A good friend of mine has a beautiful slab of wood with a live edge. He treated all the cracks with colored epoxy, and turned it into a unique table top. When Ken came to my shop and asked if I could make a custom table base for him, I was very intriqued by his idea. Here are pictures of the fabrication of the legs, based on his design!
After cutting the individual pieces out of 1/4″ steel plate, I set up a simple bending Jig on my welding table.
After heating each piece to red glowing, I was able to bend them into shape over a steel tube.
Another picture while cooling down in the jig.
To ensure the legs remain straight and square during the bending process, I added some marks on my jig to keep all the legs consistently the same.
Here is the center mark for the bottom of the legs.
After bending and cooling.
After cleaning the heated areas with a wire brush.
Cutting the pieces to the correct length at the bend.
Drilling and tapping holes into the top plates.
All the pieces necessary to complete the legs. The bended areas have been finished on my belt grinder.
Welding on the top pieces to each leg.
Another step.
Here they are, cleaned up and ready for the next step!
