How to Build a Cornhole Platform With Wood

If you have basic woodworking skills, you can make your own cornhole set at home.

Cornhole is an outdoor game popular at backyard barbeques, picnics and other friendly gatherings. To play cornhole, you need two wooden platforms with holes in them. Two opponents must try to toss bean bags into the holes in their respective platforms. You can purchase a cornhole set at a sporting goods store or you can make your own. You will save money and be able to personalize your cornhole set with a custom paint job.

Things You'll Need

• 1 sheet of plywood (4 feet wide, 8 feet long, 1/2 inch thick)
• 3 boards (2 inches wide by 8 feet long)
• Tape measure
• Hand saw or circular saw
• Drill
• Deck screws
• Pencil
• Compass
• Jigsaw
• Sandpaper
• Paint and brushes

Instructions

1. Cut your lumber. Cut the plywood into four equal sheets, each four feet by two feet in size. Then cut one of these into four equal sheets measuring two feet by 11 1/2 inches. You will have a small strip of plywood left over after this step. Now you have three platforms and four risers; one platform and two risers will be extra.
   Cut two of your 2-by-4s into four equal lengths, each 3 feet by 11 1/2 inches long. Leave the other 2-by-4 for cutting later.

2. Set the cut 2-by-4s up on their edges and position a platform on top of two of them so that the platforms side and bottom edges line up with the outside and bottom edges of the two-by-fours. Use deck screws to attach the platform to the 2-by-4s. Leave a 1/2-inch lip on the top edge of the platform that does not have wood underneath it. Remember, you are making two cornhole platforms for a complete set, so you will complete each step twice.

3. Measure the other 2-by-4 so that you cut four lengths to fit between the side rails on your platforms. Fit your new boards into the spaces between the side rails underneath the cornhole platforms, and drill into place. Now your cornhole platforms should each have a four-sided frame underneath, with a 1/2-inch ledge at the top that is not supported by the frame.

4. Place the platform on the floor, right side up. Use your pencil and tape measure to draw a vertical line down from the center of the board and a horizontal line that is nine inches down from the top of the board. The place where these two lines cross will become the center of the circle for your cornhole's hole. Use the pencil and a compass to draw a circle radiating out from this point, with a three-inch radius. Drill a hole in the inside edge of this circle, fit your jigsaw into that hole, and cut out the circle with the jigsaw. Sand down the edges to smooth out the cut wood.

5. Take one of your plywood risers and position it at the top edge of each platform. It should fit under the top of the platform and flush with the top of the platform's frame. It will raise each platform off the floor by 12 inches. Drill this riser into position by drilling it into the wood of the frame under the platform.

6. Sand all the surfaces of the cornhole platforms in order to smooth out any roughness. Paint with your choice of colors and patterns.

References

• Cornhole Party: Cornhole Supplies and Tools
• Cornhole How-To: Dimensions