It's been awhile since I have fabricated something out of metal and after thinking of what I could build, I decided to build a picnic table that would hopefully last for 25+ years with almost zero maintenance other than paint. I'm not an engineer but here is what I came up with. This is also my first thread posting pics so forgive me if there are issues.

I thought long about kind of style picnic table I wanted to build and decided on the A-frame style since it's a classic design and the fact I've never seen a metal one in person. I only had this picture to go off of.


The first step was deciding what welder I wanted to get. I didn't want to get a full mig set up since I don't really have the room for everything in my garage at the moment and don't have a 240v plug anywhere either. If I'm going to spend the money on a mig machine I want it to be 240v. After lots of research I decided to take a chance on the Harbor Freight Titanium 125 flux core welder. I bought it on sale for $130 and let me tell you, I'm blown away at how well this little welder preforms. Now it's no Miller 211 or 252 by any means but for the price, I'm amazed at how well it welds the 1/8in. I've even welded 1/2in with it at work on a non structural piece of a pit grate and it is still holding up after being runover by 100s of loaded trucks this wheat harvest.

Next, I hand drew some plans and had my wife (who has an engineering degree) transfer them into auto cad for me so I could get the angles exactly how I wanted them and could make a cut list. I forgot to take a picture of them but I'll post it below here once I do. The top of the table is 8x3ft.

The next step was deciding what metal to use. I decided to use 1/8in 2x2 square and 1/8in 2x4 rectangular tubing for the main frame pieces since it is stout and stout is what I'm going for with this table. I bought pre primed metal from the local metal mart since I don't want this table to rust. I also got some 1/8in 1X1 angle iron for the seat supports and 1/8in 2in strap to cap the ends of the 2x4s.

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Top frame of table.

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First set of legs welded on.

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All legs welded on and first time it looks like a table.

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Lower portion of the frame where seats go welded together.

Now it was time for me to decide what I wanted to do for the wood part of the table. I don't know anything about woodworking so this was the toughest part for me. At first I just went to the hardware store and got some pine and figured I would try to stain and seal it as best as possible.

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Table with pine on it.

After some thought I decided to go with composite decking rather than using wood. The composite decking I'm going to use has a 25 year warranty on it for fading and warping and that fulfills my needs to make this table last. I haven't ordered any yet because I have a wedding venue/bar out by the Palo Duro Canyon who is interested in ordering tables from me and I want them to have a choice on what color they want to go with. I plan on using TEKS wood to metal screws to attach them to the table.

For paint I followed after Henry Ford and went with black since I think it's the best looking and you can't go wrong with black. I used Sher-Kem finishing enamel for the paint since it is made to be put on heavy equipment and tractors from the factory. I will say that I think I might of messed up here a little bit since it's supposed to be direct to metal and I'm putting it on metal that is already primed but you live and you learn I guess. My Mom and I painted her front gate with this stuff on top of primer almost 7 years ago now and it still looks as good as the day we put it on so I think I'm okay. There's some parts where the enamel ran that I need to clean up and sand down but overall for my first table I'm pretty happy with how it's coming out so far.
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I'm meeting with the owners of that venue this weekend and during that time I'll nail down the price with them and what color they want for the composite decking along with how many tables they want. They are tired of buying tables and them looking like crap and warping after a few months of being in the sun. If they go with my tables I'm going to tell them that if any of them break or need to be freshened up anytime in the next few years I will fix them free of charge.

Let me know if you guys have any ideas or input on how I can improve my tables.

Nice clean work!

The sag on composite decking is much more than wood, especially when it gets hot in the sun. So I might consider some cross beam support in the seat and possible in table.

If it is for a venue, I would over build it. There is always someone who decides to stand on the table or at least the seat and you don't want a failure.

Also note composite gets a lot warmer than wood in the sun to touch.

Also might consider some with more over hang at one end. Often see grandpa in a wheel chair or whatever those walkers with a seat are called who have to be parked at the end since they can't climb over the bench.

looks nice........whats the weight on that bad boy?

Thank you!

I'm trying to overbuild the table as much as possible and that is why I went with 1/8in metal. On the next table, I'm going to put more supports across the top frame to account for the extra sag in the composite decking. I'll also add two more to each side on the seat area. With this being the first table I'm going to leave it as is and see how it does. If it starts breaking I'll bring it back and weld in more supports.

