4 ft long picnic table plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw or miter saw
• Drill bit, 3/8″ (long enough for 3 1/2″)
• Clamps, 2 at least 24″
• Socket or wrench for the bolts
• Level
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Cut the legs

   Each leg (B) is a 2×6 cut at 22.5° at both ends, 33 1/4″ long point to point. The two cuts are parallel, so the leg looks like a long, leaning parallelogram.

   Set a speed square to 22.5° and draw the first cut near one end. Measure 33 1/4″ along one edge, then draw the second cut parallel to the first. Cut on the waste side.

   Cut one, check it, then use it to trace the other three.

   • Tip A miter saw set to 22 1/2° makes this quick. With a circular saw, clamp a speed square as a fence and run the saw along it.

   ✓ Stand a leg on a flat floor: the bottom sits flat and the top cut is level, leaning 22.5°.

4. 4Build two leg frames

   On a flat floor, lay two legs (B) to form an A: tops 3 1/16″ apart at the inner corners, feet 38 9/16″ apart outside to outside.

   Lay a top cleat (C) across the leg tops, its top edge flush with the leg tops and centred. Predrill and drive 2 3″ coated deck screws into each leg.

   Lay a bench support (D) across the legs, centred, its top edge 16″ above the leg bottoms (measure from the floor line, not along the leg). Clamp it.

   Drill two 3/8″ holes through the support and each leg, 1 1/2″ in from the leg edges, and bolt with 3/8″ × 3 1/2″ carriage bolts, washers and nuts. Build the second frame the same way.

   ✓ Measure from the top cleat to each foot: both sides match within 1/8″, so the frame stands straight.

   STOP. Put the bolt heads (the round side) on the outside where people sit. Nuts and bolt ends face in, under the table.

5. 5Attach the top

   Stand both frames up, cleats facing each other, 29″ apart between the cleats. A helper or two clamps across to a scrap board keep them upright.

   Lay the two outside top boards (A) first, 8″ past the outside of each frame and flush with the cleat ends. Predrill and drive 2 3″ coated deck screws into each cleat.

   Fill in the other 3 boards with 1/4″ gaps (a 1/4″ drill bit or plywood scrap makes a good spacer), 2 screws into each cleat.

   • Tip Look at the end of each board: lay them with the growth rings arching up (bark side up), so as they cup they shed water instead of holding it.

   ✓ Measure the top corner to corner both ways. The diagonals match within 1/4″, so the table is square.

6. 6Attach the bench boards

   Lay two bench boards (F) on each bench support, the inner board 3 1/2″ out from the edge of the top and the outer one flush with the support's end, 1/4″ between them.

   Line their ends up with the top's ends. Predrill and drive 2 3″ coated deck screws into each support.

   ✓ The bench boards are parallel to the top: the distance from the top edge is the same at both ends.

7. 7Add the middle cleat and braces

   Hold a brace (E) from the middle of a bench support up to the opposite cleat, flat against the side of the cleat. Mark both end cuts in place along the support and cleat, then cut.

   Fasten each end with 2 3″ coated deck screws. Fit the second brace from the other frame to the other side of the cleat.

   • Tip Marking a part in place is more accurate than measuring angles. Hold it, draw along the edges it meets, cut a little long, and trim.

   ✓ Push the top end to end: the frames do not lean. The braces stop the table racking along its length.

8. 8Finish it for outdoors

   Treated pine usually comes wet from the yard. Wait until a few drops of water soak in instead of beading up (a few weeks in dry weather), then use an exterior stain, or a primer and exterior paint made for treated wood.

   Outdoors, choose a finish that soaks in rather than one that forms a skin. Oil and stain fade gently and you just clean and recoat every year or two. Indoor polyurethane cracks in the sun, water gets under it, and it peels. If you want a hard clear coat anyway, use spar urethane and expect to sand and recoat it.

   Brush two coats on every cut end. End grain drinks water like a straw and is where outdoor furniture rots first.

   Sand the tops of the boards and round every edge people touch, especially the bench edges and table corners. Splinters are the usual complaint about picnic tables.

   • Tip Finish the bottoms of the legs and the undersides too; they stay damp the longest.
   • Tip Oily rags can catch fire on their own as they dry. Lay them flat outside to dry, or keep them in a closed metal can of water.

   ✓ Sprinkle a little water on a finished surface: it should bead up. When it soaks in again (usually next spring), it is time for another coat.

9. 9Finish

   Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

   Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

   Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

   Outdoors, use an exterior finish: a penetrating deck oil or exterior stain, or primer and exterior paint. Leave cedar bare to weather silver if you like. If it holds soil for food plants, leave the inside unfinished.

   Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

   • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.