How many times have you struggled to assemble your arm wrestling table properly because of defects in the welds of the leg threads?
A particularly underestimated aspect, but one that causes quite a few problems during assembly and disassembly, is the design of the legs.
Among the solutions commonly adopted, we can sometimes notice a perforated plate welded to the ends of the legs, which will then be screwed on one side to the frame and on the other to the base: this type generally provides good stability of the structure, at the expense of long and cumbersome assembly times and a rather unattractive aesthetic.
An excellent compromise has been achieved with solutions such as welding screws and threaded bushings to the ends of the legs, focusing heavily on the practicality of assembly/disassembly and a good aesthetic result. However, this latter approach brings numerous problems due to the manufacturers’ limited ability to keep the threads perpendicular to each other, resulting in the legs not being properly centered during attachment to the frame, requiring excessive force to fit one end into the base in order to secure them. This issue will lead, on one hand, to excessive strain on the thread itself compromising the integrity of the weld over time, and on the other hand, to very strong tensions that will be discharged on the welds of the tubular frame, which are already quite delicate. These tensions will cause the threads to tighten even more during table use, making final disassembly extremely difficult.
Massimo De Pasquale’s leg design has bypassed this problem by intervening in the processing of the tubular legs (with a diameter of 60mm) from which the thread (M20!) was obtained directly during turning, thus guaranteeing perfect perpendicularity, free from residual tensions, and allowing assembly and disassembly without effort. A hole has been provided in the thread during processing to allow for easy screwing/unscrewing of the legs using the provided wrench.
This solution, too, has been designed exclusively to ensure athletes have the easiest and most immediate experience of use. The best combination of stability, aesthetics, and ease of assembly/disassembly.
Another detail that makes us proud of the project is represented by the padding. This feature is often underestimated by manufacturers, showing how far they are from the needs of both competitive and non-competitive athletes. A point that Katia Crucitti (WAF referee coordinator and Secretary General) has emphasized from the beginning: the need to find a material that ensures maximum comfort for the athlete while minimizing unintentional elbow fouls (a high percentage of matches are interrupted precisely due to this type of infraction caused by completely inadequate padding).
We have concluded that the best material for padding is EPDM: an extremely resistant closed-cell expanded rubber.
This type of material guarantees the best consistency/elasticity ratio, avoiding all the problems listed above, while providing extraordinary resistance to wear and atmospheric agents.
Its standardization according to ISO standards guarantees quality and performance (the fundamental parameters being density in kg/m³ and hardness in Shore 00 scale) on every piece of every production batch, thus eliminating the differences that could arise between the production of one table and another.
All parts have been precision-cut with CNC waterjet cutting (to the tenth of a millimeter) to ensure perfect symmetry with respect to the wooden templates they are applied to: a level of precision never seen before.
The exceptional characteristics of the expanded rubber have also been exploited in the production of side protections, thus ensuring the athlete maximum comfort and avoiding pains and abrasions on hips and flanks, a problem that anyone who has experienced the end of an intense sparring session knows well but seems to be completely ignored by manufacturers.
Even in this case, Omega has distinguished itself in caring for this detail, which proves crucial in preventing injuries and abrasions: the dimensions of the side protections, in order to be suitable and sufficiently protective, are 6cm in height, 2cm thick, and equal to the length of the long side of the table, also CNC machined.
Another very important detail we discussed at length was the pegs. Pegs are often a detail of the table that is overlooked, sometimes even being made from gym dumbbells or bicycle handles.
Omega’s design has also taken care of this detail in detail, considering numerous variants of knurling to find the one with the best compromise between grip and smoothness to allow the athlete to find the best feeling whether it’s about gripping decisively or sliding on it during technique transitions. The upper part has been designed with a domed profile with 2 distinct radii, designed to simulate the natural curvature of the palm of the hand, allowing the athlete to lean comfortably and pivot on its end with extreme comfort and ease. As a final touch, the peg has been made entirely of black anodized aluminum to ensure maximum wear resistance and prevent rust formation in any environment.
The seams and the upholstery may seem like minor details, but as far as the pads are concerned, they quite precisely define their longevity and useful life as well as the athlete’s comfort.
The ELITE table has been equipped with the best eco-leather on the market, with a minimum thickness of 1.5 mm, to ensure maximum comfort for the athlete and avoid those annoying abrasions caused by inadequate coverings such as PVC.
The pads feature internal seams and only on the vertical edges, so as not to come into direct contact with the athlete’s elbow, avoiding abrasions and stresses on the skin itself which, if prolonged over time, would prematurely wear them out: lateral chamfers have even been provided for the seams on all the pads to discharge them inside the profiles. To ensure maximum stability on any type of surface, the base of the ELITE table has been equipped with 8 plastic screw-in feet to accommodate any type of flooring while ensuring optimal stability.
Tell us openly if we could have thought of and done something more… 😏
