Well this project took way longer than I expected, I planned on it taking somewhere around 15 hours because Tim had suggested to expect to spend 12 hours working on it and I planned to spend a couple more hours learning to weld. All in all I spent roughly 25 hours working on this project.
Day 1:
I started working on my project by spending a couple hours learning and practicing welding. After I had some comfortablity with the process I stopped practicing so that I could cut, clean, and grind the edges of my steel. I had six 4'0" lengths of 3/4" 16 gauge square steel tubing, nine 2'0" lengths of the same material, four 1'6" lengths of the same material, two 6 1/2" lengths of the same material, and two 2'0" lengths of 1/4" framing iron. I cut all the pieces then wiped them down with a shop towel to get all the grease off and then I had to grind down the edges so that I had a smooth surface to weld with. The learning and prep work took all of day one.
Day 2:
I came in and immediately framed out the sides of my table with two 1'6" pieces, two 2'0" tubing pieces, and one 2'0" iron per side of the table. I connected all of that then used the angle grinder to smooth out the welds. I put two of the 4'0" lengths between these completed sides to create the top of the table frame and welded that in place. Piece by piece I repeated the process and put it all together getting a little creative at times. The frame was almost complete by the end of day two, all it was missing was the two bottom 4'0" pieces and all 14 tabs that the wood would sit on.
Day 3:
I came in put the last pieces of steel tubing in and then started clamping tabs all over the frame. I was foolish to say that this was all I had left to do because it was long and tedious but after I finished with the tabs I went through and used the angle grinder on every weld that I had done to give a smoother surface. I was finally done with the frame but there was no time to celebrate because I needed to do all of my woodwork. I cut down eight 1x6 lengths of common pine to 4'0" and two more 1x6 lengths to 4'0" but ripped down to 2". These were for the top and bottom tiers of the table. I also cut down some pieces for the two drawers; four 1x6 lengths to 1'11" and four 1x6 lengths to 1'9 1/2". I then connected four of the 4'0" 1x6 and one of the pieces that had been ripped to 2" together with pocket screws, for each of the two tiers. That marked the end of day three.
Day 4:
I had very little time to spend in the shop on this day and so I started by framing out the two drawers. I then attached the sides of the drawers together with a pin nailer. I then cut two pieces of 1/4" plywood into 23" x 23" squares and attached those using 1/2" long staples. Pro tip for using these guns, load them properly and make sure you have actually put them into the wood and didn't just create holes with the air pressure. After going through and creating staple holes twice I had to call it a day but the structure of the drawers were done.
Day 5:
The final day had begun and so I started it by measuring out where to make a hole to act as a handle on the front and back of each drawer. I used the drill press to bore these holes and then spent the next while sanding down the inside of those holes. After that I routed and sanded the edges of the drawers so that they were flush. I then took the tiers I had made and set in the table and sanded the top face of both of them so I had a nice, smooth, and even surface. I sanded down the edges as well and then placed everything back together. The finishing touches were adding little plastic caps to plug the openings of the steel tubing on the top and bottom of the table frame.
Day 1:
I started working on my project by spending a couple hours learning and practicing welding. After I had some comfortablity with the process I stopped practicing so that I could cut, clean, and grind the edges of my steel. I had six 4'0" lengths of 3/4" 16 gauge square steel tubing, nine 2'0" lengths of the same material, four 1'6" lengths of the same material, two 6 1/2" lengths of the same material, and two 2'0" lengths of 1/4" framing iron. I cut all the pieces then wiped them down with a shop towel to get all the grease off and then I had to grind down the edges so that I had a smooth surface to weld with. The learning and prep work took all of day one.
Day 2:
I came in and immediately framed out the sides of my table with two 1'6" pieces, two 2'0" tubing pieces, and one 2'0" iron per side of the table. I connected all of that then used the angle grinder to smooth out the welds. I put two of the 4'0" lengths between these completed sides to create the top of the table frame and welded that in place. Piece by piece I repeated the process and put it all together getting a little creative at times. The frame was almost complete by the end of day two, all it was missing was the two bottom 4'0" pieces and all 14 tabs that the wood would sit on.
Day 3:
I came in put the last pieces of steel tubing in and then started clamping tabs all over the frame. I was foolish to say that this was all I had left to do because it was long and tedious but after I finished with the tabs I went through and used the angle grinder on every weld that I had done to give a smoother surface. I was finally done with the frame but there was no time to celebrate because I needed to do all of my woodwork. I cut down eight 1x6 lengths of common pine to 4'0" and two more 1x6 lengths to 4'0" but ripped down to 2". These were for the top and bottom tiers of the table. I also cut down some pieces for the two drawers; four 1x6 lengths to 1'11" and four 1x6 lengths to 1'9 1/2". I then connected four of the 4'0" 1x6 and one of the pieces that had been ripped to 2" together with pocket screws, for each of the two tiers. That marked the end of day three.
