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"  Summer&amp;#039;s nearly here, and I&amp;#039;m ready for it. I&amp;#039;ve got a new seven-burner gas grill and four ground-shaking speakers for my outdoor sound system\u2014and I&amp;#039;ve built a sturdy picnic table to replace my old one. (It was a creaky, splintered mess of lumber that listed to one side like a parallelogram.) The new table took a weekend to construct, including a trip to a home center to hand-pick the lumber and buy fasteners. One of the project&amp;#039;s best features: The top and bench seats are made from composite decking, a material \u00ADfashioned from plastic resin and sawdust. It&amp;#039;s easy to clean, it&amp;#039;s impervious to wood-boring insects, and it never \u00ADsplinters. I chose pressure-treated 2x lumber for other parts of the project\u2014and rust-proof fasteners everywhere. I have to admit that my design is heavy. On the other hand, it&amp;#039;s durable; this is probably the last picnic table you&amp;#039;ll ever need.  Picnic Table Plans (PDF, .3MB, requires Adobe Reader) Step 1: Start at the Bottom  Begin by cutting four picnic table legs out of pressure-treated 2 x 6 \u00ADlumber. Cut two legs at a time on a power miter saw. Cut the angle on the legs; gang cuts are faster and more accurate than single cuts. You can also use a circular saw and a guide to cut the angles on the top and bottom of the legs. Next, crosscut and bevel the seat support and lay the support across the legs. The tops of the supports should be 18 inches from the leg \u00ADbottoms (as shown in the profile illustration), and the ends of the supports should extend 14\u00BE inches from each leg. Step 2: Secure the Supports  Secure the 2 x 4 supports to the legs with 3-inch deck screws. Lay the seat support across the legs and fasten. To prevent twist, lay the parts on a dead-flat surface. Later, you&amp;#039;ll strengthen the joint with carriage bolts. Be careful to drive the screw head flush but no deeper; otherwise, you risk the screw point poking out the other side. Step 3: Make the Frame  Now move on to the frame for the tabletop. Crosscut the side rails, and predrill 5/32-inch pilot holes to prevent splitting; join the parts with 3-inch deck screws. Screw the top frame together. Use a simple pipe clamp to hold the parts in position. Duplicate the process to cut and fasten the seat frames. Step 4: Assemble the Table  The next step is to assemble the \u00ADpicnic table structure. First, position the tabletop assembly flush with the top of the legs and clamp it into place. At each end of the top, drive 3-inch deck screws through the inside of the frame and into the legs. Here&amp;#039;s where a stubby impact driver really comes in handy, to fit between crossmembers. Step 5: Assemble the Table (Cont.)  Later, install \u00ADcarriage bolts to bolster the joints. \u00ADFasten the seat frames by driving deck screws through the \u00ADoutside of the seat support into the frame. Be sure the frame is flush with the seat support to ensure that seat planks, well, seat evenly. Step 6: Reinforce the Base  To reinforce the table base and ensure that it doesn&amp;#039;t tilt out of square, install two diagonal braces. Use a power\u00AD miter saw or a circular saw to cut the angled ends on these pieces. Slip the braces between the seat \u00ADsupport and top-frame cross support and secure them with 3-inch deck screws. Now the heavy work is done. Step 7: Attach the Legs  Use a drill and a 13/32-inch-diameter bit to bore carriage-bolt holes through the legs and tabletop frame. To ensure that any splintering occurs on the inside face of the legs, run the bit from the outside to the inside. Use a hammer to tap the carriage bolts through the holes, slide on galvanized washers and nuts and tighten with a socket wrench. If you use longer bolts than those I&amp;#039;ve specified, be sure to cut off any excess bolt shank and file the cut surface smooth. This will prevent the possibility of injury from a protruding shank. You&amp;#039;ll probably have to tighten the parts slightly in a few months after the lumber dries out. Step 8: Crosscut the Planks  Crosscut the composite decking for the top and seats. To increase accuracy, gang-cut several planks at once. Lay the decking planks across the frame with their woodgrain texture facing up. The planks should have a 5-inch overhang on each end, and the end planks should project 1 inch. Bore 1/8-inch pilot holes through the plank and frame. Use a square to align the bit with the frame crossrails. Fasten the planks with 2\u00BD-inch-long trim-head deck screws.  Step 9: Round the Ends  To maintain a uniform \u00BC-inch gap between the planks, use plastic spacers designed for composite decking. Fit these between each plank. Finish the project by rounding off the square ends of each plank with a router and a 3/8-inch-radius rounding-over bit. Finally, fire up the grill and sit down to your first meal at your new table. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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