Beautiful DIY Wooden Coasters From Hardwood Scraps

No glass of whiskey on a cold Friday night is complete without having your own set of wooden coasters to put it down on. Turn hardwood scraps to beautiful coasters you can use on a daily basis.

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DIY Wooden Coasters Perfect for Your Friday-Night Wine or Whiskey

DIY Wooden Coasters Materials:

• Wood glue or carpenter’s glue
• Hardwood scraps
• Wood finish

DIY Wooden Coasters Tools:

• Miter saw
• Table saw
• Measuring tape
• Clamps
• Sander
• Pencil

Step 1: Gather Your Wood

If you’ve recently worked on a previous project and have any hardwood scraps lying around, this is the project to use them on.

Scrap wood is a really good source if you want to save money instead of buying a lot of lumber for such a little project. Plus, you’ll be removing some of that wood you’ve most likely been hoarding.

Choose colors of wood that you like. The ones in this demo used haddock, walnut, and white maple.

Additionally, remember that typical wooden coasters measure approximately 3-1/2″ – 4″ wide, so gather enough wood for your project.

When you’ve gathered them, try stacking them together to get a feel of the combination of colors. This also allows you to see whether your wooden coasters will end up with the right size.

Step 2: Prepare the Wood

Now that your wood is ready, it’s time to re-saw the pieces to similar lengths and widths.

Start by sawing off marks left by previous projects, if there are any. You should end up with pieces of wood that have smooth surfaces.

Afterward, re-saw them so they have a similar size. This is going to make gluing them up later a lot easier.

Step 3: Smooth and Level the Wood Pieces

Next, you have to start flattening the pieces out and making them as smooth as possible.

Other DIY wooden coasters instructions typically advise using a surface planer. If you don’t have this, a sander will do just fine.

Placing them on top of one another should help you make sure that the seams are effectively non-existent.

Step 4: Glue Them Together

Give your wood pieces one final look. If you’re happy with the way they’re touching each other and you see that they’re already level, you can start layering all the pieces.

Add a generous amount of carpenters glue and make sure to spread it carefully and evenly around each piece. Make sure to use glue that’s both easy-to-use and strong.

At the end of this step, you should have a fully-functioning block that you’ll be cutting up into smaller wooden coaster slices.

Step 5: Secure Them With Clamps

When you’re done gluing your pieces together and layering them on top of each other, secure them tightly with clamps. Use as many as you can to really squeeze them together.

At this point, you can wipe away any excess glue that might have been squeezed out. If you’re not really a wiper, you can just chisel them off when the glue dries, though that might be additional work.

Afterward, just let them sit there for a couple of hours to dry. If you’re in no rush, you can leave them overnight before removing the clamps.

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Step 6: Cut Your Wooden Coasters Out

Now, bring your block of wood to your table saw to start turning them into your wooden coasters. Take your block of wood and run it through your saw at about 1/4″ – 1/2″ thick.

Flip the block over and cut a similar-sized piece on the other side. This should help keep your hands safe throughout the cut.

You should end up with about four slices that are ready to be trimmed into their final dimensions.

Step 7: Trim Them Down to Your Ideal Size

Now that you have your four slices, it’s time to trim down their width to about 3-1/2″. This should give you a square coaster.

Use your miter saw. Your wooden coasters are small, so make sure to always think safety first.

You can come up with a makeshift clamp by clamping down a long piece of wood before applying pressure to it. This should help keep your coaster down while cutting.

Step 8: Make Sure They’re Smooth

Once your coasters are down to size, you can go on ahead and do one final sanding to make them as smooth as possible. You can also add a slight round over on every edge during the entire sanding process.

Step 9: Apply Your Finish

Now, apply some finish. Apart from giving your wooden coasters a much classier look, it also serves as a protective layer, especially since they’re prone to spills from your glass.

Make sure to go for a finish that dries fast, is durable, and is also food safe. Most importantly, use one that will most effectively keep moisture out.

Afterward, leave them again to dry on their own for a couple of hours.

Step 10: Enjoy Your Classy Wooden Coasters with a Glass of Whiskey

Now, for everyone’s favorite part, invite a couple of friends over, pour yourselves a glass of whiskey, and put them down on those fine wooden coasters you just made out of scrap wood.

See how to make your very own DIY wooden coasters in this video by DIY Huntress:

Wooden coasters are a must-have especially for when you want to unwind and end your week with a glass of wine or whiskey out on the porch on a cold Friday night. Luckily, making these DIY wooden coasters is one of the simplest and cheapest projects you can work on. Not only are they classy, but also serve as a quick fix for your DIY itch.

Do you have tips or questions on how to make DIY wood coasters? Post it in the comments section below!

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