How to shop for a cornhole set

Ok. What is the stuff pictured in the two photos?


Debbee and I were sitting outside this week on one of the pleasant evenings. She likes reading, and I like to run ideas by her, which sort of interferes with someone who is reading.


I keep my ideas short and to the point. More than I can say for my blogs.


Anyway. I took her about a new design for the cornhole table. That's the one legged table that is put into the ground anywhere that you are and can be moved about. Made and sold two of them in the past year. It holds cans or glasses from being knocked over and has room for a 7" plate in the center.


She did not particularly like the new way I described it and thought that the old way was best. This is what I told her:


The old style had one leg with metal threads coming out of the top of the leg that screwed into a bracket fixed to the underside of the table. (You have seen this bracket and leg if you ever made you own table or stand. Mostly used to raise a bed off the floor. The legs come in various lengths and the brackets are sold right along side the legs because you will need the bracket for the leg to work)


My new style is the same one leg, but no bracket to screw into. Instead, there will be a hole through the bottom plate and the middle spacers.


See picture:

You can't see the spacers in this picture, but imagine a hole the same diameter (actually slightly larger) than the leg in the bottom and in the spacers.Then the table will sit over the leg.
And it is free to swivel, though I don't know why this would matter. But wait! There's more! The whole table can be used as a tray and sit flat on any surface. No bracket underneath to make it rock around. And more yet!. We will supply a rubber hammer (I don't want the leg to "mushroom" if hit with your steel hammer) to knock the leg into the ground. It will hang somewhere around the table. Have not thought that one through yet.
She still did not like it.
The two photos above? They are the parts to the prototype of the newly designed cornhole table. I will try it out this weekend and let you know how it works out.

CORNHOLE UPGRADE...OR IS IT

Something else that I have been wanting to try ever since I was in the Cleveland Corporate Challange Cornhole Tournament way back in 2009. A cornhole surface that is fantastically smooth, requires not sanding on my part and edges that do not need planing. MDF. All the boards at the tournament, and there must have been sixty of them, were made from MDF and the frames were white wood, or pine. It was apparent that these were factory made, but the point is, they played very well. I would have thought there would have been more sliding off then usual, but the surface rewarded you for your shot. Meaning, a nice lob and it would land and slide very little. But a low line drive throw and the bag would go flying off as it should. There was a good feel as to the actual weight of the boards, though slightly lighter than the conventional boards I make. But they did hold the floor well when it in spite of the fact it was a gym floor at the Cleveland Amory. I may try making a set using this MDF and a pine frame. Painting will be fun as MDF hold paint very well and looks great.

WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING A CORNHOLE SET?

• Regulation size. The board should be 48" x 24". Front edge of the board should be off the ground by 3" and the rear, 12" . The hole should be centered on the width, and be 9" to center from the rear, or 6" to the edge of the hole from the rear.




• The bags shall me made of duck cloth, six inches square, filled with corn and weight 14-16 ounces each. There should be eight bags, two colors of four each.




• Should be made of a wood surface even though I just expounded on the virtues of MDF. The drawback to MDF is weather. They must not get wet. Whereas, the standard wood boards should not get wet, it would not be as horrific as with the MDF. The wood boards could be dried off later, allow to dry, and played on for a very long time. MDF will probably swell up and split very quickly.




• Leaving something nicely made outside is never a good idea, but you could do it once in a while and get away with it if they are wooden.




• Wooden boards give that nice "thud" when the bag hits.




• The bags should not slide far on the board when thrown in a nice arc. Control is important and has rewards.




• Stay away from any games sold by the major sporting goods chains. They are usually plastic, or some composite material that they advertise can "fold for easy carrying". Really? Folds?




• Also, watch out for deals on smaller sets. 36" x 20" is not a deal. It is not even regulation.




• If you are looking for a toy, then have at it. Otherwise get the real thing. Buy it from me or make it yourself. Just do it right! And you will a happier person for it.

A family member had a get-together and someone (we will call him Joe Smartypants) brought his "baggo" game bought at that leading store I mentioned. My family member brought his original "Penn State custom made by me" cornhole set. Smartypants said "we should have a contest so let's set them up side by side". Big mistake! It did not take long before the brand X was put back into the car and probably returned to the store.

Embarrassed Joe? You should be! Remember: "you get what you pay for".

I see boards everywhere and I stop to check out the competition. Mostly mass produced outside the USA and not to my standards. And always smaller.

I did not invent the game. I only maintain the integrity of those who did.

So don't just be cool like Joe, be cool and smart.