Cutting hollow metal table legs ?

badtz

I have these table legs [made for a kitchen table] but it's too tall and I want them shorter....



what kind of a place/shop can I go to, to get these cut down?



they're metal, hollow inside, and square shape....???



[if they were round, i'd use a pipe cutter, but obviously i can't in this situation ]

ghost_user_name

steady hand and a hacksaw, probably...



be really ****ing careful, else you'll get crooked table legs

badtz

is there any place i can bring it to have a more professional do it?



i have no "power" tools.....



only little wimpy cpu tools to tear apart my pc's

ghost_user_name

jeez, i dunno...



take it to the home depot, ask them to let you test a saw, see if it'll cut the metal

murbot

Dip it slowly into a pool of molten lava. Keep a level on the table top to make sure you're holding it even. Mark the table length you want ahead of time with a felt tipped marker.



Or you could just get a steel cutting blade for a circular saw. Secure the leg down, a quick "bzzzt" with the saw, and you're laughing.



Whichever. The saw thing is a little boring, though.

burningwheel

you can rent power tools i'm sure. our local public library even has them that you sign out like a book!, er they used to many years ago

badtz

i would rather have someone ELSE do this......



home depot won't....



they barely were willing to cut the particle board I recently bought from them.......



plus they're not equipped to cut metal & probably won't cut it since it didn't come from their store.





any other suggestions? :-X

ghost_user_name

A dremel tool will do the job just fine. Just measure down the same amount on each leg and mark where to cut. It's really pretty easy.



Don't have a dremel? Go to your local hardware store and get one now! These things have *hundreds* of uses.



Oh, do you wear glasses? As a safety precaution, you ought to wear some or get some plastic goggles to wear while cutting. I was cutting into a hollow aluminum bar with a dremel a while back and the cutting wheel shattered and flew up and cut my face. If I hadn't been wearing glasses, I'd have been seriously hurt.



But don't let my little horror story discourage you.

sizzle chest

Rent a tool or use a hacksaw and elbow grease.



Machine shops or fabrication shops don't make their living cutting four table legs for some guy for $10.... there will probably be a minimum charge that's a lot more than you'd want to pay. If you really insist, look in the phone book under "metal fabrication" and call a few places, but it's pretty likely you're going to end up hearing things like "big jobs only" or "$200 minimum job" and so on.



My "day job" is at a big steel service center (which means, umm, we cut metal) and we CONSTANTLY get calls from people wanting us to do stuff like help them cut a piece of sheet metal to put on their RV or patio roof, or cut their 8 foot steel rod into 4 pieces, or whatever, and they're always saying they've called 20 people in the phone book and can't find anybody who does small jobs.

badtz

.....i was hoping i wasn't going to have to go dremel.....





honestly, i don't have much faith in doing this myself



despite my next project being to build a platform bed

mikey offender

If you can get the legs off the table, you might be able to con a local hardware store into cutting them with a pipe cutter.

badtz

the legs are square.....



but they DO come off

murbot

Just buy a hacksaw and a metal file. Cut them to size and smooth the edges out with the file. That's the simplest way to do it.

marcuk

You need some Propolyene and Oxygen cannisters.\\



Get two rubber hoses of different diameters. Thread the smaller one through the larger one. Connect the smaller dia one to the oxygen. Connect the larger to the propolyene.



Invite a trusted friend around (but not of too much personal value). Get him to turn on the oxygen, quite low pressure. Oxygen will not spontaneosly explode, even when a match is held too it.



Get your friend to hold the hoses and turn on the propolyene. Go make a cup of tea. Tell your friend to light the propolyene.



Hold the hoses about 1" from the metal legs. Wait till the metal is glowing red/white hot and then tell friend to increase the oxygen pressure really high. Move slowly around the perimeter of the table legs. Repeat 3 times.



I recommend you wear tinted safety spectacles, and when finished, Turn the polypropolyene off FIRST, to minimise danger of blow-back. Remember Oxygen is safe, even in the presence of a naked flame.



In the event that the hose catches fire and flames edge towards the propolyene canister, RUN LIKE HELL. Do not stop to collect personal belongings.



I am not responsible for any damages you may cause, either personal or financial from the result of carrying out these instructions.



TIP. To regulate the pressure, squeeze the rubber hoses between thumb and forefinger



TIP 2- Do not attemp this if the Legs are made of Magnesium.



[ 09-05-2002: Message edited by: MarcUK ]</p>

ghost_user_name

[quote]Originally posted by MarcUK:

<strong>TIP 2- Do not attemp this if the Legs are made of Magnesium.</strong><hr></blockquote>Shoot! Don't tell him that! I wanted to see some fireworks.



Mmmm... bright light...

badtz

sizzle chest : thanks for the idea to bring it to a metal fabrication place!



* I just got home, with them cut, very nice!!! *



murbot : thanks for the idea of getting the edges sanded for smoothness!





now i gotta put my table together, put my mac/display/keyboard/etc. on it, and take a picture

sizzle chest

"Oh shoot, now it's too low!"



Seriously, glad you found somebody to do it for you.

badtz

actually, i haven't put the table together yet...



...... this is not a good time for it to be cut too much



*found the place via sherlock, ahhh, my 1st sherlock usage *