This page is a quick summary of how we made our table, included are some photos and schematics for those interested in building their own.
If you missed our video of this table in action see it right here.
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Here is a detailed diagram of how the automatic ball washing system works. The fan was bought off of Ebay, it is a DC 200cfm server case fan. The water pumps were purchased at Harbor Freight Tools, they are just regular pond pumps. All of the tubing is just regular 1.5″ PVC and ABS tubing from Home Depot.
This picture shows how the actual system looks under the table.
This is the Sony Head Unit that is used for the stereo in the table. It is a standard deck that would go in any car.
For the speakers, we decided to go with 5x7s because of size restraints, they are mounted to the bottom of the table as shown here. The legs on the table are collapsible as well. The hinges can be seen in many pictures.
This is the first test of the new stereo and sub woofer. The amp powering the sub is a JVC 250 watt RMS unit.
To power everything in the table, two 650 watt power supplys were purchased. The first powers the stereo, fans, and LED lights. The second powers the amp for the sub.
The LED lights are also waterproof, mounted to the underside of table as shown.
These are two other tables that we have also previously made.
And that’s about it. Thanks for checking out the page. All we ask is if you plan on using this design, is to like our FaceBook Page , and spread the word about DoItOrNoBalls.com
Thank You.
Is that tube in the bottom completely filled up with water? Saw this on TFM it’s faf and I’ll be building one soon.
Yeah that’s the reservoir. Its filled right up to the tube where water drains down into it at, it holds about 3 and half solo cups worth of water.
What did you guys make the top out of? Is it just plywood or did you use something like plexiglass. I’m a huge fan of what you guys did here!
The top is plywood, 3/4″ thick, the nice stuff though, sanded and filled etc. looks like plexiglass because there is a ton of clear lacquer on top
Sweet! And then did you guys just use neon paint for the accents on the top or is it back lit?
We used neon paint from home depot for the accents on top. When purchasing a clear coat, try to find one that does not have a UV protector, because if it does, this will make it more difficult for the blacklight to illuminate the neon paint.
Two questions, when you fold the legs up are the speakers detachable? And how does the water empty out if you want to transport the table?
No, the speakers do not detach from the legs, they just fold with, and yes it is really heavy, and the water reservoir has screw on caps on both ends, so you just unscrew the end and all the water drains out. Makes cleaning a breeze a the end of the night.
On the ball washer how did u make the ball entry flap and what did u make it out of?
The entry flap is made from a heavy duty plastic sheet, we used a type of binder divider.
Thanks
Do you know what size pump you used? aka your gallons per hour and also how are you getting air into the PVC holding water
our pump is 200 gph, but this is a lot, we have the settings turned all the way down, a smaller pump would word just as well, the air is directed though a cardboard cone that forces air into the pvc, this can be seen in the first two pictures.
i notice that the legs are collapsible, but have you run into any troubles with them folding up while the table is in use or are they locked into place? i’m just worried if i build one someone accidentally bumps the table and it collapses on me
there is a latch on each leg so that the leg is locked into place and cannot be bumped. it can be seen in the second picture that shows the actual ballwasher.
right on thank you! btw, what fraternity are you guys in?
Hey guys, awesome job on the tables.
I was wondering how you got the design and lettering to be so clean looking. What did you guys use, how did you execute, and if you used a tool, program, or company, where and how much did it cost?
Thanks!
Thanks! The lettering was done is a few steps, first the whole table was covered in blue painters tape. Then I printed out all the letters and designs that I wanted to have on the table, then I put the pages over the blue tape, then traced the designs with an exacto knife. Then I was able to remove the blue table in the exact shape I needed the designs for the letters, or in the case of large designs such as the X, I just cut the shape out of paper and outlined the paper in tape. Then everything on the table was covered except what I needed to be yellow, then we spray painted it, remove the tape once dry and its done. Then repeated the process for the Blue. the giants logo took a good amount of time to get all of the blue tape down just right. In the end, if you take your time, it will look amazing.
And for a good tip, if you plan to use neon color paint such as I did, spray a layer of white paint, then spay a layer of yellow over that, it will look much better.
That’s awesome. How did you get the paint to look glossy? And what did you use to seal the paint? Polyacrylic? Me and that guy Timothy above are building a table like yours this week. Pretty pumped.
We used a clear coat, try to find one that is does not have a UV resistant so that the neon will shine brighter. that’s what give it a shinny look.
did you paint the entire table black before adding the neon? Or did you leave the neon parts as bare plywood before painting them?
You can really do it what ever way you would like, but its a lot easier if you paint it black first.
Was the black spray paint the first coat you put on? Or did you use a primer coat before the black was sprayed on?
The black paint is an exterior high gloss black paint, that has several coats on the table. no primer.
Also, where did you get the metal pieces that fit around the ball washer holes?
You can find those at any hardware store, they are just a type of pipe fitting
sorry one last thing, i was wondering if you could explain to me how you connected the fans to the power supply? did you have to buy special wiring?
We just wired the fans to a potentiometer (fan speed control) this way we could adjust the speed of the fans so the exact air pressure could be created. We just used regular wire, and connected them straight together. Pretty much any wire will work. We are Sigma Chi.
It looks like you don’t have any visible nail heads from the top of the table, is that because of the multiple layers of paint or did you use another method of attaching the 3/4 inch top to the perimeter 2×6’s?
Everything is attached to the underside. So yes there are no screws or nails on the top of the table.
Hey awesome table, i was just curious as to what exactly the 650 watt power supplys are? like the specific name if that makes sense, thanks!
They are generic computer power supplys, any brand is fine, you can find them on ebay for pretty cheap
how thick is the table to fit all the plumbing
About 5.5 inches.. we used a 2×6 for the frame, the plumbing hangs a little lower than that tho. As you can see in the photos….
