A few years back my friend purchased a coffee table that looked like a cage. I loved the design so I came up with this bad boy right here. Made from reclaimed beam cut-offs and some steel. This is a pretty straightforward project. You will need a welder if you want to create something like this. Go grab one if you don't have one already as it's an awesome way to add to your home!

Step 1: Prepare Wood

You could make the top our of any wood that you'd like. Obviously, the old beams look pretty awesome but not always easy to find.

Choose your top wood
My top is made of two 3" x 7.5" x 17" pieces of old oak
Square up either end
Sand to remove any rough edges and smoothen

Step 2: Metal Support Bracket

Now we need to weld up the metal bracket for underneath the wood top. The cage will be welded to this bracket and double as the connection point for the two pieces of wood.

Measure out your wood dimensions
Cut 3" flat bar to the dimensions of your wood
My bracket is made up of two pieces cut at 11" and two pieces at 15"
Cut the pieces and place on the wood to make sure it aligns
When the bracket matches the wood surface dimensions, weld it together
My bracket measured 15" x 17"
Cut off the corners of the bracket

Step 3: Mount Bracket

Mark out drill holes along every piece of the bracket to secure wood
Drill 1/8" holes for your screws
Screw the bracket to the wood
Sand the finish off of the screws to camouflage them to raw steel

Step 4: Begin the Cage

Cut 1/4" steel rod into enough pieces to make your cage.

2 pieces at 15"
2 pieces at 16.5"
20 pieces at 20"

After your pieces are cut it's time to weld up the cage.

Weld up the 15" pieces to your 16.5" pieces to make a rectangle (same dimensions as bracket)
While making sure everything is square, weld up your 1/4" rectangle to your bracket using the 20" pieces
Weld up one piece of 20" on every side to keep it level and square

Step 5: Finish the Cage Table

Weld up 5 pieces of the 20" pieces to each side of the table to create your cage look
Use magnetic squares to make sure it's square while helping you keep everything together
Sand off any sharp edges of the steel
Clean off the steel with a steel brush and mineral spirits
Do a final sanding on the wood
Apply a finish to the wood (I used spray on Polycrylic)