I’ve been wanting to build… well, something for a while. I had some leftover plywood and timber from a previous project, and I kept seeing these awesome basketball court floors online. Then, I stumbled upon the word “keel” – you know, like the bottom part of a boat? It got me thinking about structure and support.

I started by sketching out some rough plans. I’m no artist, let me tell you, but it was enough to give me a general direction. The basic idea was to use the timber to create a sort of “keel” structure underneath the plywood, providing extra support and, I hoped, a bit of that bouncy feel you get on a real basketball court.

Getting My Hands Dirty

First things first, I measured everything out. Like, really measured. I’ve learned the hard way that being off by even a little bit can mess up the whole project. I cut the timber into the lengths I needed for the keel – basically a long central piece and some smaller cross-pieces for added stability.

Next up, I attached the cross-pieces to the main keel timber. I used wood glue and some hefty screws. I wanted this thing to be solid, you know? It took a while, and my arms were definitely feeling it, but I got it all assembled.

Then came the plywood. I laid it out on top of the keel structure and started screwing it down. This was probably the most satisfying part, seeing it all come together. I made sure to use plenty of screws to really secure the plywood to the timber frame.

The Bounce Test

• Step one: build structure.
• Step two: get the wood cut
• Step three: put the support up
• Step Four: Make it bounce!

Once everything was assembled, it was time for the moment of truth: the bounce test! I grabbed a basketball and… well, it wasn’t exactly NBA-level bounce, but it was definitely better than just plywood on the floor! There was a nice, solid feel to it, and a little bit of give, which was exactly what I was going for.

It’s more like, a solid, slightly springy platform. Perfect for… well, I’m still figuring that out. Maybe a mini-basketball practice area? A slightly elevated stage for… something?

It wasn’t perfect, of course. There’s a bit of wobble if you jump really hard near the edges, and I probably could have spent more time sanding everything down to make it super smooth. But hey, it was a fun experiment! And now I’ve got this… thing… that I built with my own two hands. And that’s pretty cool, right?