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Step 2Legs!
The legs are simpler than they appear. Using an overall rectangle 12" x 18", two straight lines and two diagonal lines become folds; these folds eventually overlap one another to make a tapering form that can be pinned together with two machine bolts.
The geometry is straightforward: divide the piece lengthwise into three 4" x 18" strips. Run diagonals from two outside corners to the two middle lines. I laid it out in chalk; you can draw on the back with a Sharpie as well.
Use an 1/8" drill bit to put pilot holes on one inch centers. Go back and drill every other one with a 1/4" bit; get the alternating ones with a 3/8" bit. To bend, screw the sign down to a piece of wood through the smaller diameter holes, and hit with a mallet or small sledgehammer to achieve the bends.
Once the two "wings" overlap, hammer them flat and clamp them together. Drill through with a 3/16" drill bit and pin the metal together with #8 or #10 machine bolts and washers.
As you can see, these legs are asking a lot of the material. All four of them had at least some minor cracking. This can be avoided with newer, thinner signs; this table would also turn out quite well if executed in thinner sheet steel, as it isn't as tough to bend.
Be careful not to cut yourself on the sharp edges of the aluminum; the shavings from the drilling make for nasty little splinters that are hard to see and hard to get out but hurt a lot.
The geometry is straightforward: divide the piece lengthwise into three 4" x 18" strips. Run diagonals from two outside corners to the two middle lines. I laid it out in chalk; you can draw on the back with a Sharpie as well.
Use an 1/8" drill bit to put pilot holes on one inch centers. Go back and drill every other one with a 1/4" bit; get the alternating ones with a 3/8" bit. To bend, screw the sign down to a piece of wood through the smaller diameter holes, and hit with a mallet or small sledgehammer to achieve the bends.
Once the two "wings" overlap, hammer them flat and clamp them together. Drill through with a 3/16" drill bit and pin the metal together with #8 or #10 machine bolts and washers.
As you can see, these legs are asking a lot of the material. All four of them had at least some minor cracking. This can be avoided with newer, thinner signs; this table would also turn out quite well if executed in thinner sheet steel, as it isn't as tough to bend.
Be careful not to cut yourself on the sharp edges of the aluminum; the shavings from the drilling make for nasty little splinters that are hard to see and hard to get out but hurt a lot.
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