How to Build an Octagon Picnic Table
The octagon picnic table offers significant benefits to the classic picnic table design.
The octagon design not only seats more people, the space between the seats makes it easier
to sit down and get up.
Of course it's a matter of personal opinion, but we could say the
octagon design is simply more beautiful and sophisticated than the traditional long straight
picnic tables with benches along the sides.
The Octagon Picnic Table is superior to the traditional picnic table design in a number of ways.
It seats eight adults in comfort as opposed to six for the traditional classic six foot picnic
table with attached benches. The open seat design makes it easy for your guests to sit down and get up without inconvience to
the guest sitting next to them. The octagon shaped top puts the food within easy reach of everyone.
Also, everyone is in a more convenient arrangement for conversation.
Octagon Picnic Table Dimensions
Please note that there is no PDF file for these Octagon Picnic Table plans.
You can either view these plans in your shop with your phone or mobile device or print
a paper copy of this web page with your printer.
Our Octagon Picnic Table Plans Are Aivided Into Three Sections.
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First are the Assembly Instructions. Looking through the assembly process first
will give you a good picture of what is involved in building this picnic table.
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Detailed parts drawings are shown next. You can see all the details you need
to make the parts for this Picnic Table with benches attached.
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Finally, you can see a list of the parts and hardware needed.
Assemble the Top Octagon Segments
Assemble two octagon segments together as shown above.
Clamp both pieces so they fit together properly and secure the joint with 2”
pocket hole screws.
You will need to assemble four pairs of segments like these.
Next, arrange the assembled pairs of segments together as shown above.
Again, clamp both pieces together and secure the joint with 2” pocket hole screws.
Finally, arrange and clamp the segments together as shown above and sewcure with
pocket hole screws.
Attach The Top Narrow Gussets
Position the Narrow Gussets on the bottom side of the Top Octagon Segments as shown
above. Ensure the Octagon Segments are equally spaced from each other and the Gussets are
centered over the octagon joints and also centered side to side. Secure the Gussets to the
octagons with 2 1/2" rust resistant screws
Attach The Top Wide Gussets
Position the Wide Gussets as shown above. The Wide Gussets should be positioned
against the Narrow Gussets where the Narrow Gussets come together in the center
of the Top as indicated by the red arrows. Attach the Wide Gussets to the octagons with 2 1/2"
rust resistant screws.
Attach The Legs To The Top Gussets
Attach the legs to the Narrow Gussets with 4" bolts, two flat washers, one lock
washer, and nut as shown in the drawings. Do not completely tighten the nuts
until the Picnin Table is completely assembled.
Attach The Connector Rail Gussets To The Center Of The Long Connector Rails
Attach a Connector Rail Gusset to each Long Connector Rail with two 2 1/2"
wood screws as shown in the drawings above. The Connector Rail
Gussets must be centered from end to end of the Connector rails.
Assembling the Legs and Connector Rails
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Attach the Long Connector Rails to the Legs with 4" by 5/16" hex head bolts
with flat washers and lock washers as indicated by the blue arrows in the
drawing above.
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Using the same size bolts, attach the Short Connector Rails to the Legs as indicated by the
green arrows above.
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Then attach the other ends of the Short Connector Rails to
the Connector Rail Gussets as indicated by the purple arrow above.
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Attach the Rail-Seat Gussets to the Connector Rails with 2" screws through
the 1 1/2" thicknessof the Rail-Seat Gussets as indicated by the red arrows.
The bottom of the Rail-Seat Gussets must be flush with the edge of the
Connector rail.
Attach The Top Trim Pieces
Position the eight Top Trim pieces so they are evenly spaced and centered on the top.
Attach with three 2 1/2" screws as indicated by the red arrows in the drawing above.
Assembling The Seats
Clamp the seat boards so they fit together properly and secure them together
with 2" pocket hole screws as indicated by the red arrows in the drawing above.
Attach The Seat Gussets
Position the seat boards so there is a 3/8" gap between them. Attach the end and
center seat gussets with 2 1/2" screws as shown above.
Clamp the Seat Base boards
Clamp the Seat Base boards and Base Extensions so they fit together properly and secure
them together with 2" pocket hole screws as shown in the drawing above.
Assemble The Seat Base, Seat Posts, And Seats
Position the Seat Posts on the bottom side of a set of seat boards as shown above.
The edge of the Seat Post should be 2" from the end of the Gusset as shown in the Detail
View. Attach the Seat Posts to the assembled seat boards with pocket hole
screws as indicated by the red arrows above. Choose screws of a length that will
not protude past the Seat surface on the opposite side.
Next, place an assembled Seat Base on top of the Seat Posts as shown above.
Determine the location for the screw holes and drill two 3/16" holes through
the Base Extensions as indicated by the blue arrows. The screw holes should
be centered over the ends of the posts. Attach the assembled Seat Bases to the
bottom ends of the Seat Posts with 3" screws.
Attach Corner Gussets
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Attach the Corner Gussets to the assembled Seat Boards and and Seat Posts with
2" screws as indicated by the red arrows in the drawing above.
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The edge of the Gusset should be close to the gap between the Seat Boards
but not over it as indicated by the blue arrows in the Detail View. This will
ensure rain water does not collect on top of the Leg Post.
