Make an Industrial Style Pipe Leg Table With Just One ToolA

Supplies:

1 ½ Black Steel Pipe Threaded On Both Ends In These Sizes:

-      2 - 24”

-      4 -18”

-      4 - 12’

-      4 - 6”

-      6 Tee Fittings

-      8 Flanges

-      1 Coupler

1 ¼ Thick Wooden Board Cut To 3’ Wide x 58” Long

Screwdriver

1 ¼ Drywall Screws

Washer

WD-40

Razor

Stain

Polyurethane

Rags

Drop Cloth

Mask

Gloves

Goggles

Step 1: Remove the Stickers from The Pipe

My steel pipes came with stickers on them, so they had to go. I carefully used a razor blade to scrape them off of each one. Then I took a little bit of WD-40 oil and sprayed it onto any spots where the tape residue remained. I wiped it off with a rag and was ready to go. 

Step 2: Lay Out All Your Pieces

To make assembly easier, I laid my pipes out on the back of the wooden board in the order that I would be putting them together. Use a drop cloth to protect both your floor or work surface and your wooden board. Since you’ll be placing the wood, which will become your tabletop, facedown on the ground, you want to make sure nothing will damage the surface. Then I put the pieces on the wood, with the 24” pipes and a coupler in the middle and the leg pieces and tee fittings around the outside. 

Step 3: Create A Center Support

Once my pieces were in place, I started from the middle and worked my way to the outsides of the board. First I screwed my two 24” pipes into the coupler. I screwed them together as tight as I could with my hands. Next, I capped each end off with a tee fitting. Then I moved on to the outer pipes, joining two of the 12” pipes to that center tee fitting on one end and to another tee fitting on the other side.

Step 4: Add the Legs

Now that the center base was in place, I stood the tee fittings on their ends up and down, so that one of the openings was on the floor and the other was facing the ceiling. I added a flange and 6” piece of pipe on one side and an 18” piece of pipe capped with a flange on the other. Then I repeated the process to create the other three legs.

Step 5: Add the Tabletop

I stood the pipe frame up, so that the short 6” pieces of pipe were on the bottom and placed my wood on top. At this point it was time to screw the wooden board to the legs. I used small drywall screws that wouldn’t pop through the top and one small washer on each screw to anchor the flanges with a screwdriver. If you want to make the tabletop thicker you can box out the bottom of the table with wood strips, glue and nail it into place, and then connect the legs in the same way. 

Step 6: Stain

I decided to test my stain colors on scrap pieces of the board to see which color I liked best on the actual wood. Once I had decided, I used a rag to wipe the stain on. I used long, even strokes in the same direction as the grain of the wood. Then I used another rag to wipe off any excess. I kept applying coats of stain until I was happy with the color. 

Step 7: Seal

The last step in this process was to add a coat of polyurethane to the tabletop to protect it. I waited for the stain to dry completely and then I wiped on a coat of the sealer. The final step in the process was simply to let it cure and dry. Be sure to work in a well ventilated area when working with stain and polyurethane and protective goggles, gloves and a mask. 

When I was done, I had a beautiful industrial styled table with an elegant wooden top and steel pipe legs. It went well with the metal chairs my wife had picked out and fit our style perfectly. It was also a great place to eat dinner or work and it was literally put together in a matter of minutes! So if you’re looking for a modern table, but you don’t love complicated building projects, grab some pipes and a screwdriver and you’ll be good to go.

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