18 Furniture Welding Projects to DIY Today (With Pictures and Videos)
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Even though welding is often used in the industry to build things such as bridges, cars, and buildings, who’s to say that you can’t have a little fun with it? Part of that is not wasting your time on useless projects. You might as well get some use out of what you’re making, and making furniture from steel is a great way to go. Maybe you don’t need another piece of patio furniture, but it might be nice. To top it off, you’ll be improving your skills in fabricating. Here are a few ideas of pieces of useful furniture to get you thinking about what you want to build.
The 18 Furniture Welding Projects Are:
1. Coffee Table
Materials: | Tube steel, angle iron, screws |
Tools: | Welder, drill, grinder |
Difficulty Level: | Easy |
This table has to be one of the easiest frames to put together, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t hold up over time! The designer has thought to reinforce the top part of the frame with some angle iron, so it won’t wobble. In order to fit this up, you only need a framing square because it’s all 90° angles. The welding doesn’t have to look pretty either since you will grind them all down flush. Once you’re finished with the frame, install the tabletop of your choice.
2. Desk
Materials: | Tube steel, wood for tabletop, paint |
Tools: | Metal saw, welder, grinder, clamps, drill jig (optional) |
Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This desk consists of two frames on either end, which support the desktop, and two other pieces connecting the tops of the frames. The frame consists of six pieces of tube steel each. Two are the top and bottom of the frame, while two more angles from the edges of one piece are toward the center of the other. They are then supported by two additional shorter pieces that attach to the bottom part of the frame. The tabletop is not free-floating like some designs but is screwed in through the tube steel.
3. Log Bench
Materials: | Tube steel, wood screws |
Tools: | Table saw, planer, welder, grinder, drill |
Difficulty Level: | Difficult |
Live edge seems to be all the rage these days. It’s incredible that you can make a simple segment of wood that otherwise would be scrapped into a great piece of outdoor furniture. Most of the work is in preparing the bench itself—lots of cutting using the planer to ensure even edges. The legs are made of welded tube steel, which has holes drilled into the top cross beam for mounting. Make sure you have heavy-duty screws because there is no other support for the wood.
4. Chair Made from Chains
Materials: | Chain, tube steel, wood for seat, screws |
Tools: | Welder, Grinder |
Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
How is it that the round chain base of the seat doesn’t wobble? At first glance, you would easily miss the minor little tacks placed on each link. In structural cases, it’s unacceptable to weld chain since it will usually bear part of the load. Here, however, it’s okay even when it comes to our burly friends sitting on this stool. The feet are simple. The hanging chains are turned at each corner to form a foot before they are tacked. Brackets are welded at the top on the base of the seat to mount the wood.
5. Metal Sofa
Materials: | Tube steel, steel wire mesh |
Tools: | Welder, Grinder |
Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
We all know how outdoor furniture doesn’t seem to last, especially in more humid and wet climates. With this metal sofa, however, you won’t have to worry about the frame deteriorating. With a few simple frames welded together (all right angles, once again!) and some stiffening braces which provide additional support, you have the main structure of the sofa. Then to ensure that you don’t fall through (yikes!), weld steel wire mesh over the sitting area as well as the backrests. Plop some cushions down and relax!
6. Loft Coffee Table
Materials: | 3×3 lumber |
Tools: | Wood saw, wood glue, furniture clamps, wood planer |
Difficulty Level: | – |
This tabletop can be made with 3×3 lumber. The legs are glued together and planed down smooth. The tabletop sits nicely inside, not on top, of the metal frame with only three legs. How is this possible? The weight of the tabletop is not enough to weigh down one corner. In addition, having only three legs allows easier access to this table’s lower shelf, which is identical to the tabletop.
7. Outdoor Lounge Chair
Materials: | Tube steel, flat bar, wood slats |
Tools: | Bandsaw, welder, grinder, wood saw |
Difficulty Level: | Difficult |
This would look great on the patio with a drink in your hand, but it’s challenging to build. The welding will be the least of your concerns. Finding the right angle at which you want to lounge might be a little tricky. The frame is made of tube steel, and the armrests are made of flat bar. The flat bar also helps support the wood slats which are cut out to size. You can cut a miter or weld a butt joint for the frame. We recommend adding end caps if you weld a butt joint to protect the inside of the steel from the weather.
8. Chair/Step Ladder
Materials: | Tube steel, angle iron, metal hinges, wood, wood screws |
Tools: | Welder, grinder, drill |
Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This keeps unfolding like a Rubik’s cube but looks more complicated than it really is. When watching this instructional video, you might think at first, “How is this project going to unfold?” The back of the chair is the leg of the ladder! No more standing on a wobbly kitchen chair to change light bulbs. Just take the chair you’re sitting on and flip it over. Don’t be deceived by the holes on the hinges. All it takes is small welds to secure them, and no drilling in metal is needed.
9. Metal Rockers
Materials: | Pipe, tube steel |
Tools: | Compression roller, sheer tool (or grinder w/ cutoff wheel), welder, grinder |
Difficulty Level: | Difficult |
Using a precut radius template, you can test to see if the pipe you put into the roller matches the desired radius of your rockers. It will take time to achieve the radius as the machine works on the pipe. This pipe is cut into two segments and welded to the rockers’ frames. The frames have the bottoms notched out so the pipe will fit flush. When tacking up the pipe, ensure that the legs of the rockers align properly.
