Mini Air Hockey Table // How-To | I Like To Make Stuff

I made a mini air hockey table using a shop vac!

See a behind the scenes video for this project

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Mini Air Hockey Table // How-To | I Like To Make Stuff

I Like To Make Stuff

[bdormer]

Our air hockey table had a 120mm, high output, PC case fan mounted right underneath the center of the playfield. Worked great! You might also look at a bilge blower, as they can move quite a bit of air.

[shellbournian]

I play a ton of air hockey and I have a tip for you. What makes an air hockey puck glide is that they have a large circular pocket (about 1/4" smaller all the way around and about 1/32" deep) for the air to catch in. In addition, with the pocket cut out of the bottom, there's less surface area facing the table, thus less friction.

I'm willing to bet that if you implemented this into your design, you'd get better performance with less air. You could use a quieter, less powerful source of air, and still get the puck moving faster and smoother.

Thanks for all your great videos!

[Blackmist]

Solution for the strikers: cut two more circles of acrylic and glue them to the bottom. Then not only would they slide just as well as the puck but the puck would only be hitting acrylic, which would stop the wood from getting damaged and also make a more satisfying "clack" noise :)

If you don't want the strikers any taller, just rip off the part that's already been damaged as it's the exact height of the acrylic.

[kaixin]

Im always so excited when there's new video on this channel 😀

[theprisera]

I'm surprised you didn't add a way to count the points with an arduino.

[BradleyMakesThings]

This is awesome, Bob! You may not call this perfect byutyou sure have a knack for building a wide range of stuff! Bravo, sir!

[caseykreicar]

This guy has one of the best DIY channels on youtube... amazed every time he posts a new video.

[gkkent]

I loved seeing it all come together! The best part for me is that you are already reflecting on what you want to do to make it better!!

[dkgaming]

Instead of using the shop vac, I would use computer fans that blow inward from under the table . I had a small hockey table that ran off a small fan and was surprised how well it worked. Hope this gives some ideas Keep up the great work, looking forward to seeing a follow up with improvements!

[MFunkibut]

I absolutely LOVED my Bobby Orr mini air hockey table when I was a boy. Some details of it's construction might help your upgrades.#1 - there was no huge shop-vac powering the thing. It had a maybe 6 inch plastic fan. As summer winds down you can probably catch a deal on a small fan at Wal-Mart to try. Pull all the plumbing and just mount the fan over the whole.#2 - Where the puck hit the walls. Weatherstripping. The black foam square profile adhesive backed stuff. It may slow the action a tiny bit but it'll also give a distinctive sound to ricochet versus player strikes.

[thomas]

Great video Bob! One thing i would suggest is for the puck, is to cut a concave or "dish" on the inner aspect and leave the outer ring of the puck proud of the center. I believe this allows for a pocket of air to be built up under the puck so i glides better. I have seen many store bought pucks with this feature. Keep up the great work!

[BillSinWorkshop]

Cool project Bob. I see you changed the lighting in the shop and you put one above you. That gives a 3D dimension on the image.

[SawDustMakerRJM]

Great project Bob! Would love to build this for the grand-kids. Starting to look for a quieter motor.

[jlinker]

Love it, air hockey has always been one of my favorite games, never thought it could be made so simply!

[DPrintingNerd]

I saw this video pop up in my feed and before I watched it, I thought, "Oh man, drilling out ALL THOSE HOLES." Then I watched the video, and actually blurted out, "GENIUS!"

[lopaka]

I like watching the old episodes, it shows how much you have improved all around.

[craftedworkshop]

Awesome project, Bob! Do you think you could have used pegboard for the top? Seems like that would have been easier, not sure if the hole spacing is right.

EDIT: Annnndd, I just got to the end of the video. Hah.

[MadWilly]

Great build, yet again, Bob. I would add feet or felt to the bottom of the table so it didn't scratch or rub any adjacent surface I set it on. As for the shop vac noise, you could get a long accordion-type host extension and set the vac outside, or in another room. Adding this to my list of "things I should make". Thanks for sharing!!!!

[jamesgoodrich]

Adding felt to the bottom of the striker pieces might help protect the table, and felt on the other parts of the table that get damaged by the puck might help to. I love this build and I might try to make a smaller version :D

[mandytrosky]

THANK YOU for your videos! I love how at the end you will talk about what you wish you had done or what else you could do. In woodworking-as much as we prepare-we all wish we completed a project perfect but I love your input!