How to make your own half-floating welded coffee table

Welding is a great skill that can expand your DIY horizon. We made a steel and wood coffee table and you can too.

When you’re doing any DIY project, the first step should always be putting on the correct Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and this is particularly important when cutting and welding metal. We recommend using heavy-duty welding gloves, a welding apron or fire-retardant jacket, trousers and boots and, most importantly, an auto-darkening welding helmet.

For this job we used a Disston 140 AMP inverter welder that only weights 3.2 kgs. It’s extremely portable and is more than suitable for stick-welding jobs although, with the right accessories, it can also be used for tungsten inert gas welding, commonly known as TIG welding.

Stick welding is a popular welding technique that utilises an electric current to create an arc between the base materials and the welding rod or stick. These rods, made of either mild or stainless steel, are coated with a flux that acts as a protective layer against oxidation. The stick’s thickness is an important consideration when choosing the right rod for the job, as it should cater to the thickness of the workpiece.

Stick welding involves melting the welding rod or stick and forming a molten pool of steel that melts the workpieces to create the welded joint. However, achieving a strong welded joint requires precision and skill; moving too fast while welding can result in a weak joint as the workpiece steel does not melt enough. On the other hand, moving too slowly can cause the workpiece steel to melt too much and create a hole, also resulting in a weak welded joint. Practice and patience are key to mastering this technique.

Once the welding is complete and the molten steel has cooled, the remaining flux should be chipped off to reveal the welded joint’s final appearance. It’s a satisfying feeling to see your creation take shape and become a work of art.

For our project we started by cutting 50 mm x 50 mm x 3 mm square steel tubing into eight pieces of 600 mm each and two of 300 mm each. We used a chop saw for this, as it gives a more accurate cut than an angle grinder.

We then welded two 600 mm x 600 mm square frames from the steel tubing. To hold pieces of metal together while we welded, we used a welding magnet. This useful little tool can hold metal accurately at 90° or 45° angles and is impervious to the heat of welding.

Here are some tips while performing the actual weld: set the amperage on your welder to the correct setting for the welding stick you are using – most welders have a guide on them. Then when welding, hold the welding stick at a 15° angle, not straight up. Remember that the welding stick shouldn’t touch the metal you’re welding – you’re creating an arc after all – so keep it about 2 – 3 mm above the metal. Work slowly and neatly, starting by using tack welds to secure the material before making the final, neat, continuous weld.

When finished welding the two squares, we then joined them together with 300 mm lengths of square tube on opposite corners. Finally, we welded two strips of 25 mm angle iron to the metal structure, which will support the wooden boards.

welded coffee table - Disston 140 AMP inverter welder

When the metal frame was complete, we wiped it down with thinners to remove oil and grease before we painted it with Rust-Oleum Hammered Black spray paint.

The two wooden boards we cut to size (600 mm x 600 mm x 25 mm) and sanded before sealing them with three coats of Woodoc 30, a clear solvent-based polywax sealant. We then popped the boards into the framework and we were done.

Welding is a skill that can be learned by anyone who has the desire to do so. While it may seem daunting at first, the best way to improve your skills is through practice and the guidance of someone with experience. Fortunately, if you’re looking to get into welding, Builders has everything you need to get started, from welders to PPE, steel and everything in between, both in-store and online at builders.co.za.