When a piece of furniture breaks and you can't buy the part, the answer is often to have it made. A client had a bench whose legs had broken, and a replacement set wasn't something you could just order. So I made one.
Copying the Original
I did the measuring while I was away on a trip out of state. I photographed the original legs and wrote down every measurement I needed, and that was all I had to work from. When I got home, I built the new set from those photos and notes.
Building the New Set
The replacement legs are welded from 3/16" steel tubing. Each one was cut, fit and welded into a closed frame, with mounting plates and drilled holes to match the original.
Shaping the Steel
My favorite part of this build is what happens once the welds are done. When everything comes together and the seams are hidden, a flap wheel lets you shape the metal almost like a clay pot. The frames keep their hard edges, and the corners get softened. That mix of crisp lines and rounded corners is what makes a plain steel leg look finished.
Primed and Painted
Bare steel rusts, so both legs were primed and painted before delivery. The finished pair is shown at the top of this page.