Adjustable Picnic Table Plans

We live in a community where most of the children know each other, and they play together at weekends. We noticed last summer that one of the kids who came round regularly said their parents had not got an adjustable picnic table, similar to ours, so we thought we would make one for them as a present. They could use it when the weather gets warmer.

Adjustable picnic tables are a really good idea. The alternative is to have one in a fixed position somewhere on your land. You can buy the folding picnic tables for about fifty pounds, but quite honestly they do not look very strongly constructed. That is one reason why I made one myself.

My wife was pleased with it, so she gave me the chance to show the neighbours my carpentry skills. I agreed to the project. I am alright with the simpler woodworking projects, providing I have a proper set of plans to follow.

The plan was to put together a folding and adjustable picnic table, because if I were to build a fixed one, I would have to work in the neighbour's garden and then it would not be a surprise for them.

I drew my own adjustable picnic table plans, which gave me a focus for the work. When I first started in DIY woodworking I did not work from plans at all and my projects frequently ended in failure.

Basically, the picnic table consisted of a flat top surface with folding legs. For me, the simplest way to make the legs adjustable was to have them open out at three height levels, what I loosely call low, medium and high. I worked out the best height for the highest setting and scaled down each of the other heights accordingly.

When I finished the job I was pleased with what I had made. It folded away almost flat and was not too heavy to carry. I even put a carry handle on the side. I am sure our neighbours would be happy with the surprise gift and they would be able to enjoy using it with their kids in the warmer months to come.