Follow these simple outdoor dining table plans, and you could build your own beautiful table to last for many years. Believe it or not, it is not that difficult to start with a stack of lumber that looks like the picture here and wind up with a beautiful 10 foot outdoor dining table, complete with built in “hidden coolers” for keeping your favorite beverages cool and close at hand.

It may looking like a daunting job at first, and to be honest, there are some small challenges. However with a little patience and the right tools, you can build your own outdoor dining table that is equivalent to what some big-box retailers want to charge thousands of dollars ($4,000 or more to be precise).  Here are the steps I used and my outdoor dining table plans.

Tools Required:

• Compound miter saw (or a hand saw and lots of patience and energy)
• Circular saw or table saw (or again, a hand saw and lots of patience energy)
• Drill
• Bench Press with a mortising bit (or a drill can be used for this portion as well)
• Chisel (make certain it is sharp, which they are typically NOT when first purchased)
• Measuring tape
• Speed Square
• Kreg jig
• Pencil
• Clamps
• Rubber Mallet

The materials list

(I used rough cut cedar, but you could use any wood – but the better the wood, the longer it will last outside!):

• four 4″x4″x8′ rough cut cedar posts
• three cedar 2″x4″x8’s
• five cedar 2″x8″x8’s
• one cedar 2″x12″x8′
• two cedar 1″x2″x8′

The first step is to cut the end of one of the 4x4s at a 10 degree angle with the miter saw. Then measure to 26.5″ length and cut the other end also at a 10 degree angle in the same direction. Now cut three more of these and you have the four legs cut for your base!

The next piece you need to cut is the stretcher that goes between each set of legs. Both ends of the stretchers are also cut at 10 degree angles, though they are cut in opposite angles, so that the top side of the stretcher measures 26 3/8, while the bottom side measures 25 5/8. You can see how the stretchers lay out on top of the legs a few pictures down.
The next step is creating the tenons on the end of the stretchers. Each tenon is going to be 2″ in length, and you can make the shoulders as deep as you wish, I chose 3/4″. Start by measuring back from each end by 2″ remembering to maintain the 10 degree angle. I used a circular saw to make the initial cut at the 2″ mark (pay attention to the angle of the blade to ensure you are going WITH the 10 degree angle cut, for the top and bottom you will have to set the blade to match this angle). Then proceed to make a bunch of close cuts from the initial 2″ mark all the way to the end of the
stretcher, similar to the picture to the right. You can then knock the remaining thin pieces of wood off with the rubber mallet and clean up the surface with a chisel.

This part would definitely be easier with a table saw and a dado blade, but I didn’t happen to have either, so I had to use the above method for all six of the tenons I had to create (two on each leg stretcher, and two for each end of the long stretcher that runs between the sets of legs). The finished tenons should be square and smooth, as should the shoulders. The smoother and straighter they are, the tighter the joints will appear.

Above is a picture of the “finished” stretchers with the tenons complete, as well as a picture of how the stretcher and legs will be laid out (with the stretcher resting on top of the legs since we haven’t yet created the mortises in the legs for the tenons to fit). Note, you’ll also have to complete the same process on one of the remaining 4x4x8s with the same 2″ tenons.

The last thing to do in order to complete your cuts for the leg sets and long stretcher are to cut the mortises to go along with the tenons. The bottom of the leg stretchers should be 2 1/2″ off the ground, which means if you put 3/4″ shoulders on your stretchers, the bottom of the mortise should be 3 1/4″ up from the bottom inside edge of each stretcher. Make certain you measure this step precisely! You want your mortises to be the exact measurements of your tenons for the absolute tightest fits possible. If you have a bench press with a mortising bit, I would imagine this part would be exponentially easier. Unfortunately I did not, and I utilized a hand drill to drill out as much of the wood from within the defined area of the mortise as possible then cleaned it up and refined each mortise with the chisel. This was by far and away the most time consuming part of the process for building this table, but it was well worth it to not have to use lag bolts or screws that would show. If using a hand drill, I would recommend marking your drill bit to 2 1/4″ so you have a little extra depth, but not too much. The extra 1/4″ will make it slightly easier to clean out with the chisel after the fact.

