Build Your Own Plywood Cornhole Boards in 10 Easy Steps!

Cornhole boards are fun and easy to build and they get you outside! What the heck is Cornhole, you ask? Cornhole is a fun backyard game where you toss small bags filled with corn (or resin pellets) into a tiny hole from 27 feet away. There's more to it than that, but let's skip the boring bits for now and get to the fun stuff… building something!

Supplies

Things You Must Have

Tools

Circular Saw | Home Depot | Amazon
Straight Edge | Home Depot | Amazon
Drill | Home Depot | Amazon
Sander | Home Depot | Amazon
Jigsaw | Home Depot (Jigsaw) | Amazon (Jigsaw)
or
6" Hole Saw | Home Depot (Hole Saw) | Amazon (Hole Saw)

Supplies

(8) Cornhole Bags (I bought mine because I can't sew) | Tailgating Pros

Paint/Finishing Supplies

India Ink | Dick Blick | Amazon
Paint | Walmart | Amazon
Water Based Poly | Home Depot | Amazon
Foam Brushes | Home Depot | Amazon
Foam Roller | Home Depot | Amazon
Frog Masking Tape | Home Depot | Amazon

Optional Things that Make it Easier

Router | Home Depot | Amazon
Flush Trim Router Bit | Home Depot | Amazon
Round over Router Bit | Home Depot | Amazon
Pocket Hole Jig | Home Depot | Amazon
Self Centering Drill Bits | Home Depot | Amazon
Miter Saw | Home Depot | Amazon
Clamps | Home Depot | Amazon | Harbor Freight

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made from clicking the Amazon links included on this instructable.

Break Down the Plywood

Break down your plywood according to the cut sheet provided. I used my circular saw and clamped down my home made straight edge. Make sure you take into account the width of the blade when making your cuts. I find it easier to lay a scrap piece of material under the plywood as you cut to support the piece as it is cut free. Also, cut the boards to length on the miter saw. I like to cut both pieces at the same time to make sure they are the same length.

Downloads

Cornhole Cut Sheet.pdf

Cut the Holes and Round the Edges

Cut the hole in the corn hole tops. According to the American Cornhole Organization, the hole must be a 6" hole, 9" from the top to the center and 12" from the sides to the center. You can cut this hole carefully with a jigsaw or with a 6" hole saw. I made a template with a 6" hole saw and I used my router with a flush trim bit installed to clean up the holes after I roughly cut them out with my jigsaw. I lined up my template and clamped it down then I used the router to follow the template and it makes a perfect circle. This is the way to go if you are going to be making a lot of boards. I also like to cut small radiuses on the top's corners. Take a lid or other round object that is the size of the radius you'd like. The lid I used was 2" in diameter. Place the lid on each of the four corners of the tops and trace out the edge. Then, cut on the line with the jigsaw and clean it up with the sander. I think this looks better and also keeps from snagging the bags. After you cut the hole, I like to use my router and make a small round over all the edges of the hole and the top of the boards.

Make the Legs

Take the leg pieces, double stack them and mark 1 ½” from the edge and 1 ½” from the top. Clamp them down to the table and drill a ⅜” hole at the mark. Find a lid or something round and mark the edges on the end with the hole. Use the jigsaw to cut the marks so your leg has one rounded edge. Clean up the cut with sandpaper. Leave the legs long for now. We will cut them down later.

Drill Holes and Assemble the Frame

Use the pocket hole jig to drill holes in the frame pieces following the reference picture. Assemble the outside frame, then add in the two pieces for the bag storage. Make a mark on both sides of the frame 2 ¾” down from the top and 1 ½” down the side. Drill a ⅜” hole on both sides for the legs to attach. I also grabbed my router with the round over bit and rounded over all the edges on the bottom side of the frame.

Attach Frames to Tops

Turn the tops where the front of the board is facing down and lay it on your work surface. Add your frame and center it in the top where the overhangs are even. They should all be about ¾”. If the frame is a little out of square, you can use clamps to hold it in place. Mark around the inside and outside of the frame on the top with a pencil. This should leave you an outline of where the frames will be going. Remove the frame and add a small bead of glue inside the area you marked. Place the frame back on the top and hold it in place with some clamps. Add the screws into the holes you drilled earlier to secure the frame to the top. I also added a weight on the center supports until the glue dried.

Test Fit the Hardware

Take your hinges and test fit them on the bag storage area lid and sides. You can tape the hinges in place if they won’t stay put. Pre-drill the holes in the lid and side for the hinges. Self centering drill bits make this a breeze. Put in the screws and make sure the lid opens and closes easily. Now take the latch and put it on the other side of the bag storage area so we can keep it closed when we are transporting the boards. Line it up in the center and pre-drill the holes and put the screws in to make sure it will latch. Measure to the center and attach the handles on the outside of the frame with screws.

Next take your legs and let’s pre-bolt them on to make sure they fit. Put the carriage bolt in from the outside and then place a fender washer on the inside and then the ⅜” nut. Tighten the nut until the square part of the carriage bolt sinks into the plywood. Next add another finder washer and then slide on the leg. Follow that up with another fender washer and the lock nut. Tighten it down just enough where the legs are snug, but you are still able to pull the leg in and out.

Now that you have all that installed. Take it back off and meet me at the next step.

Trim the Legs

We need to cut the legs to the proper height and angle. This sounds difficult and scary, but stay with me, it is simple! The total height of Cornhole boards from the ground to the top is 12” at the back. The easiest way to achieve this is by setting your board up on your work surface. Take some random boxes, books, dirty socks, whatever you can find and prop the back of the boards up until the top of the back of the board measures 12”. Now, fold down your leg all the way and let it hang over the side of the table you’re working off of. Take a pencil and mark the angle at the bottom of the leg. This is the angle and the height of the final leg. Now repeat the process with the other leg. I took the time to add a cross brace to the legs. With both legs mounted, measure the distance from inside the legs. Cut your cross brace to this measurement and drill some pocket holes on each end. Attach the cross brace to both legs.

Sand

This step is a bit boring, but it is important. Don’t skip this step. Time to sand. I like to sand the boards with my random orbit sander to 120 grit. I hand sanded all the round overs to keep their shape. This step takes time, put in your ear buds, put on hearing protection over them, and zen out to your favorite music or podcast. Once I was done sanding, I took a damp cloth and rubbed it over the boards. This raises the grain and makes the boards rough again. Give the boards another light sanding. Doing it this way will result in a smoother finish when we paint the boards.

Finishing; Paint or Stain?

Time to make them pretty. Now it is time to paint, stain, or both! Decide on what design you would like to put on the tops of your boards. I put black India Ink all over the underside of my boards to make them dark and kind of disappear. For the tops, I went with an orange and black theme. I made these for my in-laws who are fans of a big motorcycle brand, and they use orange and black as their colors. I used frog tape to seal the areas I didn’t want to get paint on then painted the orange. You can also get vinyl wraps to put on the tops if you want a crazy detailed design. Once the paint is finished and dry, I put on 3 coats of water based polyurethane on everything.

Final Assembly

Time to reassemble. Now that the paint is finished we need to do the final assembly. Reattach the hinges and the lid along with the latch and the handle. It should be easy since we pre-drilled before painting. Attach the legs with the bolts again. Now you’re done.

Go Time!

Time to play some Cornhole. Grab the family and take the boards outside. I have attached the official rules for Cornhole from the American Cornhole Association. Now go have some fun! I've created some other fun Photoshopped designs. I hope you had fun building your set!

Downloads

ACO-Cornhole-Rules.pdf