Picnic Table Plans
Made out of a single sheet of plywood, it’s also portable! • By Kevin Ayer
One 4- by 8-foot sheet of
3
⁄
4
-inch AC plywoodTwelve 1
1
⁄
4
-inch wood screwsPrimer and exterior paintTape measure, straightedge or carpenter’s square,pencil, coffee can with 4-inch diameter, safetyglasses, leather work gloves, jigsaw, 100-gritsandpaper, vibrator sander or sanding block, file,electric drill, paintbrush
T
his children's picnic table wouldbe a marvel ifall it did was pro-vide kids with an irresistible spotfor drawing,playing games,andeating birthday cake.But it offers somuch more:it can be broken downin a matter ofseconds (its piecesare ingeniously held together byinterlocking slots) and stacked intoan easily carried unit for storage ortransport.Ifyou know how to use a jigsaw,you can make a picnic tableofyour own in a weekend.Getting a 4- by 8-foot sheet of plywood home from the lumber-yard may be this project's mostchallenging step.Rather than wres-tle with it whole,have the yard cut 3pieces from it:One 24- by 48-inch piece (call itSection A) for the tabletopOne 44 1⁄4- by 48-inch piece(Section B) for the legs,tabletopsupport and cleats,and carryingclipsOne 27- by 48-inch piece(Section C) for the seats and seatsupportsIfyou want to save sawing timelater,you can have the yard cutSections A and B,plus the two 83/4- by 48-inch seats and the two 43/4-inch by 48-inch seat supports.
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Once you've drawn thestraight cut lines,use a coffeecan with a 4-inch diameter as atemplate to round offmost of the corners,lay out the han-dles,and shape the feet.Use adime to round offthe slots inthe table legs,as shown on thediagram for Section B.
2
Use a jigsaw equipped witha sharp wood blade that willallow you to make bothstraight and curved cuts.Support the plywood on a sta-ble work surface,cut slowly,and let the blade do its work.
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The most important cutswill be the I-inch-wide slotsfor the interlocking joints.Seethe Tip in step 3 on page 98for an easy way to keep themeasurements and cuts as pre-cise as possible.During assem-bly,you may have to use the jigsaw or file to widen some of the slots for a smooth fit.
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Wear safety glasses so youcan watch the blade and yourguidelines.Try to makesmooth,continuous cuts tominimize sanding later.Wearleather work gloves to avoidgetting splinters.
5
After you've cut your pieces,sand and round over the edgesusing 100-grit sandpaper,preferably on a sanding block or vibrator sander.Pay partic-ular attention to the tabletop,seat edges,and handle cutouts.
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When it's time to paint yourpicnic table,first apply a coatofquality exterior primer,then finish with 2 coats of exterior paint.
Tips for Cutting, Sanding and Painting PlywoodMaterials Tools
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