# Converting an old bed to a bench



## erikmannie (Sep 19, 2020)

I am starting this thread about a third of the way through the project.

This bed is about 110 years old with .045” rusty steel tubing and presumably lead paint.

I have already almost finished the armrests. I took the baseboard (footboard) and shortened it, all with O/A brazing. I will post pictures of that after I file down the bronze.

Today I am (1) fixing dents that our landscaper made when he hit the headboard with his tractor and (2) preparing the headboard leg for welding on the mitered tubes of the armrest.


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## erikmannie (Sep 19, 2020)

The dents are not a problem at all because I put sleeves in there anyway. 

I am making two sleeves today: 1.817” diameter and 5 1/2” long.


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## erikmannie (Sep 19, 2020)

Here is a picture of the project so far. A work in progress.


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## erikmannie (Sep 19, 2020)

Starting the turning. I need to take .100” off the diameter. 

I prefer carbide inserts. I am at 406 RPM, power feed at .005” per revolution. This is the “medium” power feed setting on a PM-1030V.


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## rock_breaker (Sep 19, 2020)

Interesting project. Something we used while sitting in the shade visiting with another person. Keep up the good work!
Have a good day
Ray


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## erikmannie (Sep 19, 2020)

Here is the first sleeve, the one that is intended to fix the dents. I could have made it a little larger; the effort to pound it in with a sledgehammer was about a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10. Too late now!


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## erikmannie (Sep 19, 2020)

The photos show the original white plastic feet and the new sleeve installed. I have to cut off the plastic because this bench is being powder coated. After lunch, I am going to weld sheet on there and make steel feet.


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## erikmannie (Sep 19, 2020)

I used a cutoff wheel to cut crude circles out of some .120” sheet. I used a flap disk to grind down everything to bright shiny steel.

I placed the circle on top of the tubing, held down by gravity. I used an O/A 00 welding tip and gas welded on the circle. Almost no filler rod (1/16” RG45) was needed because the circles were oversized.

I used the filler rod to add material where needed. 

I preliminarily shaped the feet with a flap disk. Tomorrow I will finish by hand with files and 60 and 80 grit sandpaper.


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