DIY Copper Pipe Desk

What’s not to love about copper? Katie from Upcycled Treasures loves DIYing with copper pipes, so when she got an idea for a copper pipe desk, she set aside concerns of cost and forged ahead. She knew that copper pipes were less sturdy than industrial black pipe for holding heavy weight like a thick wooden tabletop, so she chose a thin and light wood for the top of her desk. Read on to see how she did it. 

TOOLS & MATERIALS

– Jig
– Drill
– Ryobi Airstrike
– Belt sander
– Pipe cutter
– (2) 3/4 in x 10 ft copper pipe
– (6) 3/4 in copper tube cap
– (9) 3/4 in copper tee
– (5) 3/4 in copper male adapter
– (6) 3/4 in black malleable iron threaded floor flange
– Epoxy
– (5) 1 in x 6 in x 8 ft common board
– (3) Common 1×2 furring strip board
– (3) Pieces of wood for supports
– Wood glue

STEP 1

The first thing you will want to do when you get your pipe home is clean it up. Steel wool works great for getting the stickers off and you can use (high acetone) nail polish remover to get rid of the red or blue markings on it.

STEP 2

I had made a drawing of what I wanted the desk to look like (before I went and purchased my materials), then laid everything out on the ground and slowly started assembling the pieces. You could build your desk first and then go back and add the epoxy later once you know everything is perfect, but you may need help standing it up and secure while you put the other pieces in place. Once you add epoxy be sure to wait a good 30 minutes or so before moving it around so that it has time to set. I assembled one side, then the other and then attached both to the center last.

STEP 3

Once the base was built I starting working on the top of the desk. I didn’t want anything too heavy so I created a top using (5) 1 x 6 boards that were cut to 80″ long each. Make sure you pick out straight boards as that can really effect the outcome of your desk top.

STEP 4

I cut the boards and also cut 3 pieces of scrap wood to be 28.5″ long. These 3 pieces were to go underneath the table to create more support, and also so that I could screw the flanges into them.

STEP 5

I also cut some 1 x 2 fir strips so that I could frame the desk top with them. After everything was cut to size I used the Kreg Jig to attach the 1×6 pieces to one another.

STEP 6

Once the top was built I used our Ryobi Airstrike to attach the 3 wood supports to the bottom and also to attach the framed edges around the top.

STEP 7

I then sanded the whole thing down with a belt sander.

Looks great, Katie! If you liked this project, check out more DIY ideas at Upcycled Treasures.