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Hi,
I am planning on building this as a summer project, about how much did the whole thing cost? Fans, pumps, wood, speakers, paint, etc
We have about 650 in our table. The most expensive stuff was the stereo equipment. The fans were about 13 bucks on ebay, leds and power supply’s were also bought on ebay for 20, 27 respectively. all the wood and pvc parts were relatively inexpensive and they can be priced out at your local Home Depot. The paint and clear coat was also a bit of money as well, between the black paint, several colors of spray and the clear it was about 80 bucks for all the paint.
First off I just wanted to say that this shit looks sick. You guys made this perfect and I was hoping to make one as well this summer. I just wanted to know how much do you think this project would cost if theres was no stereo system or lights. Just the wood with the ball washer
For this table minus the stereo and lights it would cost approximately $360.
Hi im building my first beer pong table soon and these look great! for the painting could you please go over hoe you made it look so clean? is the neon paint naturally that bright in the dark? or is a blacklight involved? any and all info on this would help me a great deal thanks!
All of the wood was sanded before paint. The black was applied in several coats by brush. Then the designs were taped off with blue painters tape and sprayed on. And yes we do have a black light in the room. If you intend to use the neon paint over the black or dark color, be sure to spray a layer of white paint, then the color neon paint over that. This way it looks brighter and you can use way less paint.
what adapter did you use to bring power to the fans?
we used computer power supplys
would any computer power supply work, or should i get a specific one?
I have looked all over the web for a diagram of this with the fan. Every other one has been with just a reservoir that you have to reach down into for the ball. Thanks so much. So stoked to make one of these.
Hey would any of these power supplies work?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hercules-Black-ATX-12CM-Fan-600W-Silent-Power-Supply-w-20-24pin-SATA-PCI-E-/120890122355?pt=PCA_UPS&hash=item1c259ce073
http://www.ebay.com/itm/680-WATT-POWER-SUPPLY-Intel-AMD-PC-Desktop-Computer-NEW-2-FANS-/280868560517?pt=PCA_UPS&hash=item4165121e85
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-400-Watt-ATX-Computer-Power-Supply-Desktop-PC-400W-/270962161831?pt=PCA_UPS&hash=item3f169a78a7#ht_1162wt_1270
I would use either of the first two. Just to have the extra power.
Might be a dumb question, but how do you connect the fans to the potentiometer then to the power supply? Thank you!
If you buy a computer power supply, computer fans, and a computer fan potentiometer, they should all just plug together. If not, just hard wire them together, and make sure all your voltages are right.
Hey I am currently working on the ball washer and am having a problem with creating enough air flow to push the ball up the other side. Do you possible have any helpful tips on this problem?
You just need a more powerful fan, and make sure air cannot come out anywhere except the exit hole.
What is the voltage of your fans?
The Fans run on 12V
how did you connect the radio to the power supply?
So the radio has three wires that you use when connecting to your car. Red, Yellow, and black. The Black wire is the ground so you can go ahead and connect that to any number of the black wires on the power supply. Then you have the Yellow and Red. The Red is the accessory wire so that the raido turn on when the car is on. All you need to do is connect the Yellow and red together, then connect those to a few of the yellow wires on the power supply. This way the radio will be on when the power supply is on.
AWESOME work guys!!! Thanks for sharing your video and outlines. Making one now. I have no prior electrical knowledge. I bought the exact same fan you recommended. so i hook up the fan to the potentiometer to computer power supply box to household outlet? is this the right potentiometer?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-x-100K-B100K-OHM-Linear-Taper-Rotary-Potentiometers-/250622746105?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5a479df9
Here are the potentiometers we used. Prefabbed unit, makes installation alot easier.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5-PC-CPU-HDD-4-Channel-Fan-Speed-Controller-Control-Led-Cooling-Front-Panel-/250910506092?pt=US_CPU_Fans_Heatsinks&hash=item3a6b6e7c6c
Thanks for everything!
i was just wondering do all the speakers and the sub make the table shake at all? does it make the cups vibrate or anything?
No, the table is so heavy that the cup will not move from the vibration
I have one more question, you mentioned your fans being 200cfm. Is that 200cfm max? Because that’s all I can really find, this is the specific fan I found:
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=180758704684&index=8&nav=SEARCH&nid=19305224939
Just want to make sure it’ll work.
How is the durability on the ball washer? if done correctly will it last a long time?
Yes, ours is over a year old and still working strong
for your power supply did you have to have the 20/24 pin hooked up to something? that’s the only way mine works. I have it plugged into a power tester so it turns on, but I feel its not giving it enough power, to power the fan to its max speed. even with the fan speed control it barely spins around. the ball washer is all I got left on mine and its kicking my ass.
For the 20/24 pin all you need to do is find the green wire in that bundle and connect it to any of the black wires. You can go ahead and cut the green and black out of the connector and wire them together. Now when even the psu is plugged in, it will be on. (there are plenty of youtube videos of this)
And as far as the fan goes, just make sure you have it plugged into any of the yellow wires (12v) If it is still not powerful enough, then you’ll need a different fan. (took me several tries to find one that worked)
Good luck, make a video of your table when it is done and give us a shout out!
When you installed the deck, did you use all of the original wires or only the red, yellow, and black? Also, did you ground your amp to something? Thanks!
Yeah the deck just used the yellow and black and the red. the rest of the wires are for the speakers. The amp is just connected to the power supply via the Black and yellow wires. It is not grounded in any other way, most of the outlets in my house don’t have ground plugs anyways so I didn’t worry about it. This system has been working great for over 3 years now with pretty heavy use so it should be fine without any extra grounds. Just make sure it is sealed and does not get wet. Give just a shout out video and we will post it, good luck!