Building Cornhole Boards

Things To Buy

• 2- 24" x 48" (2 feet by 4 feet) sheets of plywood, either 1/2 or 5/8 inch thick. Thicker the less bounce but heavier. Your local hardware store should cut these for you free of charge. Tell them you need it exact.
• 4- 8 foot 2x4's
• 4- 4" carriage bolts, washers and wing-nuts
• Box of 3'' wood screws

Let's build them cornhole boards. First thing is first and that is the making the trip to the hardware store.

 Buy Pre-made Cornhole Set from Amazon

Tools Needed

• Miter saw
• Drill
• Drill bit set
• Jigsaw, 6'' hole saw or router tool (any will work, use what you have and know how to use)
• C Clamp
• Hammer

 

Cutting the legs and frame

The best way to go about this is to cut all your wood first. Get the 2x4's and mark at 4 foot (48''). Using the miter saw measure and cut one piece at a time. You will need a total of 4 pieces of four foot 2x4's. You need to remember to take into account the blade thickness. If you mark all the sections first then cut you will get smaller and smaller pieces. So take your time and measure twice and cut once.

Once you have four 4' pieces of 2x4's set them aside. Take the new 2x4's and measure off 21 inches. You will need four of these as well measuring and cutting one at a time. After you have four 21'' pieces of 2x4's set them aside with the others. Next cut four 16 inch pieces, again measuring and cutting one piece at a time. Take your cut wood and make sure all sized match up with the others of the same size.

Building the boards

From your cut 2x4's choose two 48'', two 21'' pieces, screws and a drill. Make a 48''x24'' rectangle with the 2x4's using four screws at each corner.It is recommended to create pilot holes with a small drill bit for each screw. This will help you keep the screws straight. Once done repeat this step with two more 48'' and 21'' boards. When done you have your frames ready to go. Next take your plywood and lay it on top of your frame. This should be a good fit if you measured twice before cutting your frame. Screw the plywood to the frame again using pilot holes. Use enough screws to secure the plywood tight to the frame. Do this on both boards.

Next you will mark where you will cut out the hole for the board. From the middle of the 2 foot end measure down 9 inches and mark the boards. Then measure from either side of the board 12 inches. Take the two marks and line them up to create an +. The + will be your center.

This is where you will either need a 6 inch hole saw, router or jig saw. A hole saw is ideal. Using hole saw: Drive the drill bit of the hole saw through the + then saw all the way through the board. This will be the easiest and fastest way. Using router or jigsaw: Using a compass or string and pencil, make a 6'' circle using the + as center (setting up compass or string at 3''). Router out the 6'' hole or use a drill with a medium size bit to make a small hole somewhere in the circle. Use the jigsaw to cut out the circle.

Buy Pre-made Cornhole Set from Amazon

Next we will make the legs from the rest of the wood you have. Take a 2x4 that is over 12'' but not to long (around 17-18 inches). Put the wood in one corner on the side with the hole, make sure it is tight in the corner. You want the wide side of the leg 2x4 against the four foot frame 2x4. Use a clamp to hold it in place and drill a 3/8 hole through both boards in the center of where both boards are touching. Place a washer on a carriage bolt and punch through the hole. You might need to tap it with a hammer. Once though place another washer on the other side and put on wing nut. Take the board and set it on a table with the left hanging off the side. Find a box the is 12 inches high and put the end of the board with a leg up on the the box (so it is 12'' up). Holding the board straight across, draw a line across the leg using the table for the length. You can take the leg off and using the miter saw cut at the angle you have drawn. Do the same with the other leg and you should end up with the back of the board 12'' off the ground. Do the steps above on the next board and there you go. You are finished making the boards.

Paint your cornhole boards

You can paint the boards how ever you like. Your favorite team colors maybe? The only thing I suggest here is to use good semi gloss paint. You can get official team colors at Home Depot. Now the only thing to do it make or buy some cornhole bags.
  
Notes: The way we did the legs will allow for you to take the bolts out and install them inside the cornhole frame for travel. We will be releasing a ebook with how to make folding legs in the near future.

Photo's on this page are courtisy of  Carnesaurus and rshannonsmith