The composite decking getting warm is my only concern about using it. I know they make a kind that stays cooler but you can only get it through certified installers and it just seems like it would be a hassle/extremely expensive to get. Most of the areas the tables will be in are shaded so that will help but on the ones that aren't might just have to deal with getting hot.

I like the Idea of an overhang for handicapped people. I might just build the frame 2ft shorter on a few of them so that way there is an overhang. I could also build one without the bench on one side so they can just roll up right underneath the table. I can put some swingout chars attached to the legs on that side so somebody can sit there and help them if the need arises as well.

Around 240lbs before the decking.

Very nice

Maybe paint the metal maroon next time !

This is how you OB. Build thread. Or, in my case, bash my knuckles, cut my hand, #%*#* thread.

If anybody wants a maroon one or one in any color I can build them one. I can also do different colors for the decking if somebody want's that. Something like a maroon table with grey decking or a white table with maroon decking would be cool and fun to build.

There was some of that with this one as well. Hey Dudes aren't really the best shoes to weld as the burn on the top of my foot shows.

Maybe the Trek type material has gotten better, but my only concern is none of it seems structural and have the ability to be rigid (hold its form on it's own). I would think it would bow and bend under any weight.

Were you able to find some that was rigid like real wood?

It's still not as rigid as actual wood but the pieces I'm using are only 8ft long and they seem to be rigid enough on their own to work on this table. The 20ft sections they had on the rack at lowes were really wavy but that's why on composite decking I think you are supposed to do 12in centers. On the future tables I build, I'm going to put another support across the top frame and put more on the seat frame in order to give the composite more support.

Very nice work. When you figure out the approximate pricing for the steel frame, let us know...

Pricing is still something I'm trying to nail down but if somebody from TexAgs wanted to buy just an unpainted bare frame from me, from the hip, I'd say $800. That's pretty much just materials and labor with no margin.

My problem is, I really don't know what people are willing to spend on a picnic table like this since I can't find any others like it. The only other metal picnic tables I see for sale are your industrial looking ones for public parks. Uline sells a metal framed one made out of tubing with a composite deck for $920 but it's only a 6ft and looks pretty industrial as well The venue I'm talking to has the Uline ones but with a wood top and they already look like crap after 6 months.

StockHorseAg said:

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The composite decking getting warm is my only concern about using it. I know they make a kind that stays cooler but you can only get it through certified installers and it just seems like it would be a hassle/extremely expensive to get. Most of the areas the tables will be in are shaded so that will help but on the ones that aren't might just have to deal with getting hot.

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Trex transcend lineage is the cooling kind. Not hard at all to get, it's at Lowe's. (I think 8s and 12s')
They have 'transcend' as well, it has to be labeled 'lineage', so pay attention to that.
I got samples of all of them.. the non cooling gets reeeeally hot. The cooling kind, still hot.

https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=trex+transcend+lineage

It's ~$7.50/lf. (the cheapest trex, enhance is ~$2.75/lf, and a few levels in between).
So that's adding over $600 to the table.

A typical deck needs support @ 12" o.c. 16" oc will absolutely sag.

I am in the middle of building a deck so have done a ton of research.

I didn't realize that the lineage line is the cooling kind. Thank you for letting me know.

If somebody does want to pay the extra to have the lineage then they can. It's also warrantied to 50yrs so that's a plus.

StockHorseAg said:

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I didn't realize that the lineage line is the cooling kind. Thank you for letting me know.

If somebody does want to pay the extra to have the lineage then they can. It's also warrantied to 50yrs so that's a plus.

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yep.
They just recently (like, last month) released an even higher line, Trex Signature.. it came out after I did my research back in May. I think it's focusing on a super realistic wood look. Not even sure if it has the cooling.


https://www.trex.com/products/decking/

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Trex Transcend Lineage

The award-winning next generation of design and performance, featuring heat-mitigating technology for our coolest decking yet.* Available in five on-trend, tranquil colors. Backed by a 50-Year Limited Residential Warranty.

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For the price of the higher end Trex you might as well use an ipe or similar. No finishing required, unless you want to, and only upkeep is letting it silver and hitting it with a sander every few years.

Here's a link to my latest fabrication project on the home improvement board if y'all want to see another project of mine.

Stair railing

Great project. Well done.

And nice Pondeseta sticker on the beer fridge. They make some good stuff.