Cornhole board plans
A pair of regulation cornhole boards needs half a 4x8 sheet of plywood and five 8-foot 2x4s. A full sheet actually yields four 48 by 24 inch tops — two complete pairs. Each board is a 48 by 24 inch frame with a 6-inch hole centred 9 inches from the back edge, standing 12 inches high at the back and 3 to 3.5 inches at the front, the range that is legal under both governing bodies.
Materials for a pair of boards
A 4 by 8 foot sheet is 48 by 96 inches, so it divides into four 48 by 24 inch tops with nothing left over — enough for two pairs of boards. The regulation board size is a whole-number fraction of a standard sheet, which is unlikely to be a coincidence.
| Item | Quantity | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 in plywood, 4 x 8 ft sheet | 1 (half used) | Yields four 48 x 24 in tops — two pairs |
| 2 x 4, 8 ft length | 5 | Frames and legs |
| Carriage bolts, 3/8 in x 4 in, with washers and lock nuts | 4 | Leg pivots, one per leg |
| Wood screws, 2.5 in | About 40 | Frame assembly |
| Wood screws, 1.25 in | About 30 | Fixing the top to the frame |
| Wood filler, sandpaper, primer and paint or varnish | As needed | Finish — a smooth surface is what makes bags slide |
The ACO specifies a playing surface at least half an inch thick with cross-section backing, or three quarters of an inch without. Half-inch plywood on a braced frame is the usual choice: it is lighter to carry and, with a centre brace, perfectly rigid. Three-quarter-inch plywood makes a heavy board — a pair will be awkward to move alone.
Do not use MDF or chipboard. Both sag over a 48-inch span and neither survives being left out in the rain, which every cornhole board eventually is.
Cut list
Every frame piece below assumes a 2x4 that measures an actual 1.5 by 3.5 inches, which is what a nominal 2x4 is. The frame is built on edge so the 3.5-inch dimension is the depth.
| Piece | Quantity | Length | Why that length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plywood top | 1 | 48 x 24 in | The regulation playing surface |
| Frame sides | 2 | 48 in | Run the full length of the board |
| Frame ends | 2 | 21 in | 24 in minus the two 1.5 in sides |
| Centre brace | 1 | 21 in | Stops a half-inch top flexing mid-span |
| Legs | 2 | ~11.5–13 in | Cut to suit your pivot — see below |
The 21-inch ends are the number people get wrong. The board is 24 inches wide overall, and the two side rails are 1.5 inches thick each, so the pieces that fit between them are 24 minus 3, which is 21 inches. Cutting them at 24 inches gives a board 27 inches wide and no longer legal.
Marking the hole
The hole is 6 inches across, centred left to right, with its centre 9 inches from the back edge. That leaves exactly 6 inches of board above the hole.
Find the centre line
Measure 12 inches in from each long edge and mark. The hole centre sits on this line, halfway across the 24-inch width.
Measure 9 inches from the back edge
The back edge is the one that will stand 12 inches off the ground. Mark 9 inches in from it along the centre line — that intersection is the hole centre.
Scribe a 6-inch circle
Set a compass to a 3-inch radius from the marked centre and draw the full circle. Check it before cutting: the top of the circle should sit 6 inches from the back edge and the bottom 15 inches.
Cut and sand
Drill a starter hole inside the circle and cut with a jigsaw, or use a 6-inch hole saw. Sand the edge smooth and slightly round it — a sharp edge shreds bags.
Leg length: the arithmetic, not a magic number
Leg length is not published by either governing body. What IS published is the finished height — 12 inches at the back — so the leg length follows from how deep your frame is.
The rule to hit is that the TOP of the playing surface stands 12 inches above the ground at the back edge. Work down from there: subtract the thickness of your plywood top and the depth of your frame, and what remains is how far the leg must reach below the frame.
With half-inch plywood on a 2x4 frame laid on edge, the top surface sits 0.5 plus 3.5, or 4 inches, above the bottom of the frame. To put that surface at 12 inches, the frame’s underside has to be 8 inches off the ground — so the leg must reach 8 inches below the frame when it is folded down.
