How to Make Leather Ping Pong Paddles

In this video I’m making leather & wood ping pong paddles I made for the #rocklerhobbychallenge put on by the Modern Maker Podcast. You may think that since I’m making ping pong paddles, ping pong is my hobby…I do like ping pong, but I think the real hobby here is taking something you could buy for $10 that works perfect and making an #unnecessaryleather version that costs three times as much that probably won’t work as well haha.

· Leather - https://districtleathersupply.com/

· Reference Ping Pong Paddles - https://amzn.to/3Ftdv3n

· Starbond CA Glue - https://amzn.to/3cntZNR

· Starbond Accelerator - https://amzn.to/3Ftwjj6

· EcoWeld Adhesive - https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/ecoweld-water-based-contact-adhesive

· Band Saw - https://amzn.to/3oJKHgt

· Belt Sander - https://amzn.to/3kQOIOP

· Disc Sander - https://amzn.to/30yPAAZ

· Oscillating Spindle Sander - https://amzn.to/3Fyd2x3

· Cricut Maker - https://amzn.to/35gveuW

· Engraving Tool for Cricut Maker - https://amzn.to/3goUEga

· Thread - https://amzn.to/2NvIdAf

· Disposable Foam Brushes - https://amzn.to/2QWAD3X

· Leather Working Starter Tool Kit - https://amzn.to/2uGPGG7

To help establish the shape and details of a ping pong paddle, I picked up the cheapest pair I could find on Amazon to use as a reference.

I started by tracing the shape of the paddle onto some cardstock to use as a template throughout the process and then cut it out with my leather wrapped X-Acto knife

For the body of the paddles, I picked up two small sheets of ¼ inch plywood.

To save time and also maintain consistency between the two paddles I decided to temporarily attach the two pieces together to do all the cutting and shaping.

To do this, I used the blue tape and CA glue trick.

You simply lay strips of blue tape down on both pieces, spread a line of CA glue down each strip on one side, spray some accelerator on the other side, and then align the pieces and press them together.

Once we’re done cutting and shaping the paddles, we can separate the two pieces and simply remove the blue tape and we’ll have two identical paddles

Next, I took the template I cut out and taped it to the plywood and traced out the shape.

Next, I cut the rough shape out on the bandsaw making sure to stay just outside the line.

We’ll use a disc sander later to sneak up to the line.

For the handles I decided the easiest way to add shape would be to sandwich the plywood handle portion with some split dowels.

To account for the thickness of the plywood and keep the handle perfectly round, I marked out the center section of the dowel I would need to remove.

Then with the assistance of a wood clamp for safety I again used the bandsaw to cut out the center strip of the dowel

The bandsaw left some rough saw marks on the flat side of the dowels, so I used my belt sander to smooth it out

I again used a clamp to help me do this without getting my fingers too close to the sander.

My reference paddle’s handle has this slight taper at the top of handle for your thumb, which makes it more comfortable to hold.

So decided to add a taper to my handles too using my disc sander.

Next, I used the disc sander to clean up the edges of the paddles and sneak up on the line.

If you take your time, you can get a really consistent and clean edge doing it this way.

I also used my oscillating sander to sneak up in the curved sections I couldn’t reach with the disc sander.

With that, the paddle bodies were essentially cut to shape and ready for the handles to be attached.

As I mentioned earlier, once they are cut to size, you can simply pry the two pieces plywood apart with a putty knife, remove the blue tape, and you have two identical paddle bodies

To attach the handles, I started by measuring how far up they should go, which ended up being exactly 4 inches, which I marked with a piece of blue tape

Since clamping these round handles would be a bit tricky, I decided to use the wood glue for strength and CA glue for a quick bond trick

The wood glue will create a strong bond and the CA glue creates a quick bond to hold everything in place while the wood glue cures.

Once the dowels were attached, I used the reference paddle to determine where to blend the bodies flush with the handles and then trimmed off the excess handles at the bottom

To clean up the handles and make everything flush, I again used the disc and belt sander

With the paddle structure essentially done, I moved on to adding the leather pads and wrapped handles.

I made another template out of cardstock for the leather pads that will be attached to each side.

Then I used my scratch awl to trace the shape out on leather and cut it out with my X-Acto knife.

To add a little branding, I used my leather stamp and an arbor press to deboss my logo on one side of each paddle.

To attach the leather to the paddles, I used some of Tandy Leather’s EcoWeld adhesive

EcoWeld is super easy to use, you simply apply some to both surfaces, wait for them to get tacky and then stick them together

Once the adhesive was tacky, I carefully aligned the piece of leather with the edges of the paddles and then pressed them together

Next, I moved onto wrapping the handles with leather too.

First, I measured how tall the piece of leather would be, which is 3 and ¼ inches.

Since the top of the handles are wider than the bottom, it makes cutting the width of the leather a little tricky.

I started by cutting the leather the width of the widest part.

Then I measured the width at the narrower bottom.

Next is where it takes a little trial and error to get a perfect fit.

I marked where the handle started getting wider and then connected that to the top wide section with a gradual taper.

You basically want the edges to just barely touch to get a nice tight fit.

To connect the two edges and pull everything tight around the handle, I used what’s called the corset stitch

I started by using my wing dividers to score a stitch line

Then I used my pricking irons to punch the stitching holes

To ensure the spacing between each hole stays consistent as I work my way down the line, I always make sure to place the stitching chisel point furthest to the left in the last hole of the previous set of holes I punched

With all the stitching holes punched, I moved on to adding the corset stitching

I made a video dedicated to leather stitching where I go in depth into the process of how to do this corset stitch and others and I’ll leave a link above in case you want to check it out

But at a high level, I start with two needles secured to opposite ends of the same thread

Then, with the bottom of the paddle pointed at you, I take the left needle and stitch DOWN into the next hole on the right and then back UP through the hole parallel to that one on the left side

That creates one half of the cross

Then do the same thing with the right needle, only opposite

DOWN through the hole on the left side and then back UP through the parallel hole on the right side, completing the cross and then pull both threads tight

Then just continue that pattern all the way down, making sure to pull it tight after each cross

To add the small edge banding strip, I again used some EcoWeld Adhesive and just carefully applied some to each surface

Then I just started at one end and carefully aligned the strip with the edge of the paddle.

And with that, the paddles were done!

Thanks so much for following along with this project! I’d love to know what you think. Leave a comment below and don’t forget to watch the video on my channel!

See you on the next project!