These cherry and maple coasters are a fun weekend project that allows you to use up some of that scrap you have laying around. They are 3 3/4 inches squared and 1/2 inch thick including the cork on the bottom.

Step 1: Prepare Your Lumber

I milled the cherry and maple to 3/8 inches thick at the planer, ripped them to 4 inches wide at the table saw and then cut them to 16 inches in length. Back at the table saw I made the following rips:

Cherry:

1 1/2 inch strips (QTY: 2)

1/4 inch strips (QTY:1)

Maple:

1/4 inch strips (QTY: 5. Only needed 4 but was good to have an extra just in case)

Step 2: Glue Up!

Glue up the boards in the following order:

Cherry (1 1/2"), Maple(1/4"), Cherry(1/4"), Maple(1/4"), Cherry(1 1/2")

Step 3: Cut to Final Dimension

Using my cross cut sled, I cut the coasters to 3 3/4". You should get a total of 4 coasters from the 16" glue up.

Step 4: Drill Hole for Cork

These coasters will have cork on the bottom and on the top. But the cork on the top will be recessed in a 2 3/4" hole. Over at the drill press I used a 2 3/4" forstner bit and drilled a hole the same thickness as the cork in the center of each of the coasters.

Step 5: Add Cork on the Bottom of the Coasters

Using regular wood glue, I glue cork to the bottom of the coasters.

Step 6: Pre-finish the Coasters

Before I add the coasters to the top, I cut out some painters tape and fill the holes to allow me to pre-finish the coasters without getting finish in the glue area.