Making metal furniture with your own hands
Furniture with a metal base was previously considered an exclusively street option, however, with the development of the industry, more and more iron interior items appear in human dwellings.
To make furniture out of metal with your own hands, you will need experience in handling both the material itself and the tools for processing it, but the result will definitely be worth it.
Advantages and disadvantages of furniture from a profile pipe
The main advantages of metal furniture are:
- Highest level of durability. No other material used for the manufacture of furniture is capable of providing the same monumental resistance to external mechanical stress.
- A variety of ready-made profiles. Thanks to this, it is possible to assemble from metal both a small country stool and a monumental sleeping sofa, or even a wardrobe.
- Durability of the material. Of course, when used outdoors, additional processing of the metal with a protective coating will be required.
Metal furniture has some disadvantages:
- High weight, especially for large profiles.
- Great injury risk. For children's rooms and rooms where babies are planned to stay, it is highly recommended to use only a round profile.
- Corrosion susceptibility - typical only for furniture in contact with an aggressive environment, especially exposed to moisture.
Profile pipes have amazingly high strength indicators, and in any case, with proper care, metal furniture will be a wonderful decoration for even the most sophisticated interior.
What materials and tools are needed for work
Making and assembling metal furniture yourself with your own hands is a very responsible occupation that requires a very serious approach and experience.
In order to obtain a finished piece of furniture from a metal profile, you need the following tools:
- Construction tape
- Metal marker
- Protective glasses
- Grinder for metal processing and a grinder for its stripping
- Sandpaper for removing minor flaws
- Paint and tools for applying it - brushes, roller or spray
- Fasteners - self-tapping screws, bolts with nuts, metal corners, depending on the type of selected fastening of parts to each other
Note! When working with tools such as a grinder and a grinder, you need to be extremely careful. Safety glasses are required.
If it is necessary to assemble furniture with rounded elements, special pipe bending equipment is required. There is no sense to purchase such a tool for creating single products because of its high cost. In this case, it is better to contact specialized workshops.
Schemes and drawings of metal furniture (shaped pipe)
The indisputable advantage of self-assembly is the ability to end up with exactly the result that was intended.It is also a great opportunity to get unique furniture, one of a kind.
Before starting to translate an idea into reality, it is necessary to think over in detail each of its elements; it is best to organize all your thoughts into a logically complete plan with a drawing.
First of all, it is necessary to determine the size of the profile section. The most commonly used pipes are with a side size of 25 or 40 mm. This geometry is best suited for small chairs, coffee tables.
If furniture with a high mechanical load is required, the profile size is increased. Do not forget that in this case, the weight of the structure increases multiple times. For this reason, it is irrational to use a profile with a side width of more than 80mm. Moving, and in some cases even installing it in a permanent place will be very problematic.
Based on the selected metal profile, we select the appropriate fasteners. As a general rule, fasteners must penetrate at least half of the inside of each side. When through fastening, there should be enough space on the side of fastening fixing for its reliable fastening - in the case of a bolt and a nut, it is recommended to leave 1.5-2 cm for ease of tightening.
How to make furniture from a profile pipe
If everything is ready for creating metal furniture, including the drawing, you can start translating the idea into reality. There are some nuances when creating individual pieces of furniture. We'll talk about them below.
Tables
Tables with a metal frame are most often completed with a countertop made of a different material. Thanks to this, it is possible, firstly, to create a unique piece, and secondly, to significantly lighten the structure, because the metal for an impressive tabletop will weigh a lot.
Depending on the configuration of the tabletop, we use a pipe bender or a grinder. The most reliable fastener for metal is welding.
It is recommended to use a profile with a side size up to 80mm. For the material of the countertop, varnished wood is often chosen; such a table can be used both indoors and outdoors.
The format of the legs is also chosen individually - they can be welded from several sides, or beautifully intertwined into the overall structure. It is most convenient to fasten the tabletop with screws or bolts from below.
To make a table from the metal of a profile pipe with your own hands, you will need a little skill and the mandatory observance of all safety rules when working with the tool.
Chairs
Metal chairs can be made in the form of simple stools - in this case, they only need a profile for the frame and the material of the seat. Or in its full-fledged form - with a massive back.
In these two cases, the material consumption will differ - for the chair, you need to take into account the additional material of the back - for this, the rear legs are increased by its height.
Sofa
Most of the nuances need to be taken into account when making a metal sofa. The base is recommended to be made from a profile of 80mm in size and even larger if necessary. The slatted bottom can be made of smaller metal rods - 25-40mm is enough, or it can be made of another material, most often wood.
When planning the headrest, we take into account the need to increase the height of the legs.
Important! All corner joints, in order to avoid injury, should be well sanded, and even better - upholstered with a soft cloth.
Considering all the recommendations and rules for working with metal in the manufacture of furniture, you can become the author of a durable, durable, and most importantly - a one-of-a-kind piece of furniture.
Video: do-it-yourself armchair on a metal frame