Do you know that a DIY wooden picnic table is possible even without prior knowledge of furniture making? When you have a picnic table, you can always enjoy regular picnics with loved ones, especially when the weather is pleasant. With a sturdy picnic table, spending time outdoors will become more fun. We will show you DIY picnic table ideas today.
There are so many cool picnic table designs available if you search online. Just you need to learn the basics about making it successfully. You’ll be able to make the same design if you follow our easy basic steps. To do this, you need certain tools. It would help if you had either a circular saw or a miter saw for woodcutting.
DIY Picnic Table Ideas – How to Make a Picnic Table?
To build a picnic table, the first thing is to ensure that all the materials, including necessary tools, are available. You need the right sizes of wood or lumber and the appropriate tools.
Tools
These are the tools needed for making successful DIY mini picnic table plans: saw, power drill/driver, sandpaper, and clamps. Ensure that you get all these tools before you begin your project.
Pieces of wood
To make the wooden table and benches, these are the wood dimensions you need:
2 x 6 inches (15 pieces)
2 x 4 inches (7 pieces)
It may interest you to know that you can get all these planks or timbers in the market. So, you do not need to stress yourself trying to cut wood to these dimensions. You can purchase them for your project.
Wear thick gloves and a dust mask
When your materials are available, and you’re ready to start working on your project, wear a pair of thick gloves and a dust mask. You can wear safety goggles as well, to prevent dust from entering into your eyes.
The dust mask, on the other hand, prevents the nose from site dust or sawdust. When it gets into the nose, it can make you uncomfortable. Also, thick gloves are advisable when handling machines with sharp blades.
To assemble the table frame
Lay 5 pieces of your 2 x 6-inch wood facing down. You can lay them on sawhorses. Place them side by side but leave about 1/4inch between each lumber. Cut three battens about 2.5ft each. Glue them to the board. Place two battens close to the edges of the two short ends of the table then place the third one in the middle. This will hold the lumbers together and provide stability for the tabletop.
Pre-drill holes in the battens
Pre-drill holes in the battens you attached to the tabletop. Use your power drill + driver for this, then tighten the screws. You should drill holes at the opposite ends of the two battens at the short ends of the board while the middle batten requires just one hole.
Attach the legs to the two outer battens
Attach the legs to the two outer battens around the ends of the table. Here, you need four 2 x 4-inch lumbers. Apply some glue or adhesive to stick them to the board as you did with the battens. You need four legs- two on each side of the table. That is two legs for each outer batten.
To make your table stable and balance, position both legs on each side diagonally, forming an “A” shape. Now, use your driver to screw the legs to the battens through the pre-drilled holes. You can equally use carriage bolts and washers to fix the legs to the tabletop.
Support the legs
For more stability, you need to support the legs of your table. Attach two 2 x 4inch planks to the two legs on each side, respectively. To do this, pre-drill holes on the planks as you did previously. Apply your adhesive then insert screws to clamp the support to the legs.
After that, connect two additional planks from the new support to the middle batten. You can call these the braces. Apply your glue again, and then screw in. Do this for the legs on both sides, and your table will be stable and sturdy. Turn the table so that it now stands on its legs. As you can see, your table is ready.
To make the benches
Place two 2 x 6-inch pieces of wood side by side. Leave about ¼-inch in between. You can use a spacer to create this space. Get a batten as you did for the table. Apply your adhesive on it and stick it to the board in the middle.
Place the bench on the extended end of the table support
Place your bench on the extended part of the table support. The plank crosses the two legs on the side of the table, forming the A shape. Screw them in with about 2 and 1/2inch carriage bolts.
Do this for the other side of the table to fix the second bench. Your picnic table should be completed now.
Use a circular saw to cut corners of the table
It is advisable to cut the corners of your table and the benches to prevent injuries when someone bumps into the sharp corner. You can cut it at an angle of 45 degrees using a circular saw. A jigsaw is equally ideal for this purpose.
Apply wood finishing
Now that your table is ready, you can use sandpaper to sand the furniture piece to make it smooth. This development will eliminate rough edges. When you are through with the sanding, you can polish your wood to leave it beautiful and weatherproof. You can now start using your picnic table.
