Homemade Pitching Machines That Throw Ping Pong Balls
Batting practice lets you develop your swing without the stress of playing in a baseball game. You can make a homemade pitching machine that will shoot ping pong balls to swing at. You will need a few supplies from a hardware store and some tools found around the house. Your ping pong ball shooting machine will also need to be held by another person so that the ping pong balls can be properly aimed towards you.
Things You'll Need
- Newspaper
- Aerosol hair spray
- Barbecue lighter
- Empty paper towel tube
- Duct tape
- Wooden ruler
- Work gloves
- Ping pong balls
- Bat
Instructions
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1
Place a sheet of newspaper on a table. Place the empty paper towel tube horizontally on the newspaper.
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2
Place one end of the wooden ruler onto the right end of the empty paper towel tube. Line up the end of the empty paper towel tube with the 5-inch mark on the wooden ruler. Wrap duct tape around the ruler at the 5-inch mark to secure it to the end of the empty paper towel tube.
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3
Insert the tip of the barbecue lighter into the end of the empty paper towel tube that has the wooden ruler attached to it. Wrap duct tape around the barbecue lighter to secure it to the wooden ruler.
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4
Place strips of duct tape around the end of the empty paper towel tube where the wooden ruler and the barbecue lighter are to close off the hole.
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5
Go outside in your backyard. Have a person put on the work gloves. Stand 10 feet away from the person. Hold the bat up in the batting position.
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6
Have the person holding the pitching machine spray a second's worth of hair spray into the free end of the empty paper towel tube.Then the person holding the pitching machine drops a ping pong ball into the free end of the paper towel tube.
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7
Have the person holding the pitching machine aim the free end of the paper towel tube at you.
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8
Have the person holding the pitching machine press the trigger on the barbecue lighter. Try to hit the ping pong ball with the bat when it comes flying at you. Repeat this entire procedure to pitch additional ping pong balls.
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Tips & Warnings
Wear protective eye gear to protect your face from being hit by a ping pong ball.
Do not use a regulation baseball bat to hit the ping pong balls.
Adult supervision in the making and using of the ping pong ball pitching machine is necessary if you are underage.