Day 4:
I had very little time to spend in the shop on this day and so I started by framing out the two drawers. I then attached the sides of the drawers together with a pin nailer. I then cut two pieces of 1/4" plywood into 23" x 23" squares and attached those using 1/2" long staples. Pro tip for using these guns, load them properly and make sure you have actually put them into the wood and didn't just create holes with the air pressure. After going through and creating staple holes twice I had to call it a day but the structure of the drawers were done.
Day 5:
The final day had begun and so I started it by measuring out where to make a hole to act as a handle on the front and back of each drawer. I used the drill press to bore these holes and then spent the next while sanding down the inside of those holes. After that I routed and sanded the edges of the drawers so that they were flush. I then took the tiers I had made and set in the table and sanded the top face of both of them so I had a nice, smooth, and even surface. I sanded down the edges as well and then placed everything back together. The finishing touches were adding little plastic caps to plug the openings of the steel tubing on the top and bottom of the table frame.
This project has given me great respect for not only the amount of time spent on jobs like this one but also the amount of precision required to complete them. I have also learned the importance of the measure twice and cut once philosophy because I may have needed to get a little creative to fix a mistake caused by lack of attention. I was very ambitious with this project but now that I have finished I am proud of what I accomplished and now I have a coffee table.
Well this project took way longer than I expected, I planned on it taking somewhere around 15 hours because Tim had suggested to expect to spend 12 hours working on it and I planned to spend a couple more hours learning to weld. All in all I spent roughly 25 hours working on this project.
Day 1:
I started working on my project by spending a couple hours learning and practicing welding. After I had some comfortablity with the process I stopped practicing so that I could cut, clean, and grind the edges of my steel. I had six 4'0" lengths of 3/4" 16 gauge square steel tubing, nine 2'0" lengths of the same material, four 1'6" lengths of the same material, two 6 1/2" lengths of the same material, and two 2'0" lengths of 1/4" framing iron. I cut all the pieces then wiped them down with a shop towel to get all the grease off and then I had to grind down the edges so that I had a smooth surface to weld with. The learning and prep work took all of day one.
Day 2:
I came in and immediately framed out the sides of my table with two 1'6" pieces, two 2'0" tubing pieces, and one 2'0" iron per side of the table. I connected all of that then used the angle grinder to smooth out the welds. I put two of the 4'0" lengths between these completed sides to create the top of the table frame and welded that in place. Piece by piece I repeated the process and put it all together getting a little creative at times. The frame was almost complete by the end of day two, all it was missing was the two bottom 4'0" pieces and all 14 tabs that the wood would sit on.
Day 3:
I came in put the last pieces of steel tubing in and then started clamping tabs all over the frame. I was foolish to say that this was all I had left to do because it was long and tedious but after I finished with the tabs I went through and used the angle grinder on every weld that I had done to give a smoother surface. I was finally done with the frame but there was no time to celebrate because I needed to do all of my woodwork. I cut down eight 1x6 lengths of common pine to 4'0" and two more 1x6 lengths to 4'0" but ripped down to 2". These were for the top and bottom tiers of the table. I also cut down some pieces for the two drawers; four 1x6 lengths to 1'11" and four 1x6 lengths to 1'9 1/2". I then connected four of the 4'0" 1x6 and one of the pieces that had been ripped to 2" together with pocket screws, for each of the two tiers. That marked the end of day three.
Day 4:
I had very little time to spend in the shop on this day and so I started by framing out the two drawers. I then attached the sides of the drawers together with a pin nailer. I then cut two pieces of 1/4" plywood into 23" x 23" squares and attached those using 1/2" long staples. Pro tip for using these guns, load them properly and make sure you have actually put them into the wood and didn't just create holes with the air pressure. After going through and creating staple holes twice I had to call it a day but the structure of the drawers were done.
Day 5:
The final day had begun and so I started it by measuring out where to make a hole to act as a handle on the front and back of each drawer. I used the drill press to bore these holes and then spent the next while sanding down the inside of those holes. After that I routed and sanded the edges of the drawers so that they were flush. I then took the tiers I had made and set in the table and sanded the top face of both of them so I had a nice, smooth, and even surface. I sanded down the edges as well and then placed everything back together. The finishing touches were adding little plastic caps to plug the openings of the steel tubing on the top and bottom of the table frame.
