How To Make Cornhole Boards

Who wants to know how to build regulation DIY cornhole boards?

It’s fairly straightforward and you can do it over the course of a weekend. Come along and learn how to make cornhole boards!

While you can build the set in literally a couple of hours, the longest part of the cornhole boards DIY project is waiting for the paint to dry!

Cornhole is a fun game to play with family and friends, and it’s easy to learn the rules. Let’s build a DIY cornhole board set!

Katie has wanted a cornhole board set for a while now, but we didn’t want to fork out $30 for a cheap set that would break or warp after the first time using it.

Our neighbors have one of those cheap sets and it’s all saggy and sad looking.

The real wood ones are expensive, but we can save some money and build our own!

How To Build Cornhole Boards

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Overall, learning how to build cornhole boards is moderately easy. The cost is under $100. So what do you say, let’s get building our cornhole boards!

You might also like: Tabletop Cornhole Boards

Materials and Cuts

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• (2) 24″ x 48″ pieces of 1/2″ plywood for the surface
• (4) 2×4 x 48″ for the frame
• (4) 2×4 x 21″ for the frame
• (4) 2×4 x 11-1/2″ for the legs

Not-so-pro Tip: Have Home Depot make these cuts for you! 🙂

Other Materials

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• (2) Handles  – I’m using one set of these handles
• 2″ deck screws
• (4) 3/8″ x 4″ carriage bolts with (4) washers and (4) wing nuts
• 3/8″ drill bit and drill to make the holes
• Primer paint
• Exterior-grade paint
• Polycrylic (gloss)

Special Tools

Cornhole Saw» (worth. every. cent.)

Cornhole Champion T-Shirt»

How to play cornhole guide»

DIY Cornhole Boards

Accomplishing a task like making cornhole boards sure gives you a reason to celebrate! Kick back this summer with your friends and play cornhole all the way into fall!

Build the Frames

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Begin by forming two 2′ by 4′ frame boxes with 2x4s. Because we want everything to be nice and secure, use 2″ screws to fasten the 2x4s into the shape of a box with the 21 pieces inside the 48 pieces at either end.

When you’ve completed the first frame box, move on to building the second 2×4 framed box in the same manner.

Create the Platform

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Make the cornhole platform by placing one sheet of 2×4 plywood on top of each frame, squaring the frame to the plywood and securing the plywood with 2″ screws.

Can you tell, my RYOBI drill has been around for some time? Yes, I highly suggest RYOBI, I’ve had this drill and put it through the gauntlet for the past 5 years!

Though we used 2″, you’re more than welcome to use shorter screws to secure the plywood to the frame.

Whatever size you use, just make sure they’re rust resistant decking screws.

Cornhole Board Legs

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The cornhole board legs are undoubtedly the trickiest part of the whole build. If fold-able legs are unnecessary for you, skip the radius. If you do skip the radius, screw the legs directly to the inside of the platform.

All of the cuts are straight forward except the legs, they need a radius cut on one end in order for the legs to fold back up beneath the board correctly, and a miter cut on the other for the boards to sit at an angle.

In order to make the radius, measure 1 1/2″ down from the end of the leg, and draw a mark on the center of the 2×4. Place your compass on that center point and draw an arch beginning at the end-center and moving outward at the end the leg, cut the radius using a jigsaw.

Opposite the radius, on one side of the 4†wide section of 2×4, measure 1/2†up from the end and draw a line to the opposite corner, like in the photo above.

Cornhole Board Leg Cuts

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After cutting the radius, go ahead and sand them down smooth – I used my belt sander to get a nice smooth radius on the ends. That way, the legs will fold in and out of the cornhole board set easily. After the radius is smooth, cut the bottom off of the legs along the guide lines using a miter saw.

I’m dry fitting the legs here on to the cornhole board platform, this way you can see how the legs will work before drilling the holes. Make any adjustments to the hole placement at this point.

Hold the leg with your thumb and index finger and rotate it in and out of the platform, drill a hole through the center of the leg, about 1¼” from the platform to ensure that the leg will swing in and out nicely.

