Thread: Table legs

Gday everyone! First time poster and first time attempting metalwork. I do have experience in woodworking however.

I want to attemp to make some coffee table legs like these.

I will also be spray painting them black.

I have 2 questions.

Is this achievable with a sturdy workbench, vice, hammer and angle grinder?

What kind of steel would you suggest using and what thickness? I will most likely be going to bunnings to purchase metal if that helps.

Cheers Brady!

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First off, depending where you live it would be cheaper to go to a steel merchant to purchase flat bar and the can cut it for you. Melsteel for example.

Mild steel is best for this application.

In regards to forming/bending. It all depends on the thickness of steel your after. For thicker steel, 3mm - 4mm plus you will have to score on the fold line using your grinder half way though it and then fold. Being a coffee table I cant image you want any thicker than 3mm -4mm, but it depends on the look that your going for.

Heres a video that might help.

https://youtu.be/hmE--sH0lFk

Be sure to upload your photos to show how you went.


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Originally Posted by bradyofdoom

Is this achievable with a sturdy workbench, vice, hammer and angle grinder?

What kind of steel would you suggest using and what thickness? I will most likely be going to bunnings to purchase metal if that helps.

Hi Brady,
Welcome to the MetalWork forums

Those bends are made by a metal bar bender. Its not worth the effort or cost unless you are serious about doing for the sake of doing yourself. If you want those nice bends ,thats what I would recommend.

Far cheaper to have a business or a nice kind member local to you to do it for you.

I would say 50 x 6mm steel flat bar for the legs.

Bunnings would be the most expensive place to buy steel flat bar. Not knowing where you live other than AU nobody will have a clue who to send you to. Please alter your location to allow this to happen.

Often we have members close by who may have the equipment needed and be willing to help you as well as well as steer you to a steel merchant that won't charge an arm and a leg for steel as Bunnings do.

Grahame

Universal bender $200 or so. If you are in one of the major cities most likely some member may have one like this.

Universal-Bar-Benders-UB-100_1925.l.jpg

Thanks for the replys and suggestions. I did find a local bloke making these but it was a bit too pricey, about $150 for the two. I figured I'd give it a crack myself.

I'm from Sunshine coast QLD by the way.

Cheers Brady

from Sunshine coast QLD

Hi Brady
Believe it or not, $150 is quite reasonable for the pricing.
The average shop,s charge out rate would have to approach $90 pr hr.

Take the material cost off that $150 and you maybe come to $110 and divide that by 90 and you get just under an hours labor.
You did not list dimensions but I will assume 600 x 600 for the Height and width dimensions plus 100mm for each return.

That's 4 meters for one and you need 8 meters for 2.

I googled bunnings 50 x 3mm (they don't list 50x 6) and got $35 for 3 meters and that's just 3mm and you need 6mm.

Conceivably that is $ 140 for Bunnings 50 x 6 (if they had it.) Bar from a steel merchant, say around $50.

That where I was coming from.

Grahame

I think Grahame got his maths a bit wrong probably too early in the morning, I reckon 2 metres per leg or 4 per table.
If you buy that bender for $225 and 2x 6 met. lengths of steel for $50 (my local bloke lists it at $23 per length), you have spent $275 and you have enough to make 3 tables (1 for you and 2 for sale, or Christmas presents or whatever)
Now if you got your local supplier to supply 3 at $150 that would be $450, so you would be $175 in front and you would still have a nifty bender.
It is this kind of approach that has got me many tools, and I have a lot - enables me to make just about anything.
Just my thoughts.

I have a bar bender the next size up from the one pictured by Graham, which I think you'd need to bend the steel, the legs would have to be pretty chunky to avoid them looking like chicken legs. The heavy duty benders can be had for a bit over $300. You could always buy one bend what you have to and then sell it. Should work out quite cheap that way and I'd imagine no shortage of people willing to take it off your hands at the right price.

The easy and cheaper way is to cut, weld and grind. Once done you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference.

Originally Posted by BRADFORD

I think Grahame got his maths a bit wrong probably too early in the morning, I reckon 2 metres per leg or 4 per table.
If you buy that bender for $225 and 2x 6 met. lengths of steel for $50 (my local bloke lists it at $23 per length), you have spent $275 and you have enough to make 3 tables (1 for you and 2 for sale, or Christmas presents or whatever)
Now if you got your local supplier to supply 3 at $150 that would be $450, so you would be $175 in front and you would still have a nifty bender.
It is this kind of approach that has got me many tools, and I have a lot - enables me to make just about anything.
Just my thoughts.

You are of course correct. I had a late night and in any case I am hardly mentally incandescant in the morning and no cuppa at that stage either.

But the point is the OP being new to metalworking did not indicate he had those skills necessry.
Also I was going by the photo. This was what was asked for so I replied accordingly. I would not be using 3mm for legs.

Tables,even coffee tables can become catch alls for all manner of heavy things and its possible to overload them anyway with out under designing them.

The point I was trying to make is not buying the steel from Bunnings. Its that sort of mentality they have.A blister pack of twenty screws for $4 where as a whole box of a hundred is $5 at the fastener shop.same goes for steel.You pay, and pay big for convenience.

There must be some on the coast where you can buy flat steel,and have it cut to size. As far as costing - different places - different rates- try engineering shops .They can cut it to size to make it easy to get in a ute or on a roof rack.

Grahame

Most steel fabricating businesses sell steel. I live in outer suburbia so have access to many steel supply outlets; however, most of my steel I source from a local fabricator: he's cheap and helpful, even cutting and placing the steel on the racks for me, doesn't sound like much, but for me it is a big deal.

Welcome to the forum Brady.

Thanks for all replys and suggestions. I ended up going to a local mob for steel. I got 2 lengths at 1.3m 50×5mm.

Also going to invest in a universal bender from another local company for $230.

I will post pics once completed .

Cheers

from Sunshine coast QLD

Brady, If you are purchasing the $230.00 Bar Bender locally I would suggest that you ask if you can do a trial bend on the 50 x 5 first , if they have one setup that is. I think you will be surprised at how much force is actually required to bend the material without some other form of assistance.

I am able to do that. They've got a display one in shop. I wasn't thinking it was gonna be easy haha. Metalwork has always kinda intimidated me. It's not as forgiving as woodwork haha!

I was planning on heating the metal flat bar up first with a butane torch to give me a better chance.

Originally Posted by Techo1

Brady, If you are purchasing the $230.00 Bar Bender locally I would suggest that you ask if you can do a trial bend on the 50 x 5 first , if they have one setup that is. I think you will be surprised at how much force is actually required to bend the material without some other form of assistance.

from Sunshine coast QLD

Im with the others, unless you use thicker steel with that design of legs it will wobble easily possibly bend if sat on and pushed against(think sitting down and tying the shoe laces, you'd be surprised how much stress is created).
You would need quite thick steel even 5mm will flex somewhat with that design... but with a slight design change 50x5mm should handle it, cant the leg tops inwards by a few cm to create some triangulation.

How thick are those legs in the picture they look to be about 8mm if thats 50mm wide section, Oh and you'll need a couple butane torches to successfully heat thick flat bar enough to bend it neatly

So here's my first attempt at the legs.

I'm really pleased with how they turned out! The universal bender was a very wise investment indeed. Extremely easy to use and had no trouble at all with 5mm thick flat bar (Didn't even have to heat it).

I will be tackling another two sets of legs this weekend. So money will be made back in no time.

Thanks again for all advise.

Cheers Brady

from Sunshine coast QLD