The leg itself is cut longer than 8 inches, because it pivots on a bolt set some way down inside the frame rather than hanging from its very end. How much longer depends on exactly where you place that bolt, which is why published plans quote anything from about 11.5 to 13 inches for the same finished board. Rather than copy a number, drill the pivot, hold the leg down and measure the actual height at the back edge before you commit.
The same applies if you change materials: three-quarter-inch plywood puts the surface a quarter-inch higher for an identical leg, so the leg comes down a quarter-inch to stay at 12. This is why lifting a leg length from a plan built with different stock produces a board that is subtly the wrong height.
Round the top corner of each leg before fitting it. A square corner binds against the frame and will not fold flat.
- Bolt the legs inside the frame at the back end, using carriage bolts with washers and lock nuts so they pivot but do not work loose.
- Cut the bottom of each leg at a slight angle so it sits flat on the ground when the board is at its finished height, rather than resting on a corner.
- Check the finished height with a tape before you paint. Adjusting is easy while the leg is bare wood and irritating afterwards.
- The front edge should land between 3 and 3.5 inches to satisfy both rule books — that is the frame depth plus the top thickness, so it takes care of itself if your frame is a 2x4 on edge.
Printable plan
A one-page plan with the dimensioned drawing, the cut list and the height targets — the sheet to take to the workshop rather than a phone.
- Cornhole board plans (PDF) — Dimensioned drawing, cut list and the ACL/ACO height targets on one page. Free to print and share with attribution.
Finishing the surface
The finish is not cosmetic. How fast bags slide is decided almost entirely by how smooth the playing surface is, and a rough board plays nothing like a tournament one.
- Fill the plywood grain, sand it flat, then prime. Bare plywood grain is what makes a home-built board feel slow and unpredictable.
- Semi-gloss or gloss latex paint over primer is the common finish, sanded lightly between coats.
- Do not use outdoor deck paint with grit in it. It is designed not to be slippery, which is the opposite of what a cornhole board needs.
- Give the boards somewhere dry to live. Plywood that has been rained on repeatedly will delaminate no matter how well it was painted.
Common questions about building boards
How much plywood do I need for cornhole boards?
- Half a sheet. A 4 by 8 foot sheet measures 48 by 96 inches, which divides exactly into four 48 by 24 inch tops with nothing left over — so one sheet is enough for two pairs of boards, and a single pair uses half of it. Allow for the saw kerf and each piece finishes a fraction under size, which is comfortably inside both bodies’ tolerances.
How long should cornhole board legs be?
- There is no official answer — neither governing body publishes a leg length. What is published is the finished height: the top of the playing surface must be 12 inches above the ground at the back edge. For a 2x4 frame with a half-inch top the leg needs to reach 8 inches below the frame, which usually means cutting it somewhere between 11.5 and 13 inches depending on where you set the pivot bolt. Measure the finished height before you paint rather than trusting a number from someone else’s plan.
What thickness plywood for a cornhole board?
- Half an inch on a braced frame, or three quarters of an inch without bracing. The ACO specifies a minimum of half an inch with cross-section backing, or three quarters otherwise. Half-inch on a frame with a centre brace is lighter to carry and just as rigid.
Where does the hole go on a cornhole board?
- Centred across the width, with the centre of the hole 9 inches from the back edge — the raised end. The hole is 6 inches in diameter, so there is exactly 6 inches of board between the top of the hole and the back edge.
What paint should I use on a cornhole board?
- Latex paint in semi-gloss or gloss over a primed and sanded surface. Avoid any textured or anti-slip deck coating: bags are meant to slide, and grit in the paint makes the board play badly.
Sources
The regulation dimensions this build targets — 48 by 24 inches, a 6-inch hole centred 9 inches from the back edge, 12 inches high at the back, and the surface-thickness requirement — come from the American Cornhole League’s Rules and Regulations and the American Cornhole Organization’s official rules, read on 4 August 2026. Neither body publishes a leg length or a materials list, so those are presented here as construction guidance with the arithmetic shown rather than as regulation.