Kids Picnic Table

The title may have you thinking this is going to be a post about something cool Kory built, right?

Guess again.

I've been inspired by my favorite wood blog Knock-Off Wood to build myself! (of course with Kory's help, since he is an expert in carpentry and loves showing me all his cool tools - table saw, miter saw, router, sander, etc.)

We love eating outside on the deck when it gets warmer out and I needed somewhere for Colter to sit this year as he's a bit too big for the bouncy seat we put him in last year. I found Ana's plan for a kids picnic table and thought it would be an easy beginner building project.

So much for 7th grade woodshop; this was way more fun! And the project was simple. The cost was about $21 (for 4 white pine - 1 x 6's from Home Depot). Everything else Kory already had (screws, stain).

We had to split 3 of the 1 x 6's into 1 x 3's using the table saw, since HD doesn't sell them. Then, using the miter saw I cut all of the pieces and angles. Then, using the belt sander I rounded corners on some of the pieces. By the way, I'm not a big fan of the noise of the saws. Maybe if I really get into this, I'll buy some earmuffs. Then, it was assembled mostly using pocket screws, which look nice because they don't show. Although, we forgot to put them in before assembling the part before the seats, so the seats have screws sticking out on top. Then, Kory showed me how to use the router to round off the top of the table. Next, I sanded it, making sure to get rid of pencil marks and other flaws. Finally, I stained it using some deck stain we had leftover from one of the decks. Not my favorite choice for finishing it, but it was free.

And that was it! Not perfect, but it turned out pretty good for my first wood project. Also, next time I would make the seat supports longer; Colter seems too close to the table.