Install the Legs

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Flip the cornhole boards over and place the two legs inside with the radius inside the platform as seen in the photos.

Make sure the flat angle of the legs is facing the ground side (up since we’re working upside down at this point). The ‘high’ side of the leg should be towards the nearest end of the platform, see photo below.

Drill the Holes

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With your 3/8″ drill bit, drill a hole through the center of each leg, about 1″ up from the plywood and 1″ from the end 2×4 – see photos.

Lay the leg inside the platform, against the corner. Using your drill bit, poke into the platform through the leg so you have a mark on the inside of the platform to drill through.

I would have used a pencil to make a mark, but all I had was my carpenter pencil and it didn’t fit inside the 3/8″ hole. 🙂

Once the first hole is drilled through, repeat the process drilling holes through all four legs and through the outside of the frame.

Insert the Bolts

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Now that you have drilled holes clear through the frame and legs, it’s time to install carriage bolts.

Push the carriage bolts through from the outside of the frame and give it a whack with the hammer to secure the square edge of the bolt into the frame.

Secure with Wingnut

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Once the bolt has passed through the frame and the leg, slide a washer over the end of the bolt and secure it with a wingnut.

Repeat for Second Leg

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Repeat for each leg. If you’ve cut everything correctly and drilled the holes in the proper places, the legs should fold out and fold in relatively easily. Use the wingnut to loosen and tighten the legs once in position.

Don’t forget to order your cornhole bean bags! 

Cornhole Board Regulation Height

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Once all the legs are on, flip the boards over and measure. It should be 12 inches from the ground to the top of the board.

If you don’t get a 12 inch measurement, well you done messed up now did you? lol

Don’t stress over it, if you’re playing backyard games it really doesn’t matter. 12 inches is the regulation height, but who cares if it’s just for fun games.

Finish attaching the legs to the other cornhole board, then we’ll get to drilling the cornholes themselves!

Drilling Cornhole Board Holes

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The final cut of this project is the 6″ cornholes! Measure 9″ down from the end of the board (the side with the legs!) Measure 12″ in from the side of the board and mark a vertical line. Your lines should intersect at this point.

Before drilling your hole, make sure you measure twice! Place the center bit on your 6†hole saw and cut the hole in each board.

Get the hole saw here» (it’s cheap and well worth it!)

Alternatively, you can draw a compass circle 3″ out from that point. Whichever way you do it, the hole needs to be 6″ across total. Cut the hole either using the hole saw blade or drilling a pilot hole and cutting the wood away with a jig saw.

Once the first hole is cut, repeat for the second cornhole board.

Complete DIY Cornhole Set

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Now that we’ve assembled both cornhole boards, and they look great, it’s time to finish them off!

The next step in our cornhole board build is sanding the entire project, not forgetting the inner rim of the bean bag holes! Remove the legs at this point to make it easier to sand and paint.

Sand The Boards

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Prime and paint to your liking, I am painting mine with two coats of two in one paint + primer in white, and then finishing the board using painters tape along with red and blue paint.

Paint The Boards

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Two coats of primer and paint in one…

Taping off my design, I decided to go simple and stylish.

Don’t forget your Cornhole Champion Shirts! 

The colors I chose match our favorite NFL team, the New England Patriots. Who wouldn’t want red, white, and blue cornhole boards anyway?!

Red, white, and blue cornhole boards!

Add Polycrylic

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When the paint is completely dry, you can apply several coats of Polycrylic to give the cornhole boards a nice protective coating and make the cornhole bags move properly on the surface! Don’t forget to paint and polycrylic the legs. I took the legs off mine and painted them in the garage (sorry no pics!).

Reattach Legs

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Now that we have several coats of Polycrylic, we can reattach the legs!

Install Handles

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Because I’m always changing things, I decided at the last minute to install handles on each board for easier carrying.

I used these handles, they were really cheap and I just attached them with some black screws I had.

Don’t these cornhole boards look fantastic?

Now you know how to build cornhole boards!

Now, learn how to play cornhole!

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