Easy DIY Cutting Board Drink Coasters

In this post, I’m showing you how easy it is to make these adorable scrap wood DIY drink coasters shaped like a cutting board!

You can even make a matching cutting board tray to hold them all in for display and easy storage.

I love, Love, LOVE a good scrap wood project. I think if I could say there was a “perfect project for scraps,” this would be it.

You only need a tiny piece of wood for each coaster and they don’t even have to be the same wood type. In fact, it’s more fun if they aren’t!

This drink coaster project is a great way to get rid of all those tiny off cuts you have such a hard time just tossing in the trash (or is it just me with that problem?).

So if you’re ready to shrink your scrap pile (at least by a little bit), let’s get building with the how-to below.

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What Wood is Best for Drink Coasters?

You can use pretty much any type of wood you want for coasters, but it’s best to stick with solid wood (hardwood is ideal, but softwood can work, too)–not plywood.

Plywood may last a little while, but if your drinks sweat on them very much, the moisture can cause the plies to peel apart.

That said, moisture isn’t really great for solid wood either, but if sealed well, it shouldn’t be an issue (see step 4 below). And if it becomes one, a light sanding and re sealing is a quick fix to restore your solid wood coasters to brand new.

To make this project more interesting, try using different types of wood if you have them available. I used mahogany, walnut, and cherry for the coasters here and red oak for the tray.

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What size should coasters be?

Coasters don’t have an “standard” size, but they usually range from 3-5″. I like drinking my coffee and tea from large mugs, so I lean toward the larger size and make mine at least 4 ½″ square.

For these cutting board shaped drink coasters, I needed to initially cut them longer than they were wide so that I could cut a handle shape on one end.

So my coasters ended up being 4 ½″ wide x 6″ long. Of course, if you want to make yours a different size, go for it! There’s no hard rule about coaster size.

REMEMBER: If the scraps you have are narrower than 4 ½″, you can glue them together to make them the size you need. My walnut board was 2 ¼″ wide, so I cut two pieces from it to glue together for one of my coasters.

How to DIY a Scrap Wood Cutting Board Coaster Set

These drink coasters are a super fun (and quick!) project that makes the perfect handmade gift idea. You can easily make a few sets in a weekend or an afternoon.

And it requires minimal tools and materials! Here’s what you need:

Tools & Materials

*NOTE: If you use different woods for your coasters, the pieces should all be the same thickness–½″ or ¾″ thick material is ideal. The tray can be a different thickness, but the coasters should be the same.

Step 1: Cut coasters to size

First, I cut my coaster pieces to size. The scraps I had were 1x6s (except for the walnut piece), so they were 5 ½″ wide. Why are 1x6s not 6″ wide? Check out this post to help you understand lumber sizing.

I had some small scraps of different woods, so I cut one of these from cherry, two from mahogany, and I cut two pieces of my walnut board to glue together to make my fourth.

I used a miter saw to cut these into 6″ long pieces first, then trimmed a little off the edge to make them 4 ½″ wide. Be careful when cutting small pieces!

Keep in mind that you can make your coasters any size you want. I recommend measuring your favorite mug or glass if you’re not sure what will fit it.

Step 2: Cut handles

Once the coasters were cut to size, I cut out the handle that makes them look like a cutting board. You can cut your handle shape however you want, but these straight lines were easier to cut with a jig saw than a curve, so I kept it simple.

I measured out and connected the lines for my coaster handle using a pencil and a straight edge (a straight piece of scrap wood works great!).

Then, I cut along the lines with my jig saw.

TIP: I recommend a fine finish wood blade or a scroll blade to cut this. If your jig saw has orbital settings, make sure they’re turned off for the cleanest cuts.

After cutting, I sanded each coaster well and used the sander to help me kind of round over the corner edges a little so they weren’t so sharp.

Step 3: Make Coaster Tray (optional)

For the tray, I used a piece of ½″ thick red oak scrap. But another piece of 1×6 would work fine, too!

I trimmed this piece to about 10″ long, then ripped it down to 4 ½″ wide (the same width as the coasters).

From one end, I cut five pieces ¾″ long. Then, I cut a handle in the other end of the board to match the coasters.

These ¾″ pieces will be what holds/divides the coasters on the tray. I sanded all the pieces well, then started at the back gluing the strips across the tray so that they were about ⅞″ apart.

After I glued all five strips across my tray, I allowed these pieces to dry, then lightly sanded away any glue squeeze out.

Step 4: Finish

I stained my tray using Minwax True Black Water Based Wood Stain. Once dry, I applied a couple coats of Minwax Polycrylic (I used the spray kind since it would have been challenging to brush all these little grooves).

For the coasters, I wanted to make sure they were well sealed to withstand sweat from drinks/glasses. Just to be clear, no finish is going to last forever or be 100% waterproof.

Many finishes will last for a good while, but will need an additional coat eventually if it gets wet very often. I used Walrus Oil Furniture Butter on these coasters. It’s an oil based sealer that is durable, and easy to apply and reapply. I love using it for hardwoods.

In the past, I’ve also used Walrus Oil Furniture Wax on coasters and it works excellent as well. A good quality furniture oil, or wax will work for coasters and be easy to apply again later when needed.

If you prefer something other than an oil, Minwax Helmsman Water Based Sealer is another great option. It’s durable and easy to apply/reapply as well.

When you begin noticing the water not beading up on the coaster anymore or they’re feeling a bit rough, it’s time for a light sand and recoat.

Once these finishes were dry, this set is ready to use and is just in time for my afternoon tea *sigh…sip sip*

These were SO much fun to make and look so cute on display in the kitchen!

Looking for More Scrap Wood DIYs?

Can’t get enough scrap wood projects?? I’m teaming up with my friend, Kati, from Houseful of Handmade all month long for “Scrap Wood Summer!”

Check out all the projects in the series below. Click on the images to learn how to make each one!

This is our third year hosting Scrap Wood Summer and I enjoy it a little more each time. But, if you’ve never heard of it before, that’s okay!

Essentially, we each share a new scrap wood project every Tuesday throughout the month of August (2024). So by the end of the month, you’ve got 8 new project ideas to try.

If you’d like to save this DIY cutting board coaster project for later, be sure to pin it or share to your favorite social channel!

Until next time, happy building!