Carpentry and Woodworking - warped ping pong table =(
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sirrockylee
09-30-08, 09:00 AM
Hello all!
2 days ago, I bought a used ping pong table off of craigslist. It was raining pretty hard that day when I went to go pick it up. I looked at the table and it was in good straight condition. So, a friend and I disassembled the table and put the two table halves in the car, on a queen sized mattress. During the loading process, the table got a bit wet from the rain.
When I got back to my apartment (probably 2 hours later), I brought the table inside and rested the two table slabs against the wall. I also rested the mattress against the table slabs. And then I went to bed!
I woke up yesterday and was going to assemble the table and to my horror, one of the table slabs became warped!!! I didn't realize something could warp so quickly. I'm hoping I still have a chance to straighten this table back to normal, though.
The table is 1/2 inch thick. And it's warped in a way where the edges of the table slope down (evenly on both sides). It's essentially in an upside down U shape (not THAT drastic though). I did a search and read some answers in this thread (http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=347451&highlight=warp). The last post by George seems very useful, but unfortunately, I live in an apartment in NYC so I don't really have access to a backyard to lay the table in the sun, or anything. I have only the limited place in my living room. Would I be able to use George's technique without having the element of the sun to add heat?
Anyone have any other advice they could give me? I heard that I could place the warped wood so the cupped sides are up (I'm assuming that means so the warped edges are curving upwards) and then use a damp cloth and iron the table edges?
Thanks in advanced!
2 days ago, I bought a used ping pong table off of craigslist. It was raining pretty hard that day when I went to go pick it up. I looked at the table and it was in good straight condition. So, a friend and I disassembled the table and put the two table halves in the car, on a queen sized mattress. During the loading process, the table got a bit wet from the rain.
When I got back to my apartment (probably 2 hours later), I brought the table inside and rested the two table slabs against the wall. I also rested the mattress against the table slabs. And then I went to bed!
I woke up yesterday and was going to assemble the table and to my horror, one of the table slabs became warped!!! I didn't realize something could warp so quickly. I'm hoping I still have a chance to straighten this table back to normal, though.
The table is 1/2 inch thick. And it's warped in a way where the edges of the table slope down (evenly on both sides). It's essentially in an upside down U shape (not THAT drastic though). I did a search and read some answers in this thread (http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=347451&highlight=warp). The last post by George seems very useful, but unfortunately, I live in an apartment in NYC so I don't really have access to a backyard to lay the table in the sun, or anything. I have only the limited place in my living room. Would I be able to use George's technique without having the element of the sun to add heat?
Anyone have any other advice they could give me? I heard that I could place the warped wood so the cupped sides are up (I'm assuming that means so the warped edges are curving upwards) and then use a damp cloth and iron the table edges?
Thanks in advanced!
the_tow_guy
09-30-08, 12:18 PM
Probably going to be a lot simpler to replace the piece. Not sure what it entails in NYC, but out here in the country a quick trip to HD or Lowe's would do it. They can even take the full sheet and cut it to size [best bet would be to go ahead and replace both sides and use 3/4" - sturdier and you'll get a better bounce with the ping pong ball]. MDF would probably work well and would be nice & smooth and take paint well. I haven't bought any MDF lately, but I think a sheet runs about $30.