These metal cube shelves can make an attractive addition to any room, not to mention serving as a useful storage solution. The best part? Unlike other DIY projects that use metal, there’s absolutely no welding involved.
Directions
To begin, purchase steel rods like the below and cut to your desired shelf size. These are quarter-inch thick and five feet long, which are easily available at any hardware store. A reciprocating saw or circular saw with a metal-cutting blade will be effective, as will an angle grinder or a chop saw as featured here.
With the steel rods cut to size, it’s time to join them together. Holding two rods in position at a 90-degree angle can be achieved by simply putting a few bricks together to form a makeshift clamp. With the rods in position, meld them together using Bernzomatic brazing rods and the Bernzomatic TS8000 torch.
In order to work, these need to be heated to 1600 degrees. This can be achieved using the Bernzomatic Map Pro fuel. This will get extremely hot, so be sure to wear protective gloves and goggles while you’re working on this part of the project.
When your finished cube has cooled off, there will be a few rough spots around the joints. These can be smoothed off with a grinder. With that done, degrease your frames. Otherwise, the paint won’t stick to the metal. This is as easy as giving them a thorough clean with a good degreaser like rubbing alcohol or Acetone.
Once the frame has dried off, start the painting process with a coat of primer before finishing off by spraying with metal paint.
While the frames are drying, get to work on creating the boards that will set at the bottom of your shelves. Featured here is oak, but you can use whichever would you prefer and simply cut them to size.
Once done, sand to smooth out the edges. Treat your shelves with a coat or two of wood stain.
Lastly, hang your shelves using nylon clamps. Use quarter-inch thick clamps, the same thickness as the metal used. These will hug the frame of your cube shelf and can be screwed into the wall.