My friends recently asked me to make them a bench that can fit under their ridiculously long window. They needed the base to be steel and the top to be pine wood so that it would match the rest of the furniture in their house. This was a very challenging project but I learned a lot and it came out looking pretty great.

If you like this instructable please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/chippedbuilds

Step 1:

Some links maybe Affiliate links

Steel

Pine Wood Welder- https://amzn.to/2qDjjDa

Welding helmet- https://amzn.to/2Dchkx9 , https://amzn.to/2Dchkx9

Welding gloves- https://amzn.to/2Dchkx9

Magnets- https://amzn.to/2Dchkx9

Grinder- https://amzn.to/2Dchkx9

Naval Jelly- https://amzn.to/2Dchkx9

Acetone-

Primer- https://amzn.to/2Dchkx9

Paint- https://amzn.to/2Dchkx9

Saw- https://amzn.to/2Dchkx9

Sander- https://amzn.to/2Dchkx9

Flush cut Saw- https://amzn.to/2Dchkx9

Drill- https://amzn.to/2Dchkx9

Step 2: Trying to Weld the Frame

Full disclosure for this project. I have never welded in my life. This is all very new to me so my welds are very bad. Since this was my first time welding I tried to practice on this little piece of scrap metal I had and it was a spluttery mess. But I decided to move on because I was determined to make this bench for my friends.

I got some right angle magnet clamps and some c clamps to hold the two pieces of metal I was welding to the table. I had to have the ground clamp really close to the area I was welding because it wouldn’t work right if I had it anywhere else. Once I tac welding a few spots I decided to lay down a bead. This was all over the place but at the time I thought it wasn’t that bad. I then decided to grind down that weld smooth to see how it held up. Lets just say I realized this was not working how it should so I took a break from the project for awhile.

Step 3: Welding the Frame

I had my friend Calvin come over to teach me how to weld and finish the bench since he is a experienced welder. Right off the bat he said we should make a jig to make the whole thing go faster. So we made one out of some scrap plywood i had lying around. Once we had the bottom welded in place it was time to weld the supports and the top in place. Calvin did most of the welding while I observed. He did teach me a lot while he was here and I got some good practice welding on the bench as well.

Once it was all assembled he tacked on some nuts that could accept furniture feet so that the metal wouldn’t scratch up my friends floor.

Step 4: Preping the Metal

Now that the bench was all welded up we put some Naval Jelly one it and rubbed it down with acetone to protect the steel. After that we sprayed some self etching primer on it.

Step 5: 3d Printed End Caps

Once the bench was dry we hit the bench with some black spray paint, while the paint was drying we 3d printed some end caps to put in the open ends of the steel tubing so no one would hurt themselves. I glued these in and used a small mallet to knock them in place.

Step 6: Wooden Top

Now that the metal working was done it was time to make the wooden top. I used some reclaimed pine boards for this part. I measured carefully the width of the base that I needed to cut the wood but as you can see I somehow messed up and had to remeasure. Luckily i caught it before I cut too much of the wood.

I took a cut off pieced and glued and clamped in place. I then used a flush cut hand saw to clean it up.

Step 7: Finishing

After that was dry i sanded the whole top to 120 grit sandpaper.

I attached the top to the base with 1/2 wood screws from the bottom.

Step 8: Enjoy Your New Bench!

Overall, this bench came out awesome and my friends love it. It fits their space and the rest of their furniture perfectly. this was a fun project to do and I hope to do more metal projects in the future. Let me know in the comments if you make one or you have any questions.