Once you have all of your mortises and tenons complete, you should dry fit the base, and hopefully you will end up with a structure that looks as such:

If everything fits nice and tight and square at this point you can glue and clamp all of these pieces together. Make certain to use exterior wood glue, and to use plenty of it!

The next steps will be to cut two 31 1/2″ pieces of the 2x4s to go across the top of each leg set. When dry fit on top of the leg sets each end should have over the outside of the leg by about 5″. Then measure the distance between the two top pieces as they are dry fit on the leg sets, and then cut two more 2x4s to this length. For these two long 2x4s, I used pocket screws to attach them to the leg set tops. Since all of the wood is used is rough cut cedar, the 2x4s were actually 2″ thick – which my Kreg jig does not really accommodate so I measured how far from the end of the 2×4 the jig would need to sit in order to provide for the proper screw angle and depth, and then I clamped it onto the 2×4 as seen in the picture to the right. I used two screws on each end of each 2×4. Also, of note, I used 2 1/2″ pocket screws for all locations.

You’ll also need to cut the the last 4x4x8 for the diagonal supports that run from the long stretcher up to the top of each base. The easiest way to do this is to cut the initial 45 degree angle cut on one end, the set it in place and mark exactly where it needs to be cut in order to sit flush with the top of the 2×4 piece that sits atop each leg set and then mark that appropriate 45 degree angle cut. These diagonal pieces are the only pieces I used long (6″) screws on in order to attach to the long stretcher. Since the screws are coming up from underneath the long stretcher, I felt OK using the screws because no one would ever see them.

After the angle supports are in place, go ahead and attach the long 2x4s about an inch outside of each side of the angle supports. You’ll then need to find the center and measure out 7.5″ in each direction, this will be the inside cut for the rabbet for the 1×2 support pieces that go perpendicular to the long 2x4s. Use the 1x2s to find the outside cut for each rabbet, then clean out wood in the middle using the same method used to cut the tenons. From the center of each of the supports, measure 25″ for the inside cut for the rabbets where the outside supports go for the coolers. Once these are all cut, and the 1×2 are cut to 31 1/2″ pieces, go ahead and glue, screw, and clamp the 1×2 supports in place. NOTE: the planter boxes should be supported on all four side – the 2x4s on the long sides, and the 1×2 supports on the short sides. (see pics below).

Building the basic top is fairly easy. I drilled three pocket screw holes in each end of each 2 x 8 and laid them out against the 2 x 12s so that they were evenly spaced. I then attached all BUT the center board, which will be cut down into five separate pieces to accommodate the built-in coolers. For knowing where the center board cuts need to be made, I put the top in place on the base, then measured the distances for each 1 x 2 support. The 2 x 8 pieces should be measured and cut so as each be supported by the 1 x 2 supports. The center piece should be 16″ wide, then the next two (working from the center out) should each be about 24 1/2″, then the outer two pieces would be the remaining lengths.

NOTE: for best final appearance you should cut the pieces so that the grains all line up, so cut the 16″ center piece from the center of the board, then cut the next two pieces from what would have been the center. This will ensure the grains line up and look as neat as possible.

The one detail you don’t see in the pictures is that I glued and brad nailed 1/4″ stock vertically flush with all four sides of each opening for the built-in coolers. This provides a lip for the planter boxes to grip so they don’t pull through the openings when they are filled. I also opted to not attach the planter boxes, or to put any holes in them for draining the water from the melting ice. By not attaching them it makes it fairly simple to push them out from underneath the table and them dump the water out. I also routed out a 1/4″ lip on the bottom side of the two 2 x 8 pieces from the center board that will cover the coolers. This allows those pieces to sit flush with the other top boards when the coolers aren’t in use.

After all of the construction was done, I decided to put two coats of Teak Oil on the table instead of staining it. The Teak Oil will help preserve the look of the table and keep the cedar from greying out over time.

Thank you for checking out my outdoor dining table plans, I hope you have much success in building your own!

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