I made a thing, again: Homemade pad # 2

While I was happy with how my first homemade pad turned out, the silicon offered rebound but its density left my hands feeling a little tired after only ten minutes of playing time.
So I wanted to try again with some natural gum rubber.

I was able to order a foot-square sheet of 1/4"-thick gum rubber from Grainger Industries for less than $15 shipped. I divided this into 6" x 6" squares so I could make more than one pad.

This is my first effort, with the base made from scrap lumber from a nearby construction site.
I began with the top platform for the rubber, a single sheet of plywood that I sanded and painted.
Then I added a middle layerof two more pieces of plywood, spaced a few inches apart; and finally mounted that on a third layer of plywood (two pieces placed flush because I didn't have anything else), and this created a sound chamber to give the pad a little more volume.

I connected all the layers of plywood with wood screws, and glued some mousepad material to the bottom to help reduce slippage on a tabletop. The wood is slightly warped but doesn't rock noticeably enough to bother me; next time I'll try to find some nicer wood scraps, maybe indoor stuff for countertops that would be heavier and denser.

Some photos of the finished, albeit rough/DIY-looking pad.

Three layers of plywood. I used what I could find for free, which is why the top layer is wider than the bottom one. Still, it's stable enough.

Bottom, covered with old mousepad material (rubber side showing for greater traction).

Pro tip: Super glue GEL works great, but use it outside and don't breathe the fumes!



Below: I had a little fun with this rough-hewn pad by adding some decorations with gold paint pen.

Below: Video of me farting around with the new pad.
Note when the sound changes depending on where I play on the rubber.
That's the sound chamber doing it's thing.

I have a few pieces of gum rubber left, and I may try to make some other kids of pad bases to ee if they play or sound better.