One Piece Wood Coasters - Kid Friendly

Ok, who doesn’t need coasters? Well, here is a really great project that is quick and easy. Also it is one you can get your kids involve in at any age. I know my kids loved writing and painting on these to give to Mom and Grandma for Mother’s Day and Birthdays.

And follow this link to my Video to see how it is done. VIDEO LINK

Tools

As we are buying off the shelf material you only need a pencil, square, sandpaper, and a saw.

Materials

You will need a 4’ piece of Poplar or Pine 3-1/2” wide and a 1/2” thick. This will make a lot of coasters.

Layout

Don’t bother laying the coasters out, Just mark and cut them at 3-1/2” long. This is super easy if you have a Compound Miter Saw, Radial Arm Saw, or a Table Saw. Cut off as many as you think you want or need.

Cutting

I used a Radial Arm Saw with a Stop Block that ensured all of my cuts were exactly 3-1/2”

Easing the Edges

You have a lot of choices in your edge treatment. Choose you edge based on your tooling and router capabilities. I chose a 1/2” Cove. I have a link below for a set of ¼” bits.

Hand drawing router bit molding profiles

Sanding

Hit all the surfaces with a light sanding using 220 grit sandpaper. The cove can be sanded by wrapping a piece of sandpaper around a dowel. Be sure you ease (round them over a bit) all of the corners. Then wipe everything down.

Finishing

Choose your finish and stain. I picked a medium stain Golden Pecan by Minwax. And Varathane Polyurethane. I chose to wipe both on and wipe them off with no dry time in between. If your kid are coloring/painting/drawing on these beforehand you may want to use a spray on poly.