10. Park Bench Legs
Materials: | Tube steel, steel plate |
Tools: | Bandsaw, drill, grinder, sander, welder |
Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This park bench has right and left legs that flare out. This project gives you a lot of versatility because you are not bound to one size or type of wood. The plan is for the legs, but you can modify them as needed according to which size of seat you want. Who says you can’t have a park bench in your front yard?
11. Stainless Steel Adirondack Chair
Materials: | SS flat bar, round bar |
Tools: | Bandsaw, plasma cutter or cutoff wheel, sander, tig welder, compression roller |
Difficulty Level: | Difficult |
This chair is made almost entirely from stainless steel flat bar. The chair’s frame requires several mitered cuts to achieve the reclining angle. Laying the slats on the seat and footrest is probably the easiest part. The radius on the top of the backrest is achieved by cutting the edges of the flat bar flush together using a plasma cutter along a large pipe. You will want to use a TIG welder to ensure minimum heat input since it can warp easily.
12. Industrial TV Stand
Materials: | Angle iron, sheet metal |
Tools: | Miter saw, plasma cutter, straight edge |
Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This piece of furniture would have been almost unthinkable 40 years ago. Who has televisions this big? Well, people today love their TV, and it seems like they are constantly expanding. The frame is made entirely of angle iron, and the shelves are closed off with sheet metal which is welded to the frame. The doors to the shelves are mesh and complete with a big metal handle. This TV stand might not be what you’d put in grandma’s living room, but it does the job!
13. Tensegrity Table
Materials: | Steel tubing, metal pins, chain links |
Tools: | Welder, grinder |
Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
Tensegrity is a term to describe a principle of design known as tension integrity. This essentially means that the structure which is unequal in balance is held together by tension. This project’s top and base frames are made from 3” steel tubing, which is mitered so they can be welded flush at right angles. Attached to each frame (they mirror each other) is another piece of tube steel which is mitered, welded, and capped. These contain a hidden pin with a chain attached. The tension is held in the center between the chain connected to two pins. It is also attached to the four corners.
14. Fire Pit
Materials: | 44-gallon drum, angle iron |
Tools: | Welder, Grinder, Bandsaw |
Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Cut a 44-gallon drum (make sure it’s free of flammable chemicals) in half vertically. One of the sides will comprise your firepit. Then the frame made of angle iron should fit around the perimeter of the four cut edges of your barrel. Legs of angle iron are then welded to the frame. Be sure that the angle iron covers the top of the cut edges, so you will ensure that it doesn’t flake off over time.
15. Floating Bed
Materials: | Tube steel, angle iron, headboard |
Tools: | Welder, grinder |
Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
Not sure if that old guest bed will hold up? The instructions to make this frame are refreshingly straightforward. Even making the brackets to mount the bed to the wall is a breeze. Depending on how much it flexes, you may have to add more tube steel to the frame. You’ll be able to tell when installing it if you stand on it. The entire frame is then covered with steel mesh. The coolest part about this project is the fancy live edge style headboard, which is optional. The most unusual part will be dealing with the plexiglass leg (okay, so it’s not truly floating).
16. Steel Drawers
Materials: | Sheetmetal, rivets |
Tools: | TIG and MIG welder, grinder with cutoff wheel, Sheetmetal break, drill |
Difficulty Level: | Difficult |
This is a part of a larger desk project, but you could make the drawers as replacements. In order to accomplish this one, you will probably need access to a sheet metal bender. The chances of accomplishing this in a vice are slim to none. But if you can get access, it’s just a matter of cutting out the sheet metal to shape, bending it, and welding it back together. The rivets on the front of the drawer add a handsome touch to an otherwise cold-looking piece.
17. Wood and Metal Side Tables
Materials: | Pallet wood, angle iron |
Tools: | Grinder, welder, bandsaw, clamps |
Difficulty Level: | Easy |
The top and bottom frames are made of mitered angle iron. Gusset plates with rivets are then added by welding them to the corners of the frame. Small plates are welded on the backside of the tabletop and shelf in order to secure it in place. This doesn’t exactly look super cozy, and it might not make a great nightstand, but it could work in your living room.
18. Pub Set
Materials: | Pipe, Steel plate, Wood for tabletop and stools, wood screws |
Tools: | Drill press, welder, grinder |
Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This set includes a small three-legged table with two small stools. The legs have end caps for the feet to keep out water and provide extra stability. The pipe is mitered to run flat along the ground. The other end of the pieces of pipe is welded to a mounting plate with holes at each corner for mounting to the wood. The table includes a hole in the center for an umbrella. This set would be perfect for a small patio where space is limited.
Final Thoughts
One thing to keep in mind when welding together this furniture is that sometimes the easy way out might not be the most comfortable. While some of these designs only utilize right angles, are you going to be able to sit back comfortably on them? Will the right cushions remedy this problem? Another factor to consider is whether you’d like to pick up more equipment beyond the basics. The compression bender can do wonders and open up possibilities for creating more chic furniture. Whatever you decide, make sure someone actually wants to use your furniture, and plan for comfort!
Featured Image Credit: Spacejoy, Unsplash