DIY Sturdy & Easy Picnic Table
- By Joan
- May 22, 2024
- No Comments
DIY Sturdy Picnic Table
Last week I showed you how to make a set of easy, custom DIY benches. Today I’m finishing the set with a coordinating picnic table.
As with all projects, you need to gather your supplies.
For this project I’m using pressure treated wood since it lasts a long time and it’s readily available. Keep in mind, pressure treated wood is not safe for food. Don’t put food directly on your table… use place mats or a table cloth. That being said, this wood should last for years. If you can find redwood or teak those are probably preferable for a table top. Untreated pine rots fairly quickly.
Cut 4, 27″ pieces of 4×4 pressure treated lumber.
Cut 7, 68″ pieces of 2×6 lumber for the table top. Adjust the amount of lumber and the length to fit your space.
Cut 4, 38″ pieces of 2×4 lumber for the top supports
Cut 4, 30″ pieces of 2×4 lumber for the bottom supports
From two of the 68″ tabletop boards, trim off 4 corners, 2 each on 2 boards. Make sure the trimmed off edges are on the same side of the board.
Make a deeper cut and trimmed corner on all 4 of the 38″ pieces on both ends. These are the top bracing for the table and where your legs will go.
Line up one side of the legs of your tabletop making sure all top pieces are even with the top of the leg pieces and the bottom board is level. Mine is about 5″ from the ground.
I’m using deck screws, 2 in each joint, to hold everything securely while I turn the legs over.
Turn the leg structure over and line up the other side of the side bracings to be even with the side you just screwed in. I added one more screw to each of these joints…don’t want anything moving on me.
Predrill a hole about 3/4 inch deep to hold the head of a lag screw (see next step) for counter sinking. Predrill another hole thru that same hole you just drilled with a regular drill bit, not quite as large as the shaft on the lag screw, as deep as you can go.
I’m using 6 inch lag bolt screws, 2 in each joint, to hold everything together. The bolt needs to be long enough, when countersunk, to go thru all 3 layers without sticking out the other side.
You’re going to need a socket wrench for this part. Start screwing in those lag screws. The deck screws should hold everything in place so nothing shifts as you screw the lag bolt screws.
Sand the edges of the table and corners.
If you plan on staining your wood you may have to wait up to 6 months to do so. If you drop a bead of water on the wood and it remains a bead, the wood is repelling the water and is still too wet to stain. If the wood absorbs the water it is time to paint or stain.
My table legs have now joined the benches and the top is ready for assembly. The legs are positioned about 6″ in from the ends so that someone sitting at the end of the table is comfortable.
Lay on the top boards leaving a slight gap between the boards for water drainage. Make sure those two boards that you rounded the corners on are your end boards.
Use more deck screws to screw the boards directly into the leg structure. I used 8 screws per board, 4 in each end.
These are the oversized chairs leftover from my last picnic table set that sat just 5 people. If necessary the two chairs on the side can be replaced with 3 regular dining chairs and 2 on the ends. Six more people could be seated on the benches.
My old table, in the same space, only sat 5 people.
Still on the hunt for some reasonably priced foam to make some bench seat cushions.
All set for the first picnic of the season.
Happy Memorial weekend to all.
Until next time, stay inspired.
Copyright © 2024
Leave a Reply