What's inside
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A hammock side table with a cooler slot solves the two problems every hammock setup has: nowhere to put a drink and nowhere to keep the next one cold. This build is a simple rectangular table, 20 inches tall, with a routed opening that holds a removable soft-sided cooler or a small hard cooler flush with the top. It’s an intermediate beginner project — one afternoon if you have a jigsaw and router, two if you count dry time for finish.
Contents
Materials and Tools
For one table you need one 8-foot 1×6 and one 8-foot 1×4, plus a 24×24 inch piece of 3/4-inch exterior plywood for the top if you don’t want to glue up boards. The frame is 12 inches wide x 18 inches long x 20 inches tall, which clears most hammock stand bars and keeps the top at forearm height when you’re lying down. For hardware, get 1-1/4 inch exterior screws, exterior wood glue, and four adjustable leveling feet — ground under a hammock is never flat.
Tool-wise, you need a miter saw or circular saw, a jigsaw, a drill/driver, and a router with a flush-trim or straight bit. A cordless router makes the cooler cutout much cleaner than trying to sand a jigsaw cut smooth. You’ll also want a tape measure, square, clamps, and 120 and 180-grit sandpaper. If you don’t own a router, you can do the slot with just a jigsaw and a roundover sanding block, but expect an extra 20-30 minutes of sanding to remove saw marks.
Choosing Wood and a Cooler First
Buy the cooler before you cut anything. Measure the cooler at its widest point including the lid and handles. Most 12-can soft coolers are about 10 x 9 inches at the top; small 9-quart hard coolers are closer to 11.5 x 8.5 inches. Your slot should be 1/4 inch larger than the cooler on each side — enough to drop it in easily, tight enough that it doesn’t rattle.
For wood, don’t use interior pine or MDF. It will swell and delaminate after one rainy week. Cedar is the best value for most people. Teak is better but three times the price and harder to find as dimensional lumber.
| Wood | Cost for This Project | Outdoor Durability | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Red Cedar | $35 – $50 | High, naturally rot resistant | Soft, dents easily if you drag coolers in and out |
| White Oak | $45 – $65 | High when sealed | Heavy, needs pre-drilling to avoid splitting |
| Teak | $90 – $140 | Excellent, minimal finish needed | Expensive, dulls blades faster |
| Pressure-Treated Pine | $20 – $30 | High, but chemical treated | Needs to dry 2-3 weeks before gluing/finishing, heavier |
If you’re building on a budget, cedar is the honest answer. The cheaper pressure-treated option is fine for a utility table, but wait until the boards are actually dry — if they feel damp or heavy at the store, they’ll shrink and crack your joints as they dry.
Dimensions and Cut List
Overall table size: 18 inches long, 12 inches wide, 20 inches tall. The cooler slot is centered on the top, leaving at least 2 inches of solid top on all sides for rigidity. If your cooler is larger than 12 x 10 inches, scale the top to 20 x 14 inches instead — don’t try to leave only 1 inch of rim, it will crack along the grain.
Cut list for the 18×12 cedar version: Top (1) 18 x 12 inches from 3/4 plywood or glued 1x6s; Long aprons (2) 16-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches; Short aprons (2) 10-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches; Legs (4) 19-1/4 x 3-1/2 inches (from 1×4, ripped to 3 inches if you want a lighter look). Cut the legs 3/4 inch short to account for the top thickness and get a final 20 inch height. Dry-fit the base without glue first and test the cooler drop-in. Failure mode here is cutting the slot exactly to the cooler size and then finding the cooler won’t fit after you apply two coats of finish — the buildup adds about 1/32 inch per side.
Building the Frame
Start with the leg frames. Attach each pair of legs with a short apron between them, set 3 inches down from the top of the legs. Use glue and two screws per joint, pre-drilling every hole. Cedar splits easily within 1 inch of the end. Then connect the two leg assemblies with the long aprons to form a rectangular box. Check for square by measuring diagonals — they should be within 1/16 inch of each other. If they’re off, rack the frame until square before the glue sets.
Cut the top to size and mark the cooler opening from underneath so your good face stays clean. Drill a 3/8 inch starter hole inside the waste area for the jigsaw blade. Cut 1/8 inch inside your line, then use the router with a straight bit and a template or edge guide to bring the cut to the final line. Ease the top edge of the slot with a 1/8 inch roundover bit or sandpaper so it doesn’t chip when you slide the cooler in and out. Attach the top to the base with screws up through the aprons — four screws total, no glue. You want to be able to remove the top to refinish it later.
Cutting the Cooler Slot So It Doesn’t Fail
The slot needs a ledge to support the cooler lip or you need to let the cooler sit on the ground. For soft coolers with a zippered lid, add four small cleats (3/4 x 3/4 x 2 inches) screwed to the underside of the top around the opening. The cooler’s reinforced rim rests on these, leaving the bottom suspended 2-3 inches above the ground for airflow. For hard coolers, skip the cleats and let the cooler bottom rest flat — suspending a hard cooler by its lip will eventually warp the top.
Seal all end grain inside the slot twice. This is where water sits and rot starts. If you only finish the top surface, moisture wicks into the exposed plywood edges or cedar end grain and causes swelling that locks the cooler in place. Apply glue or epoxy to plywood edges before finishing, then two coats of finish inside the cutout.
Finishing for Outdoor Use
Sand everything to 180 grit. Don’t go finer than 220 for outdoor pieces — ultra-smooth surfaces don’t hold exterior finish as well. For cedar and oak, use an exterior spar urethane or marine varnish, not interior polyurethane. Interior poly will peel within a season outside. Apply three thin coats on the top and slot interior, two coats on the legs and aprons, sanding lightly with 220 between coats.
If you prefer an oil look, a penetrating exterior oil like teak oil is easier to reapply but offers less water protection. You’ll need to re-oil every 2-3 months in full sun versus once a year for spar urethane. For either option, use spar urethane on the underside of the top as well — skipping the bottom is the most common reason tops cup. Add the leveling feet last and seal the screw holes with a dab of finish to prevent water intrusion.
For storage, pull the cooler, wipe the slot dry, and stand the table on edge under cover if you get snow. Even rot-resistant wood will develop black spots if leaves sit wet on the top all winter. With sealed end grain and leveling feet keeping it off direct ground contact, this table should last 5-7 years in cedar and longer in teak before it needs more than a light sand and recoat.