Day 1:
I started working on my project by spending a couple hours learning and practicing welding. After I had some comfortablity with the process I stopped practicing so that I could cut, clean, and grind the edges of my steel. I had six 4'0" lengths of 3/4" 16 gauge square steel tubing, nine 2'0" lengths of the same material, four 1'6" lengths of the same material, two 6 1/2" lengths of the same material, and two 2'0" lengths of 1/4" framing iron. I cut all the pieces then wiped them down with a shop towel to get all the grease off and then I had to grind down the edges so that I had a smooth surface to weld with. The learning and prep work took all of day one.
Day 2:
I came in and immediately framed out the sides of my table with two 1'6" pieces, two 2'0" tubing pieces, and one 2'0" iron per side of the table. I connected all of that then used the angle grinder to smooth out the welds. I put two of the 4'0" lengths between these completed sides to create the top of the table frame and welded that in place. Piece by piece I repeated the process and put it all together getting a little creative at times. The frame was almost complete by the end of day two, all it was missing was the two bottom 4'0" pieces and all 14 tabs that the wood would sit on.
Day 3:
I came in put the last pieces of steel tubing in and then started clamping tabs all over the frame. I was foolish to say that this was all I had left to do because it was long and tedious but after I finished with the tabs I went through and used the angle grinder on every weld that I had done to give a smoother surface. I was finally done with the frame but there was no time to celebrate because I needed to do all of my woodwork. I cut down eight 1x6 lengths of common pine to 4'0" and two more 1x6 lengths to 4'0" but ripped down to 2". These were for the top and bottom tiers of the table. I also cut down some pieces for the two drawers; four 1x6 lengths to 1'11" and four 1x6 lengths to 1'9 1/2". I then connected four of the 4'0" 1x6 and one of the pieces that had been ripped to 2" together with pocket screws, for each of the two tiers. That marked the end of day three.
Day 4:
I had very little time to spend in the shop on this day and so I started by framing out the two drawers. I then attached the sides of the drawers together with a pin nailer. I then cut two pieces of 1/4" plywood into 23" x 23" squares and attached those using 1/2" long staples. Pro tip for using these guns, load them properly and make sure you have actually put them into the wood and didn't just create holes with the air pressure. After going through and creating staple holes twice I had to call it a day but the structure of the drawers were done.
Day 5:
The final day had begun and so I started it by measuring out where to make a hole to act as a handle on the front and back of each drawer. I used the drill press to bore these holes and then spent the next while sanding down the inside of those holes. After that I routed and sanded the edges of the drawers so that they were flush. I then took the tiers I had made and set in the table and sanded the top face of both of them so I had a nice, smooth, and even surface. I sanded down the edges as well and then placed everything back together. The finishing touches were adding little plastic caps to plug the openings of the steel tubing on the top and bottom of the table frame.
This project has given me great respect for not only the amount of time spent on jobs like this one but also the amount of precision required to complete them. I have also learned the importance of the measure twice and cut once philosophy because I may have needed to get a little creative to fix a mistake caused by lack of attention. I was very ambitious with this project but now that I have finished I am proud of what I accomplished and now I have a coffee table.
Well this project took way longer than I expected, I planned on it taking somewhere around 15 hours because Tim had suggested to expect to spend 12 hours working on it and I planned to spend a couple more hours learning to weld. All in all I spent roughly 25 hours working on this project.
Day 1:
I started working on my project by spending a couple hours learning and practicing welding. After I had some comfortablity with the process I stopped practicing so that I could cut, clean, and grind the edges of my steel. I had six 4'0" lengths of 3/4" 16 gauge square steel tubing, nine 2'0" lengths of the same material, four 1'6" lengths of the same material, two 6 1/2" lengths of the same material, and two 2'0" lengths of 1/4" framing iron. I cut all the pieces then wiped them down with a shop towel to get all the grease off and then I had to grind down the edges so that I had a smooth surface to weld with. The learning and prep work took all of day one.
Day 2:
I came in and immediately framed out the sides of my table with two 1'6" pieces, two 2'0" tubing pieces, and one 2'0" iron per side of the table. I connected all of that then used the angle grinder to smooth out the welds. I put two of the 4'0" lengths between these completed sides to create the top of the table frame and welded that in place. Piece by piece I repeated the process and put it all together getting a little creative at times. The frame was almost complete by the end of day two, all it was missing was the two bottom 4'0" pieces and all 14 tabs that the wood would sit on.
