Seeking some pipe table-legs

June 5, 2007 1:19 PM

Help me bend or buy my way into owning 4 U-shaped pipes!

I have a somewhat unusual wooden desk/table from perhaps the 1950's or so, which has long U-shaped pipes for legs. These can be removed, which makes the table easy to store and move. (Here's a picture of the desk)

The other day, I was thinking of buying a stand-up desk, when it occurred to me that I could save some money (and avoid accumulating excess furniture), if I could just obtain some longer metal legs for the small table I already have.

So, if i want to make this into a standing desk, I need 4 pieces of U-shaped pipe, 1" in diameter, with 3" of space between the parallel sides. The present legs are about 28.5 inches in length, and I'd want the new ones to be about 48" tall or so (so, about 102" before being bent in half?). (Here's a pic of one table leg)

So, I wonder, is there a way to cheaply obtain such U-shaped pipes? I was thinking that maybe the local home center would have a bender that would easily do this; however they don't seem to. Perhaps I could bend some pipe myself with a rented or (inexpensive) bought tool? Or else where could I go to have them bend me some pipe on the cheap? (I live in Central Illinois (Champaign), but regularly make it up to Chicago). Who knows, maybe there's a U-shaped pipe outlet store somewhere?

Much obliged for any suggestions.

posted by washburn to home & garden (13 comments total)

Previously.
Although that may have been heavier pipe.

Do you know an electrician with a conduit bender?
posted by MtDewd at 1:26 PM on June 5, 2007

To make this easier, could you use 8 straight pieces of pipe? Instead of the bend, you could cap the bottoms with some rubber feet.
posted by chrisamiller at 1:37 PM on June 5, 2007

Look into EMT Benders. You can get the manual ones fairly cheap, but that'll rely elbow grease. If you can't find one at your local hardware store, check out an electric supply store. Electric wholesalers have these by the gross and may sell you one even without a wholesale licence. If not they'll likely be able to direct you somewhere that will cary them or provide pipe bending services.

Ive never used one, but I've heard that the best way to bend pipe without kinking or creasing is to fill it with sand first. I'm fairly certain that an EMT bender will make this less of a problem though.
posted by lekvar at 1:39 PM on June 5, 2007

You wouldn't be able to do that tight of a bend with electrical tubing. That most likely was heated up and bent. Does it have to be tubing? Why not just make some wooden legs to match the desktop?
posted by wile e at 1:42 PM on June 5, 2007

The cheapest might be to contact a welder in your area. It shouldn't be too hard to find a welder that will bend them for you using a pipe bender. Depending on the thickness you might even be able to go to muffler shop.
posted by GlowWyrm at 1:45 PM on June 5, 2007

Perhaps this is an aesthetically bad idea, but perhaps you could buy plumbing pipe and fittings (like a U trap that someone might have under their sink) rather than bending a single piece of pipe?
posted by JMOZ at 2:35 PM on June 5, 2007

Muffler shops have pipe benders.
posted by nonmyopicdave at 3:17 PM on June 5, 2007

Since you're in Champaign already--If you want to see the manual conduit benders in action, they've been working with them for the last year in the renovations at the Foreign Languages Building.
posted by zeugitai_guy at 6:05 PM on June 5, 2007

I'd use a muffler shop. The better ones will have a machine that crimps the bend instead of crinkling it which is cheap and good enough for your application. The best shops will have a mandrel bender but it'll cost you 20-40 per bend plus the pipe.

Specify a non galvanized tubing, painting galvanized is both a bitch and unlikely to last long term.
posted by Mitheral at 6:47 PM on June 5, 2007

Hmm. Sounds like a muffler shop should be the starting point on this. Electrical conduit benders aren't well-suited for 180 degree bends, or good at making turns of narrow diameter. (I've seen them bending the stuff several times this semester---it seems to have been a conduit spring here at uiuc).

Straight pipes are a possibility, but would probably be visibly out of the parallel, especially since they're they're so long; wooden legs would require me to remove the pipe-holding apparatus that is there now (and thereby make it harder to switch the desk between sitting and standing heights).

So, a muffler shop it is! Or will be, if they're willing and able to do this on the cheap. Thanks for all the advice.
posted by washburn at 11:22 PM on June 5, 2007

Hmm, out of curiousity, can anyone tell me why using straight pipes and a commercial bend (like a U-trap) isn't a good idea?
posted by JMOZ at 7:41 AM on June 6, 2007

JMOZ: Using a U-trap might also be a good option, but as you mentioned previously, the results might be aesthetically less ideal. Also, I'm not sure how easy it would be to find a "U" for 1" pipe with exactly 3" between each side of the U (perhaps very easy, I just haven't checked). And depending on how the pipes are being connected, it might also require more effort to join these together than it would take to just bring some pipes to a muffler shop. That's my thinking, anyhow.
posted by washburn at 8:26 AM on June 6, 2007

Ah, great. pardon the odd question, but I was just wondering if there was anything I was missing... I hope the pipe-bend works out well! Do post an update...
posted by JMOZ at 9:14 AM on June 6, 2007