Training top spin by the return board

rhouse said:

Cool Deal - If you can find HDF, I think you'll be much happier. HDF is normally about 25% more dense than MDF and a whole lot less sensitive to moisture, etc (say if the table is in your garage). High density plywood can work ok, but higher end plys like baltic birch are very nice and also tend not to warp on you over time.

Good luck with your build!

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Hi Richard,

First of all thank you for your products, inspiration and posts. Furthermore, I think it's really cool that you encourage DIY's and provide advice for these projects.

I've gathered just about all the supplies I need to build my own returnboard a few months ago, similar to the one suds79 is describing (music stand base), but I haven't gotten around to building it and the only thing I'm missing is the wood. Considering your expertise and what you've already said on this thread, which type of wood and thickness provides the most quality and best bounce according to you? What's the best bang for your buck?

Best, - Thomas

Hi Thomas,

We settled on a nice 1/2 inch thick european baltic birch that has at least 10 plys and polyurethane coating. In the states we source it through a panel processing firm that uses them for high end cabinets. We tried a lot of different materials and found this to be the best in terms of both aesthetic and performance. Since the boards are passive, a less dense material will cause you to have to hit harder to get good returns, and if you go too thin, you also have more issues with warping, etc.

Our older design used HDF which is good density for the weight and it worked well. It and MDF really need some kind of edge banding else the corners and edges do poorly over time with wear.

All that said, it may come down to what is available to you locally. Cheapest will likely just be plywood, but the surface finish may not be that great and you will get benefit from sanding, using wood filler, and then some kind of surface finish like the polyurethane.

Good luck and would love to see your board when it's done!
-Richard

Thank you very much Richard!

Never played against a return board, but after watching the videos, I am really very impressed. Earlier somehow I thought that it was only for some very basic low-speed close to the table hitting, but it seems you can do nearly everything with it (including footwork drill if you have 2 of them i guess).

Wanted to ask members who invested in such a board and have it for a while already if they are using it still? Or is it more of a one time nice to have thing?

https://youtu.be/tjIcxFZF8uA

here is a new video of Returnboard X

www.returnboard.net

worldwide free express shipping.
Returnboard X is 299 USD

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We have customers, club owners, etc. that contact us over long periods of time asking to replace rubber, making videos, sending us suggestions, etc. ..enough to let us know that many of them are using it for longer periods of time. At a local college, they use them a lot for warm ups before they get into more formalized training. I personally like them a lot for this as well as quick serving feedback - Once you have a rally going, it has a very natural feel and just helps keep things "fresh" between visits to the club, etc. Hope this helps!
-Richard