I'm a mum, and what do teachers do on their
school holidays? They entertain their own children. These holidays I have been building a
wrestling ring and if you are really over keen, you could build one of these for your classroom boys, well girls too... Imagine the play on those rainy days and imagine the noise!
This wrestling ring is not to scale, the MDF I used was cut to 41cm x 41cm (16"). The paint I used is from the tester pots you buy from Resene for about about $5.00.
Materials Needed:
*
MDF board cut to size
* 1 metre of 1cm x1cm pine (posts)
* 2 metre of 1cm x 4cm pine
* Small screws
*
UHU glue
* Liquid nails
* x3 Foam board
* Quilters batting or thin sponge
* White cotton cloth
* White paint
* Black paint
* Paint brushes
* Pencil and ruler
* Roller
* Drill
*
PVA and
Modge Podge
* Sellotape
* One
RAW wrestler for size
* 4 metres thick round elastic
* Glue gun
* Metal curtain eyes (from packets of hooks and eyes)
* Double sided tape
How I made it:
I cut the MDF to size and I used a wrestler as my guide for the base. Could I throw him around easily, would two fit in the ring, would four fit in? In the end I came up with 41cm x 41 cm square. This makes the wrestling ring not too big and not too small.
Posts:
Next I cut out 1cm squares on each corner of the base, to fit the posts (paint these before you make the ring). I made each stick for the post 20 cm in length.
Sides:
On two ends of the side framing I attached the two posts with screws (diagram 1). I had also glued these in place with liquid nails before using screws. I had a problem doing this as my liquid nails was so old it had gone hard in the tube. So my gluing was slightly messy. Paint the edge of the wood black. Be so careful you don't get black paint on the pad. This edging will tidy up and re enforce the edge of the wrestling ring later.
The base:
I stuck pieces of cut foam to the base with PVA then weighted it down so the glue could set. I also used tape to keep the seams together. Make sure you use a roller to remove any glue bubbles from the foam. Any edges that lifted up I used UHU glue to re-glue them down.
When the glued board is dry, paste again this time on top of the foam with Modge Podge. Next stick on quilters batting or sponge to help stop some of the noise and to give those plastic wrestlers a softer fall. Got to keep those wrestlers looking good or I'll have to buy more!
Covering the pad:
Time to cover the pad...I just used a non-stretch white cotton fabric. This was stretched and smoothed over the padded base, then glued underneath using the glue gun. To tidy up the bottom of the pad you can glue another square of fabric underneath if you like.
The Ropes:
Nearly there, next I worked out where I wanted the elastic to be and marked the wooden posts accordingly. I left a slightly bigger gap at the bottom so those 'plastic wrestlers could throw themselves into the ring easily'...just like on TV.
Attaching the eyes:
Before you finally put it all together you need to screw in the 12 metal eyes. This is easier to do before you assemble the wrestling ring.
Putting the wrestling ring together:
I attached the two sides of framing (that had one post at each end - see diagram 1), onto opposite ends of the MDF base. I made a couple of mistakes and made holes where I shouldn't have. No worries though, I'll just patch them up with filler, sand and then repaint the sticks. I also split one too, so perhaps I could have used thicker sticks...
I then measured and cut pine (4cm x 1cm), to make the other two sides. I attached these two sides to the base and used screws at each corner.
Important:
Make sure the posts are straight or you'll have a wonky wrestling ring.
Attaching the ropes:
Thread the elastic through the metal eyes, knot, cut ends, and glue. Do the same to the other two.
Cut some
black plastic tape into strips, wrap each strip around each metal eye, then over it and stick down. This makes the ropes look more realistic.
Tip:
Turn the wrestling ring upside down and place some self sticking plastic circles onto the underneath of the posts. I later cut the circles to fit the post flush. This will save your coffee table from getting scratched.
Finally it's almost finished:
Time to try it out...did it past the test? Yes it did!
To complete the ring:
Attach a black skirt to the sides so it looks like a real wrestling ring. I haven't finished this part, the bottom pic shows the double sided tape ready to attach the fabric skirt. I used a black stretch fabric but it is too light in weight and I wasn't happy with the result. So I'm off to buy a thicker stronger fabric. I'll post pics when I make it..
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| Attaching double sided tape for fabric sides |
