Ladder Ball Games

Making a yard game too nice for a yard game

I made a ladder ball game because I didn't want to buy one. But I also didn't want to buy PVC pipes to make one, and I certainly didn't want to buy 1" or larger dowels for the rungs.

The frame was easy enough, with a half lap joint at the base of each leg. The legs also have insets for each rung for added strength, and I used a wooden pin to secure each rung instead of screws, which I thought would be unsightly along the sides.

I turned each rung on the lathe from pieces of 2x4. The bolas were made by drilling a hole half-way into each golf ball, then using epoxy to glue the cord in.

I was then commissioned to make a set of these games, with the additional requirement that the leg bases be detachable. I used the same design as before, but instead of gluing the half lap at the bottom of each leg, it was held together with a bolt and wing nut.

The rungs were still lathe-turned 2x4s, and I used a Marblewood pin in each rung. One thing we discovered when playing on the first ladder ball game I made was that there's much less flexing with these than the PVC counterparts, which means you get a much greater whipping effect when the cord hits the rungs. It doesn't seem to create a problem with the gameplay, but it was interesting to observe. They all turned out great, and hopefully they bring years of fun!