How to Build a Rolling Picnic Table

A picnic table on wheels is a handy piece of furniture. A single person can move it around with ease, simplifying the chore of mowing the surrounding grass or staining the patio. You can build a rolling picnic table in just a few hours, with basic or better carpentry skills.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Lumber 12 foot 2 by 4, pressure treated (10)
• Measuring tape
• Miter saw
• Drill (3/8 inch bit)
• Washers (8)
• Lock washers (8)
• Nuts (8)
• Wrench
• Carriage Bolts (8)
• Wheels, each 12 inches (2)
• Level
• Sander
• Stain

Build the Table Top

1. Cut nine untreated boards 6 feet long for the table top. Use the best looking lumber for these pieces.

2. Saw off three tabletop supports, each 32 ½ inches long.

3. Lay the supports parallel to one another, on edge. Space them 20 inches apart.

4. Place a table top board across the supports. Position it in the center of the supports with a 12 inch overhang on each end.

5. Nail the board to each support. Working outward, add the remaining seven boards to form the tabletop.

Build the Legs

6. Flip the top upside down.

7. Cut four legs: (2) 40 inches long and (2) 37 inches long. Cut a 54 degree angle on each end. Cut two seat supports 56 inches long.

8. Use these pieces to build A-frame legs. Begin with the 40-inch boards. Butt the legs up against one another to form an upside-down "V" and screw together.

9. Measure 31 ¼ inches straight down from the tip of the frame. This is the mark for your 56-inch center support.

10. Center the board so you have equal overhang and secure with carriage bolts.

11. Repeat the same process with the 37-inch boards. When finished, you should be able to lay one A-frame on top of the other and find them identical with one exception: one will have longer legs than the other.

Finish Your Rolling Picnic Table

12. Measure in 12 inches from the table end. Center and secure the A-frames to the tabletop with carriage bolts. Add one last set of supports from the center of the A-frame legs to the center of the tabletop.

13. Cut the boards 30 ¾ inches and angle the ends 65 degrees. Secure with carriage bolts.

14. Turn the table back over onto its legs.

15. Use a level to position the wheels (height can vary depending on the type of wheels you buy) and add them to the shorter A-frame.

16. Add two boards, each 6 feet long, on the A-frame overhang for the bench seats.

17. Sand and treat the table.

Tips & Warnings

• If preferred, you can make a standard table (same directions, but make the A-frames the same size) and build a mobile unit out of scrap wood. Trim the 5-foot pieces of scrap a few inches longer than width of the A-frame table legs. Attach to one another lengthwise, in an L shape. Add the 12-inch scraps to each end. Add the wheels to the small pieces. Secure a 9-foot scrap to the center of the contraption, on the inside of the L shape. To move the picnic table, lay the contraption on the ground, L shape toward the table and 9-foot handle running underneath the table and out the other side. Lift the table and place one A-frame on the wood. Move to the other end and lift.

Resources

• See pictures of a similar table.