Stainless Steel Coffee Table
Introduction: Stainless Steel Coffee Table
This instructable is different from what I usually build. One of my viewers asked me something about furniture which has irregular shapes and design and he asked me to tell how he himself was able to build that thing. I definitely suggested it to him at the moment but later on, I loved that concept so much that I decided to give it a try. Now usually this kind of furniture is usually built with thicker materials which I knew but I wanted to give it a try with a stainless steel sheet. I really love this material but making this kind of project is definitely a challenging task. This was also my first tig project. I definitely did some practice over scrap pieces and then moved onto this project. Working on stainless is difficult because it warps a lot and a more problematic thing for me is that I am using a thin 18 gauge sheet (1.10 mm thick). But I learned a lot more from many other youtube channels like welding tips and tricks, the fabrication series, and weld.com, definitely recommend you to check these channels if you want some pro tips. The experience I got in this project was definitely used in the future for tons of builds. Being my first tig project and also a sheet metal project I think I did an ok job on this. There are few corners where I actually made small mistakes by spending much more time and because of that there are small dots formed but It's definitely a fixable thing. My initial plan was to make the side with steel and the top with a different material, but my brother suggested keeping the same material to make it more unique so I went that way and was really glad that I used only stainless steel. At the bottom area, I use some acrylic pieces to provide it with some floating effect. I don't know whether it really worked like that but I really like this thing too. If you are worried about structural strength then it can easily bear my weight of 114 kg and I think it's more than enough for a table made only out of stainless steel. If you have some useful tips for doing tig welding then definitely let me know.
Supplies
Material and tools used.
For this build, the material I go with is 18gauge 304 stainless steel. The finish on the steel is a brushed finish. I go with brush finish because it's a bit cheaper than the high gloss finish. The sheet has dimensions of 4ft X 8ft and during this build a huge chunk of sheet still left which I used for my sculpture.
For the tools following stuff is needed.
1. 787
Tig welder (good if you have pulse tig Machine)
2. Angle grinder
3. Brushed finish wheel. (Usually, the grit size used over on this sheet is 80grit with a scotch brite over it.
4. Cut off the disk.
5. Combination square.
6. Flap wheel.
7. Spray glue.
8. Nut Riveter
Make sure to use proper safety equipment while welding. I knew I am not using them on few areas because I was frustrated during the work when I wasn't able to tack weld them. So be careful and use proper PPE.
Step 1: ​Design
Designing is not the difficult part of this build. The plan here is to make a design for which a full sheet would be enough. Actually, my plan was to make a chair and table combination but I gave it a try first as it's small and I was not sure about the success rate. So being a costly material my plan was not to waste any material whatever is going to cut out for the design that is going to be used for the remaining two sides. By doing this it's zero wastage. Now for the internal design, you can make it as complex as you wanted to but I kept it simple because I have to do this with an angle grinder and for very tight areas it's difficult to go with an angle grinder. My plan was always to demonstrate to the audience that you can do it without CNC, although with CNC laser cuts you are able to get a much more complex pattern and take your ability to a whole new level. Now one thing you need to be aware of is that complexity adds more welds and that welds add heat which may end up in a crooked surface.
Now in the first instance, it might seem to be an easy project but believe me a little bit of overheating will result in an abstract artwork rather than a piece of furniture. Now you can definitely do complex shapes but only by using heat sinks like aluminum because of its higher thermal conductivity and affordable cost. Now, as far as design is concerned you need to have the inner design in such a way that you are able to get the exact dimensions. Now in a 20-inch square table if it's 1⁄8" short on one side then it wouldn't be a big problem. 215