Day 3:
I came in put the last pieces of steel tubing in and then started clamping tabs all over the frame. I was foolish to say that this was all I had left to do because it was long and tedious but after I finished with the tabs I went through and used the angle grinder on every weld that I had done to give a smoother surface. I was finally done with the frame but there was no time to celebrate because I needed to do all of my woodwork. I cut down eight 1x6 lengths of common pine to 4'0" and two more 1x6 lengths to 4'0" but ripped down to 2". These were for the top and bottom tiers of the table. I also cut down some pieces for the two drawers; four 1x6 lengths to 1'11" and four 1x6 lengths to 1'9 1/2". I then connected four of the 4'0" 1x6 and one of the pieces that had been ripped to 2" together with pocket screws, for each of the two tiers. That marked the end of day three.
Day 4:
I had very little time to spend in the shop on this day and so I started by framing out the two drawers. I then attached the sides of the drawers together with a pin nailer. I then cut two pieces of 1/4" plywood into 23" x 23" squares and attached those using 1/2" long staples. Pro tip for using these guns, load them properly and make sure you have actually put them into the wood and didn't just create holes with the air pressure. After going through and creating staple holes twice I had to call it a day but the structure of the drawers were done.
Day 5:
The final day had begun and so I started it by measuring out where to make a hole to act as a handle on the front and back of each drawer. I used the drill press to bore these holes and then spent the next while sanding down the inside of those holes. After that I routed and sanded the edges of the drawers so that they were flush. I then took the tiers I had made and set in the table and sanded the top face of both of them so I had a nice, smooth, and even surface. I sanded down the edges as well and then placed everything back together. The finishing touches were adding little plastic caps to plug the openings of the steel tubing on the top and bottom of the table frame.
Day 1:
I started working on my project by spending a couple hours learning and practicing welding. After I had some comfortablity with the process I stopped practicing so that I could cut, clean, and grind the edges of my steel. I had six 4'0" lengths of 3/4" 16 gauge square steel tubing, nine 2'0" lengths of the same material, four 1'6" lengths of the same material, two 6 1/2" lengths of the same material, and two 2'0" lengths of 1/4" framing iron. I cut all the pieces then wiped them down with a shop towel to get all the grease off and then I had to grind down the edges so that I had a smooth surface to weld with. The learning and prep work took all of day one.
Day 2:
I came in and immediately framed out the sides of my table with two 1'6" pieces, two 2'0" tubing pieces, and one 2'0" iron per side of the table. I connected all of that then used the angle grinder to smooth out the welds. I put two of the 4'0" lengths between these completed sides to create the top of the table frame and welded that in place. Piece by piece I repeated the process and put it all together getting a little creative at times. The frame was almost complete by the end of day two, all it was missing was the two bottom 4'0" pieces and all 14 tabs that the wood would sit on.
Day 3:
I came in put the last pieces of steel tubing in and then started clamping tabs all over the frame. I was foolish to say that this was all I had left to do because it was long and tedious but after I finished with the tabs I went through and used the angle grinder on every weld that I had done to give a smoother surface. I was finally done with the frame but there was no time to celebrate because I needed to do all of my woodwork. I cut down eight 1x6 lengths of common pine to 4'0" and two more 1x6 lengths to 4'0" but ripped down to 2". These were for the top and bottom tiers of the table. I also cut down some pieces for the two drawers; four 1x6 lengths to 1'11" and four 1x6 lengths to 1'9 1/2". I then connected four of the 4'0" 1x6 and one of the pieces that had been ripped to 2" together with pocket screws, for each of the two tiers. That marked the end of day three.
Day 4:
I had very little time to spend in the shop on this day and so I started by framing out the two drawers. I then attached the sides of the drawers together with a pin nailer. I then cut two pieces of 1/4" plywood into 23" x 23" squares and attached those using 1/2" long staples. Pro tip for using these guns, load them properly and make sure you have actually put them into the wood and didn't just create holes with the air pressure. After going through and creating staple holes twice I had to call it a day but the structure of the drawers were done.
Day 5:
The final day had begun and so I started it by measuring out where to make a hole to act as a handle on the front and back of each drawer. I used the drill press to bore these holes and then spent the next while sanding down the inside of those holes. After that I routed and sanded the edges of the drawers so that they were flush. I then took the tiers I had made and set in the table and sanded the top face of both of them so I had a nice, smooth, and even surface. I sanded down the edges as well and then placed everything back together. The finishing touches were adding little plastic caps to plug the openings of the steel tubing on the top and bottom of the table frame.
This project has given me great respect for not only the amount of time spent on jobs like this one but also the amount of precision required to complete them. I have also learned the importance of the measure twice and cut once philosophy because I may have needed to get a little creative to fix a mistake caused by lack of attention. I was very ambitious with this project but now that I have finished I am proud of what I accomplished and now I have a coffee table.
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