DIY Cornhole
I work for an non-profit organization called InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, our vision is to see students and faculty transformed, campuses renewed, and world changers developed. The goal is simple, to share the Gospel, and to see individuals changed as a result of what Jesus has done for us. This time of year marks the return of thousands of students to campuses across the US and even across the world. I am part of a staff team at the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, and we are in the thick of our NSO (New Student Outreach) season. We have many events scheduled, during which students are invited to engage with the InterVarsity community. One of the events that we host is a Picnic, we offer free food, games, and community. Notice how I said games, one of those being Bags/Cornhole (name dependent on location in the US). My supervisor, knowing I have the DIY bug, asked me to make 2 sets of Bags boards and bags for our upcoming picnic. I obliged and even jumped at the chance to make something. I made two sets, so if you only want to make one just half everything. If you want to give it a go yourself here is the how to:
The Board Materials:
1 - 1/2" Sheet of Plywood (Clear of knots, splits)
8 - 8' 2x4's (Clear of defects, twists, splits, etc.)
8 - 4 1/2" Carriage bolts, 3/8" in diameter
8 - 3/8" Washers
8 - 3/8" Wing Nuts
1 - Box of 2 1/2" wood screws
A regulation size set of boards has a 2' x 4' face, the back end lifts off the ground 12", and the front is supposed to be 3" off the ground. However, due to the size of the lumber, the front of my boards ended up being about 3 1/2" off the ground.
The Process
First you need to cut your sheet of plywood in to 4 equal pieces all measuring 2' x 4'. Because the sheet starts off at 4' x 8' when you cut them, they will be a fraction smaller than regulation. For the rest I am going to list them off for your ease.
8 Frame Sides cut at 4'
8 Frame Top and Bottom cut at 21"
8 Legs cut to 16" (These will be cut at an angle later)
At this point you can begin assembly with the 2 1/2" screws, the key here is to make sure the corners are square, I did so with two clamps and a scrape piece of wood, I wish I had taken a picture of it, sorry. Make sure you pre-drill your holes so the screws will sink below the surface of the wood. Once you have cut all your pieces and assembled your frames they should look like this.
You will then need to attach the plywood to the frame. Using an adjustable square which was set to have the width of a 2 x 4 (3/4"), I marked at intervals on the plywood where I would pre-drill holes, if you have a countersink bit, I suggest using it here otherwise you will get some puckering when you try to sink your screws. Make sure you line up your sheeting on the frame, you may need to tweak the frame to fit the plywood, you want it to be as close to square as possible. Once you have the plywood attached, your board should look like this:
Next you need to cut the hole in your board which the bags are meant to be thrown through, to do this you are going to measure to the center of your board, 12" from the side, and measure 9" down from the top of your board. Once you have the center marked you will take a compass and using that center point make a circle that is 6" in diameter. Once you have your holes marked you are going to need to use a jigsaw to cut them out, before you can use the jigsaw you will need to drill a pilot hole so you can insert the jigsaw blade into the hole. Once you have cut your 6" hole you will need to smooth out the circle with some sandpaper, a rasp, or even a powered drum sander if you have one. This is what your boards should look like after this step is complete.
The next step is to attach the legs, this is a very crucial step to ensure your boards will withstand the bags being thrown on them repeatedly. First mark all of your leg pieces 1 3/4" from the side and down 1 3/4" of an inch, using your compass once again mark an arc on the board, you are doing this so the legs will be collapsable.
The center point you marked is going to be the spot you will drill your 3/8" hole for the carriage bold to fit through. Use a drill bit that is slightly larger than 3/8" so the bolt will slip in and out easily (trust me it makes your life easier). You can then use either a bandsaw or jigsaw to cut the arc, I used a bandsaw and cleaned it up with a belt sander. Your finished arc should look like this:
Next you need to mark your boards for where the legs are going to be attached, to get the correct spacing I used a scrap piece of 2x4 and used an uncut leg to mark the center point where I was going to drill the hole for the bolt in the frame.
Now you can assemble one leg to the board so we can get the correct angle, using a carriage bolt, washer, and wing nut, the finished assembly should look like this:
The tricky part here is getting the angle, the back of your board needs to be 12" off the ground, so what I did, although I didn't get a picture, is prop up your board with objects on a table with the leg extended in the lock position until the back of your board is 12" off the table. Then use a square and the table to scribe the line onto the leg piece. Once you have got the angle of one you can then mark the other leg pieces and cut them. Mine just happened to be cut at 45 degrees exactly. Attach your legs to your boards and the assembly is done! It only took about 4 hours to manufacture these 2 sets. The painting is what took a while, 3 days to be exact.
Before you paint you need to fill all of the holes in your board so the throwing surface is nice and smooth and won't snag the bags as you are throwing them. Once your wood filler has cured, I painted my boards with a primer first so they would take the color paint I would apply later more easily. I went with a really simple design of a 1 3/4" stripe on the outside of the board with a solid color for the majority of the board, then hand painted lettering to advertise for InterVarsity. Because I'm sure you guys know how to paint I won't patronize you, but I will share some photos!
The lettering alone took me about 3 hours, with my face about 6" away from the work surface and a paintbrush with 4 hairs! There you have it, that's how to build the boards!
The Bag Materials
8 - 7"x 7" Duck Cloth (One color, Mine were Blue)
8 - 7"x 7" Duck Cloth (One color, and Yellow)
Thread of same color as fabric
Feed grade whole kernel corn (16 lbs)
It's important that you get duck cloth, this material is very sturdy and will withstand the abuse the bags are going to need to take. If you pick up a half a yard of each color you need that should be plenty.
The Process
Cut your fabric into 7" x 7" squares, I used a sharpie, rotary knife, quilting square, and quilting mat to make it as easy as possible for me, make sure your pieces are square as this will give you trouble later if they aren't.
Once you've got your fabric squares you can sew them together, sew 3 sides fully closed, and leave about a 3" hole in the fourth side somewhere in the middle so you can flip your fabric right side out. Upon completing the preliminary sewing you are ready to begin filling them, I made a funnel out of paper so I didn't end up with corn all over the floor. Your bags should weigh one pound with material and corn in them, I used a scale to make sure they were the right weight. Sewing can be a little tricky because the corn doesn't want to stay in place, so I found it helpful to pin the corn tightly down in the bag like so. I then sewed up the 4th side completely and had 2 sets of bags!
The students really enjoyed them, and I enjoyed making them! Hopefully they will last for years to come, if you have any questions just let me know! Happy DIYing!
