Metal fabrication: aluminum and redwood bench
The prompt for this project was just to build a piece of furniture. The piece had to be primarily made of metal, but otherwise there were no design constraints or limits to what we could build. Furniture is hard, however, because it has to have a place to go once it is completed. The space at the end of my bed, between the bed and the wall has always been a dumping ground for clothes, bags and various items that don’t have a home in my room. I decided to build a bench that would serve as a catch all for these items, that would allow me to store some of my things in a way that looked presentable.
My shop teacher wanted to challenge me on this project as I already new both TIG and MIG welding techniques on steel and stainless steel. Additionally, since my room is up 3 flights of stairs, I wanted to keep my bench as light as possible. As such, I built it almost entirely out of aluminum. The cover on the bottom shelf is galvanized steel, and the top is salvaged redwood.
The bench features a hideaway compartment for storage of small items, as well as a lower bench for added storage space.
Cut aluminum pieces ready to weld
Welding the frame
TIG bead on cabinet section of bench
Materials and Construction
While I knew how to TIG and MIG weld, and have made several projects using both techniques, I had never welded aluminum before. Before starting on my actual bench, I spent a week practicing the fundamentals of TIG aluminum. I practiced controlling heat flow, coming off heat slowly to avoid cracking and running a bead until I was confident in my ability to create secure welds. I then proceeded to cut and begin welding my metal. The frame is primarily constructed of 1” aluminum bar stock. The cabinet is made from 1/4” aluminum sheet that was cut on the CNC plasma cutter.
The top of the bench is a piece of reclaimed old growth redwood from Portola Valley, California. It is from a local wood dealer who specializes in saving redwood trees felled by the city for use as tables or benches like mine. It is finished with a combination of shellac and beeswax, to seal the wood to prevent cracking.
I painted the aluminum black partially because I liked the contrast between the black frame and the bright redwood, and also to prevent discoloring from oxidation.
See more of my design process and rational here.
