Tuesday, January 28, 2014

DIY Pitching Mound

We have two boys (7 and 11) and from the beginning of April until the end of July it's baseball 24-7 at our house.  By the end of the season the lawn is bare where the kids have setup their make shift pitching mound.  I decided to remedy that by building a wooden mound instead.  I wanted to build something large enough that the kids could grow into it, but still portable enough to move it now and then.  I also wanted to be able to use it inside during the winter in the basement.

Here's what I ended up building:




Materials list:

  • 3 - 2x6x10ft treated lumber
  • 1 - 2x6.x8ft treated lumber
  • 1 - 2x4x8ft treated lumber
  • 1 - 4x8x1/2 treated plywood
  • 1 - box 1 1/4" coated deck screens
  • 1 - box 3" coated deck screws
  • 1 - pitching rubber (Amazon)
  • 7 - 1/2" reversible foam mats 
  • 1 - tube foam adhesive
The dimensions of the mound are 84" x 42".  The end with the pitching rubber is the full width of a 2x6 (~5 1/2" ) and it tapers down to 2" at the bottom.  I choose that height because in little league the mound is 6" above home plate.  The flat section with the rubber is 22" inches wide before it begins to taper.


  
I cut away a section from the sides and back of each board to help reduce the weight and to also give the grass underneath the mound a chance to breathe.  It also makes it much easier to lift up if you need to move it.  I plan add some portable wheels eventually, but I'll worry about that this spring when it's time to move it :)

Here are a few more pictures from different angles:



You can see from the picture below that I set the bottom of the plywood 7/8" of an inch below the top of the 2x6's.  That way when I added the 1/2" foam it would be roughly flush with the top. The pitching rubber is 3/4" of an inch thick so it sits above the foam slightly.  I debated on adding an extra piece of wood below the rubber to raise it up a bit more, but I figured that the foam would compress some after use.


The reason that I used foam rubber tiles is because I had a bunch of them laying in my garage collecting dust.  I considered indoor/outdoor carpet, but I thought the kids would appreciate having a bit more cushion.  I also seriously consisted buying a cheap rubber stall mat, but the mat alone was close to 70 pounds.
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He's an angle from the bottom and as you can see it's not very pretty. If I had had some extra 2x4's laying around I would have built a 1 1/2" continuous frame around the perimeter to support the plywood.  Instead I simply used the scrape pieces that I had left over from side and back cutouts. It seems to be plenty stable for the kids, so it worked out OK.  You can't tell from the pictures, but I also drilled some drainage holes at the bottom of the mound.



 Hopefully someone will find this useful.  We'll see you in Williamsport (go Coon Rapids Andover American Little League!)

11 comments:

  1. I've been looking for a quality diy mound. Do you happen to have a blueprint or diagram of some sort?

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    1. I’d be interested in this too you e done a great job here. I will be using some sort of turf on mine I figure it will last longer as this will be a Little League team practice mound

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  2. Great. I am going to try to build one this week. i will let you know how it works out

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  3. Great. I am going to try to build one this week. i will let you know how it works out

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  4. Just found your sight. I'm a carpenter myself, and this looks easy enough. My 10 year old just got selected to play in a Graves-Nunly league this year,and they are throwing from a mound. All the boys are used to throwing from the flat. Do you have a diagram on how you did this? Sdgilland@yahoo.com if it's possible. Thanx in advance

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  5. Hi, do you have a diagram for this? my email is codyjosephhill@gmail.com. Thank you!

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  6. This is fantastic, I two have two boys and family bitten by the baseball bug. Would you be willing to share the diagram and/or?

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  7. Baseball Mound, Baseball Mounds, Pitching Mounds For Sale, Portable Baseball Mound, Portable Baseball Mounds, fiberglass pitching mounds,Portable Baseball Pitching Mounds For Sale

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  8. My email is d_chaney80@yahoo.com please if you have a jr high wood shop class version of instructions I’d take those. 860-501-8585

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  9. I too would appreciate any blue prints you may have. We have 3 travel ball teams and buying decent mounds is expensive.

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