How To Build Your Own Ping Pong Paddle

How To Build Your Own Ping Pong Paddle

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Are you an intermediate player with a premade ping pong paddle? Are you looking to customize a table tennis racket to match your own playing style?

If the answer is yes, this article is for you!

Composition Of The Table Tennis Racket

Composition Of The Table Tennis Racket

So what you need to prepare is:

  • a table tennis blade
  • a table tennis rubber
  • a sponge
  • a glue

Choosing A Table Tennis Blade

To be honest, making a blade yourself is a bad idea. It’s a good idea if you are a DIY fan and consider ping-pong a recreational sport.

There are many table tennis blades available and you can buy them easily. So, you understand the material of the blade and understand the specifications and you will choose the right blade.

I have an in-depth article that analyzes the blade. However, I will summarize a few main points as follows:

Type of table tennis blade:

  • DEF: Suitable for players with defenses from a far distance, help them control the ball closely
  • ALL-: Suitable for players with slice push and defense-dominant style
  • ALL: Suitable for all-round players with many different playing styles
  • ALL +: Suitable for players with good blocking technique, good spin control, and forehand shot advantage.
  • OFF-: Suitable for players with medium offensive defense style.
  • OFF: Suitable for players with an offensive tendency
  • OFF +: Suitable for players with an attack-dominant style.

The blade is harder and more difficult to control than the lines above.

The blade speed increases gradually from DEF to OFF +. And vice versa, the control capacity decreases from DEF to OFF +

Meaning of the abbreviations:

  • DEF: Defensive
  • ALL: All-round
  • OFF: Offensive

Specifications

  • SPEED: scale from 1 to 100 or from 1 to 10. The larger the number, the higher the speed.
  • CONTROL: scale from 1 to 100 or 1 to 10. The larger the number, the higher the control.
  • PLY: the number of layers of the blade. 5W means the racket has 5 wood plies, 3W / 2A / C means the blade has 3 wood plies, 2 Artyle plies, and a Carbon ply …
  • WT: the blade’s weight, usually between 70 grams and 100 grams.
  • HANDLES: denoted by FL (Flared), AN (Anatomic), or ST (Straight).

My article about the table tennis blade is very in-depth, I recommend you to read it and I also suggest you some of the blades with different playing styles in that article.

Choosing A Table Tennis Rubber

Table tennis rubber types:

  • Smooth: This is also known as the “inverted” rubber. The rubber’s surface is smooth with an underneath layer of sponge. 85% of table tennis players joining tournaments held by ITTF use smooth rubber.
  • Short Pips: It is also known as the “pimple” rubber. How to use short pips on the blade is opposite to using the smooth rubber, in which the short spikes come in contact with the ball. Underneath the short pips is a layer of sponge. Short pips rubber is suitable for these playing styles: lose-to-table, all-around, and defensive styles. Short pips also have an advantage in offering more control, especially for beginners having difficulty playing against spin.
  • Long Pips: The pips on this rubber are longer than the short pips one. When the ball touches the pips, it causes the pips to sink deeper. Therefore, these extra-long pips can facilitate the opponent’s spin reversal. In the competition, athletes do not use long pips, or if they do, they only use this rubber for one side of the paddle. It is not recommended for beginners to use long pips because it is more important to learn how to read the spin and improve other necessary skills.
  • No sponge: Like short pips, except for it does not have a layer of sponge underneath. This rubber is ideal for hitting fast shots with high speed. Yet, it is an unpopular type of rubber.
  • Anti-topspin: Neutralize the opponent’s spinning speed. However, shots made by anti-topspin do not generate much spin, and their speed is slow. Anti-topspin rubber is best for using penhold paddles. Or, players can use it on one side of the paddle, then the other side with a different rubber.

Rubber’s specifications

  • Speed: The scale is from 1 to 100. The higher it is, the faster the speed is. European standard: 79.
  • Spin: The scale is from 1 to 100. The higher it is, the more spin is generated. European standard: 79.
  • Control: The scale is from 1 to 100. The higher it is, the more control is provided. European standard: 80
  • Hardness: The scale is from 1 to 100. The higher it is, the harder the rubber is. European standards: 40 – 50
  • Sponge Thickness: Max

I summarize part of the article on ping pong rubber. I recommend you go to the article and read all of it before choosing a ping pong rubber

How To Glue Your Racket

Choose Your Own Style Of Play

Examples of Different Styles of Table Tennis Players

  • Aggressive Type: Aggressive in forehand attack, Aggressive in backhand attack, Aggressive in forehand and backhand attack
  • Control Type
  • Defensive Type: Footwork, Drop Point, Stay close to the table.

Other Styles of Table Tennis Players

  • Counter Drivers
  • Choppers
  • Blockers: Light blocking, Fast blocking
  • Loopers
  • Penholders

Any athlete also builds his own professional ping pong paddle. Making a ping pong racket is one of the advanced tips, so making your own paddle for the first time is a breakthrough in your table tennis career! Choose your playstyle first, then select the equipment. If you need style advice, feel free to contact me.

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