NotchLoading plan…
Loading plan…
A kid-size picnic table in 2x lumber is a table only adults can drag; this one is 1x6 and 1x3 throughout, light enough for the kids to relocate their own restaurant. The geometry is the full-size picnic-table classic at 2/3 scale — 30° splayed legs, I-shaped tabletop support, 45° cross braces — and every exposed corner gets clipped at 45°, because the entire clientele is at eye-and-shin height with the corners.
The squaring lesson appears at step 1 in the source's most quotable form: match the opposite diagonals so the frame is 'a rectangle and NOT a parallelogram.' On a table this small, out-of-square telegraphs to every board that follows.
Best practical trick in the plan lives in step 4: if the assembled table wobbles on a level surface, don't shim it — unscrew ONE leg, rotate it slightly, and re-screw. Splayed-leg furniture wobbles because one foot's plane is a hair off, and rotating the leg re-lands the foot. It works on full-size tables too; file it away.
All 1-1/4" screws, filled and sanded, with an exterior stain — and sand this one to a genuinely fine finish, because the users eat directly off the table the moment the plates are forgotten, which is immediately.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| 1x6, 8 ftTabletop and seat boards, with the 6-footer below. | 1 each |
| 1x6, 6 ft | 1 each |
| 1x3, 8 ftLegs, supports, stringers. | 3 each |
| 1x2, 3 ftCross supports. | 1 each |
| Self-tapping screws, 1-1/4", star drive | 50 each |
| Exterior wood filler | 4 oz |
| Exterior wood stain | 1 pint |
Overall cost: $$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Tabletop and seat boards1x6Three top, two seats. | 5 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 31" |
| Under-table supports1x3Ends clipped 45° to soften edges. | 2 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 17 1/2" |
| Center support1x3 | 1 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 26 1/2" |
| Legs1x3Both ends 30° off square, long point to short point, ends PARALLEL. | 4 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 22" |
| Seat stringers1x3Ends clipped 45°. | 2 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 35 1/2" |
| Cross supports1x245° both ends, long point to long point, ends NOT parallel. | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 14 1/2" |
Buy 6 boards at 8 ft.
2 boards
3 boards
1 board
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →
Clip the support ends at 45°, then join the two under-table supports with the center support into an I. Check the outside diagonals and adjust until they match — a rectangle, NOT a parallelogram, in the source's own emphasis. Everything else lands on this frame.
Lay the two outer top boards with even 1-1/2" end overhangs, flush to the frame's outsides, two screws per joint. Center the third board between them and screw it down, plus a couple into the center support.
Flip the top and screw the four 30° legs to the outsides of the supports, two screws per joint, all four splaying outward the same amount.
Flip upright on a KNOWN-level surface. Wobble? Unscrew one leg, rotate it a few degrees, re-screw, and re-test — the foot plane re-lands and the wobble leaves. This beats shimming and works on grown-up furniture too.
Then block the seat stringers up to height and screw them to the insides of the legs.
With the table sitting flat, add the 45° cross supports from the stringers up to the center support (or the alternative second center 1x3 the source shows). Screw the seat boards to the stringer tops, two screws per joint.
Fill every screw hole, sand to a snack-bar finish, round every edge again, and stain with an exterior finish. Then accept that the table will host mud pies within the week — that's success.
No reviews yet
Sign in to review this plan or share your build.
No reviews yet. Be the first to build this.