table built from sheet metal
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 3:12 pm
I just built this table for work. My goal was to build a strong and relatively light weight table using scrap metal laying around the shop. There just so happened to be two 8' lengths of C-channel laying in a bin, so I built the table around them. And even though there is no shortage of angle iron, I really wanted to experiment with bending and welding the legs. I told my boss that I'm a sheet metal worker, not an iron worker! 
He shook his head and walked away. It was great. And as an experiment, it turned out really well. The legs and cross bars turned out perfectly straight, which was better than I expected.
Each leg and the short cross supports are made from two pieces of 16ga mild steel welded together. Seams are on opposite corners. The center cross support and the table top are 14ga. I used 16ga to make cross pieces to support the table top, I think every 16" on center.
The part you can't see, which might be the secret of why the the pieces stayed straight, is that I included a 1/2" hem on the welded edges of the legs (actually bent up 135 degrees). So it was like a mitred fit. It just seemed like the right thing to do.
He shook his head and walked away. It was great. And as an experiment, it turned out really well. The legs and cross bars turned out perfectly straight, which was better than I expected.Each leg and the short cross supports are made from two pieces of 16ga mild steel welded together. Seams are on opposite corners. The center cross support and the table top are 14ga. I used 16ga to make cross pieces to support the table top, I think every 16" on center.
The part you can't see, which might be the secret of why the the pieces stayed straight, is that I included a 1/2" hem on the welded edges of the legs (actually bent up 135 degrees). So it was like a mitred fit. It just seemed like the right thing to do.