It all started with this find on Craigslist. I had been checking trying to find one that had that look. You know the look. The one that says BUY ME. It was a smaller sized bike and the patina was gorgeous.
For a few months it sat in the backyard, it was very tempting to leave it there. Looked really cool next to the road sign.
However, I knew it would make a beautiful unique table. My first need was to figure out how to attach a top and support the bike. I looked at various ways to support it and keep it upright. There are several metal stands on amazon and Etsy that looked interesting. I just wanted something rustic. I had leftover industrial black pipe from a previous project.
Luckily the 1/2 tees fit perfectly over the wheel skewer end. Hmm. I think this might work.
On these old bikes I’m sure there is a lot of different sized skewer ends.
Supplies: 1/2 black pipe: (4) tees, (8) floor flanges,(4) 12 inch lenght of pipe, (4) 24 inch length of pipe
Goo Gone, gloves, paper towels, stain, sealer, 2 boards, sandpaper, screws and washers as needed.
Tools: Saw for cutting the boards. (Home Depot and Lowes have saws and will cut them for you). Drill for assembly. Sander would be helpful to keep hand sanding down to minimal.
Keep in mind that the length of pipe will vary according to the size of bike and height of table you want.
The boards are also going to vary with the bike. I cut mine to 12in and 50inches. I also went with a thinner board. I wanted it as streamlined as possible. We have a small place and I didn’t want much blocking the light. I also don’t have children and don’t foresee this table having to withstand abuse.
That being said it is sturdy. If I was using this for a counter I would gone thicker wood and might have added a couple more pipe supports.
First thing is cleaning. Bike was pretty dirty and the black pipes are kinda greasy. Soap and water and Goo Gone did the trick. My pipes also had tape on them and stickers. The Goo Gone worked great.
Next I used spray sealer to coat the bike. I picked satin sheen. It deepened the color/patina of the metal without making it look too shiny. Look for sharp edges. The seat on this bike had worn away and was just rusting metal. I cut and filed a little on it to make it more finger friendly. Salvage materials can often have rusty sharp edges. Stay current with the Tentaus shots. Be careful with what children are exposed to. I wouldn’t advise rusty metal objects and kids co-mingling.
Prep your boards. Sand down the rough edges. I bought stain ready lumber just so I wouldn’t have to do too much sanding. Apply stain. I did 2 coats. Dry. Apply wood sealer. I used can sealer for this and also did 2coats.
Let everything get good and dry. Assemble pipes. Floor flange, 12in pipe, tee, 24in pipe and another floor flange. That the order of the pipe I used. I put them all tightly together except for the top flange.
Position bike on wood and measure so it’s placed where you want it. It’s nice to have a helper for the next part. Someone to support the bike as you screw the floor flanges down. I secured one and placed bike skewer in the tee hole. Mined were a perfect fit. If loose you might use electrical tape and build it up so its snug. Then place tee over the other side of the wheel and screw down the floor flange to the board. So wheel is snug and trapped in pipes. Do other set of pipes on the front wheel. Now I put the upper floor flanges on and checked them with a level. I did have to loosen and tighten them differently to achieve level.
Pictures above. 1st one shows the wheel in the pipe and attached. 2nd picture is the same just a view looking down on it. 3rd pictures shows the top flanges that will attach to the underneath side of your board for the top.
Screw everything down. Make sure you don’t go thru the top.
Now you could be done. However I took it a step farther. I wanted to add a few details.
I didn’t replace the tires on the bike. Thought about it. But liked how it looked without and wondered if the new tires might be a little too new and smelly.
I wanted a light on the bike. I bought a beat up one on Ebay to match the age and patina of bicycle and a small stand of fairy lights. I went with fairy lights because I wanted a nice subtle light. Get battery operated with remote control. I believe the strand I got was 16ft. These are really small wires and led lights so they can compact pretty easy. Opened the light up took out a bulb routed the fairy lights in and shut the bike light. So I just had a small copper wire coming out of one side. There was already a hole in my light so I didn’t have to drill to route the wire. Plan on having to drill.
I then took some really strong mini magnets that I bought at Home depot and used those to secure the light to the bike. I could have drill into the bike and attached it. I wanted to preserve the bicycle as much as possible. Who know someone might want to restore it in the future. Next I tucked the battery pack up into the fender. Mine wedge in nicely. Might need some stick on velcro to keep it up in there. They do have some smaller battery packs. I choose the one that runs off of 3 AA. The reviews on the ones with smaller batteries complained about battery life. If you look closely at the first light picture you can see the mini magnets. The second picture shows the copper wire sneaking out of the light.
Next I wanted a smaller leather belt to strap on the books on the back fender. I found this in the boys section of Target. You might get lucky at a thrift store. I already had an old bicycle license plate. Once again I used mini magnets in lieu of drilling holes.
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