Sharp corner square steel tube?

Ststephen7

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Hi all,

I have learned so much from this site (and a few others), thank you all for participating and sharing your knowledge and experience.

I am in no way a machinist. I have a little 'metal shop' in my garage, consisting of a drill press, small plasma cutter, Miller 135 welder, and oxy/acetylene torch, an old Rockwell 6x48 belt sander, 4x6 bandsaw, and a Miller Econotig. I am a self taught welder, which, I think actually means I don't 'really' know how to weld.

I have made a bunch of things to put in an Etsy shop, and sell at Craft fairs, however... my pride and joy are the Mjolnir I've made. I hope I will be able to post some pictures.

Anyway, I have accepted an actual job, creating a replacement base for a 10' long (and very expensive) Florence Knoll Credenza. The man who owns it lives a few blocks away and met me at a local craft fair.

So far, taking my time, I have been able to reproduce all of the part of the base, except... the rails (I'm calling them rails) are 1" square tube (.062 wall) with SHARP CORNERS (no radius on the corners). I am not able to find this stock anywhere, and I was hoping someone here could help me out, so I can finish up my first commission and actually get paid. I need close to 30' of it, or 'only 30' for those of you who actually buy a lot of steel.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

Steve

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Hi Steve,

It's hard to know exactly how the material is being used, but would aluminum square tube work for your project?

You can get it with sharp internal and external corners.

Ill try to find some sources and post back.

-brino

EDIT: Here's a supplier in your state: https://www.bloomet.com/aluminum
 
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Thank you for these ideas!

I will suggest both to the owner. His credenza is apparently one of the more rare Florence Knoll credenzas (10' long and a marble top), and could fetch $8K to $12K, but only if it has either an original base, or one that is more or less undistinguishable from the original. All parts of the base will be chromed
 
Just a wild hair here ... but I do recall seeing chromed square steel tubing with more-or-less sharp corners. It was assembled by driving in corner castings (also chromed) at the 3-way corners to make cubical enclosures. The stuff I saw was about ¾" square, but larger sizes might well be available. Unfortunately, I have no idea where it was purchased. Decorative metal suppliers? Suppliers of store fixtures? Hope this helps.
 
https://www.shopjfi.com/steel
Always hate the sourcing more odd ball things, and at first it really does appear to be something very common. The store fixture idea is a good one, the bad of that is, if you are welding, than the chrome plating will be damaged at the corners and need to be chromed.

The main reason I responded, I did meet you briefly at a craft fair at asbury park, maybe in August, you don't see many hammers that size and weight. I really enjoyed your plasma work, very detailed, I will be borrowing the box letter/number idea for future projects.

I wish you luck and success with this project.:encourage:

Rich
 
Okay Steve, that's more useful info about the project/application.

Since it is for an antique refurbish/restoration, I can see why you'd want to stick to steel.
You and your customer will have to decide on balance of authenticity and cost.

So other places to search or search terms:
John mentioned "cubical"......Yes! I have seen those kind of tubes used for office partitions, so you might check office furniture suppliers.
Also, perhaps companies that build trade-show display booths, etc.....

Good Luck!
-brino
 
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