Camping cornhole

This is a little project I have wanted to tackle for quite some time. On many of our camping trips we have seen other campers playing a round of cornhole–with boards that ranged from the lightweight plastic ones to personalized, but hefty, wood ones. (Did you know there is an entire association devoted to the cornhole past time? Neither did I.)

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Although there are a whole host of websites, blogs, etc., that offer directions and how-to’s for building cornhole boards, I wanted to make three modifications to the traditional boards.

My three modifications are:

• designing boards that will fasten together so that they can be stored more compactly in the camper;
• making holes that are slightly larger than “regulation” so that it is easier for our young kiddos to get the bean bag in the hole;
• reducing the board slope.

Supplies:

• Two 2′ x 4′ sheets of plywood. I chose oak boards.
• Six 1″ x 2″ x 6′ cut to:
  • Four 48″ pieces
  • Four 22.5″ pieces
  • Four 8.5″ pieces
• Four 2.5″ machine bolts
• Four wing nuts and washers
• Four latches
• Wood glue
• Drill
• Saw
• Hammer and nails (or nail gun)

Step 1: Take two 48″ and two 22.5″ 1″ x 2″s and glue and nail them onto the plywood sheets.

Step 2: Cut 7″ diameter holes with a center at  10″ down and 12″ from side. (Standard cornhole size is 6″ diameter).

Step 3: Cut four 8.5″ pieces down to this shape. I kept shaving off until it was able to fold easily without the corner causing an obstruction.

Step 4: Hold in place and drill holes.

Step 5: Insert the bolts.

Step 6: Lay the boards flat and attach the four latches 1′ in from each end on both sides.

From the picture above you can see I also decided to add rope handles. To do this I just drilled two holes in the side of each board and used some rope that I had in the garage to make the handles.

I still have to paint the cornhole boards, but at least they will be ready in time for our fall camping trip. We’re still debating what kind of fun color scheme to go with … maybe scarlet and gray for the Ohio State Buckeyes!

Kristin made our cornhole bags (not pictured) from leftover material and dried beans, but you can also purchase them here.