Attach The Seats To The Legs And Connector Rails
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First, you need to turn the Octagon Picnic Table Top with Legs attached upside
down as shown in the drawing above because the Assembled Seats will be attached
on the bottom side.
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Position an Assembled Seat so the Seat Base is centered over a Leg as indicated
by the red arrows and the Middle Seat Gusset sits inside the opening between the
Connector Rails as indicated by the blue arrow in the drawing above.
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Secure the Assembled Seat to the Rail-Seat Gussets with 2 1/2" screws as indicated by the
blue arrows in the drawing above.
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Secure the Seat Base to the Bottom of the Leg with 2 1/2" screws as indicated by the
red arrows in the drawing above.
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Repeat this procedure for the three remaining Seats.
Congratulations! Your Octagon Picnic Table Is Complete
This completes the assembly section of our Octagon Picnic Table plans.
Parts Drawings - Top Octagon Segments
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All Octagon Segments are made from 5 1/2" Wide by 1 1/2" Thick wood.
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The Top Trim segments are also made from 1 1/2" Thick wood. The finished dimensions
of the Top Trim segments are 23 5/8" long, 1" wide, and 1 1/2" high.
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All angles for the Octagon Segments and Trim Segments are 67.5 degrees.
(You'll need to set your saw or miter gauge at 22.5 degrees.)
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You'll need eight each of the parts on this page.
Parts Drawings - Top Gussets
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All Gussets for your Octagon Picnic Table are made from 1 1/2" Thick wood
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As mentioned above, to get the 67.5 degree angle, you'll probably need to
set your miter guage to 22.5 degrees.
Parts Drawings - Top Trim
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Note that the Top Trim has 67 degree angles. This may not be apparent with the isometric drawing
above but the Detail View shows it.
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The Legs for your Octagon Picnic Table are made from
1 1/2" Thick wood. You will need four Legs.
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First cut four Legs 30" long by 5 1/2" wide with 70 degree angles on each end as shown above.
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Next, cut off two corners from each Leg as shown above.
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You'll need to set your miter guage to 20 degrees to get the 70 degree angles.
Parts Drawings - Connector Rails
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Connector Rails are made from 1" thick wood.
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Connector Rail Gussets and Rail-Seat Gussets are made from 1 1/2" thick wood.
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All Seat parts for your Octagon Picnic Table are made from 1 1/2" Thick wood.
Hole Layout - Top Segments
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Set your pocket hole jig for 1 1/2" thick material.
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Drill the pocket holes in each of the Top Octagon Segments as shown
in the drawings above.
Hole Layout - Seat Parts
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There are four Left Base Extensions and four Right Base Extensions. The drawings
above indicate the pocket hole positions for each.
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Note that the pocket holes for the Left Base Extensions have pocket holes on the
opposite end as the pocket holes on the Right Base Extensions as indicated by the red arrows.
Hole Layout - Top Gussets
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Drill eightteen 3/16 holes through each Wide Gusset as shown in the drawing above.
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Drill twenty 3/16 holes through each Narrow Gusset as shown in the drawing above.
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Drill two 5/16 holes through the side of each Narrow Gusset as shown in the drawing above.
Hole Layout - Connector Rail Gussets
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Drill two 5/16" holes through the 2" wide surface of each Connector Gusset
as shown in the left drawing above.
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Drill two 3/16" holes through the 1 1/2" wide surface of each Connector Gusset
as shown in the right drawing above.
Hole Layout - Rail Seat Gussets
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Drill four 3/16 holes through the top and four 3/16 holes through the side of
each Rail-Seat Gusset as shown above.
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Note that the holes in the top are 1 1/4" from the ends and the holes in the sides
are 1 1/2" from the ends. This keeps the screws from hitting each other.
Hole Layout - Middle Seat Gussets
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Drill eight 3/16 holes through each Seat Gusset as shown in the drawings above.
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To ensure the screws don't cause the wood to split, orient the wood grain as shown above.
Hole Layout - End Seat Gussets
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Drill four 3/16 holes through each End Seat Gusset. Holes are centered side to side.
Hole Layout - Long Connector Rails
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Drill two 5/16" holes 12" from each end and 1 1/2" from each edge of the 85 1/2"
Connector Rail as shown in the drawing above.
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Drill four 3/16" holes 41 1/4" from the ends through each 85 1/2" Connector Rail as
shown in the drawing above. ( A total of four 3/16" holes in each 85 1/2" Rail.)
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Drill four 5/16" holes through each 41" Connector Rail as shown in the drawing above.
Hole Layout - Legs
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Drill two 5/16" holes at the Top and two 5/16" holes in the middle top of each
Leg as shown in the drawing above.
Items You Will Need
Page Top
Assembly
Parts Drawings
Parts You Will Need To Make For Your Octagon Table
Octagon Picnic Table Cutout Drawings - 1
Octagon Picnic Table Cutout Drawings - 2
Octagon Picnic Table Cutout Drawings - 3
We hope you enjoy these free Octagon Picnic Table plans and the other free woodworking
plans offered on this site. You are invited to
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link to our site so they can download them from here. We always welcome new visitors.
Please note that there is no PDF file for these Octagon Picnic Table plans.
You can either view these plans in your shop with your phone or mobile device or print
a paper copy of this web page with your printer.
Copyright © 2023 by Robert E. Reedy (All Rights Reserved)
FreeOctagonTablePlans.htm (09-17-2023)