When you’re dealing with a tight space and you can’t quite find the right piece of furniture for a corner, the best solution is to weld your own furniture to get the most out of your room. In the case of this welding project, the two welders wanted to start planning out a man cave, but they couldn’t fit a desk in a wide-angled corner.
They fired up the plasma cutter and set up the MIG welder and got to work. This welding project is inspired by their corner desk welding project at Lincoln Electric. While they didn’t provide plans, a project like this only requires a few modifications to a typical desk or table welding project:
Planning This Welding Project
Depending on your space and which materials you use, your prep work, materials, and tools will vary. Some welders may choose to build the desk top out of wood or use an all-metal surface, while others will want to imitate this project from Lincoln Electric, creating a metal backing for a glass-top desk.
If you want to create a metal frame for your desk and then add a surface to it, you can create a desk top frame using angle iron. While you can do a lot of cutting with a torch. In fact, you can do this entire project with a torch set up and a grinder that can smooth off the edges. However, a plasma cutter may be a better choice since it will give you accurate cuts, leave cleaner edges, and cut away less metal.
For the frame of your desk, consider using square metal tubing, as that’s sturdy and should weld easily. Most desk and table projects use square metal tubing of some size or another. However, you can also minimize your material costs by using brackets on the wall for the back half of the desk. However, that will also make it impossible to move the desk around if you rearrange your room.
Working on Your Desk Welding Project
Accurate measurements, clean cuts, and plenty of clamps will help you create a sturdy desk that lines up accurately. Also use tack welds to line up the metal desk frame while you’re working on it. If you find that anything isn’t lined up properly, that will give you a chance to make a new cut or to line the frame up differently.
When you’re done tacking and welding, you can add finishing touches. Some welders skilled at metal working may want to add some decorations that can be welded on.
The welds should all be rubbed down with sandpaper and any rough bits can be smoothed with an angle grinder. Once the metal is smooth, consider adding a finishing coat of paint before adding wood or glass to the top.