Vintage metal cabinet created from simple IKEA chest

I had the desire to create a unique product in steel. My product of choice was the MALM chest of 2 drawers. I wanted to make it look like a vintage metal cabinet, with a hint of old New York style.

Final result of my vintage metal cabinet

The project is not an easy one — the bending and cutting of the iron plates requires some practice. But it can be done in about 5-6 hours, however, spread over several days, as lacquer and glue must harden.

IKEA items used:

MALM chest of 2 drawers

MALM chest of 2 drawers | IKEA.com

Other materials and tools:

Steel 1,0 mm sheets
Glue

DIY vintage metal cabinet – the process:

First, I assembled the MALM chest of drawers.

Metal sheets in 1mm is cut to measure

Then, I got the metal sheets cut with an angle grinder (or with fibre laser if you have it). I had this done at a workshop.

All the plates were then coated in a special liquid to age it and accelerate the dark oxidisation effect.

The metal plates being bent into shape

Next, all plates were curved on a bending machine. This can also be done without a CNC machine if you do not have access to a workshop.

All corners are welded

After that was done, I welded every corner and glued all the plates to the IKEA MALM chest.

It’s starting to look a lot like a vintage metal cabinet.

Side plates are glued on with mounting glue

The cabinet is test assembled before spraying on clear lacquer

Finally, I sprayed all surfaces with 2 to 3 layers of Clearcoat.

vintage metal cabinet IKEA Hack

And it’s done!

vintage metal cabinet IKEA Hack

What to pay special attention to?

The light emitted from welding can cause damage to the eyes. So always wear a welding helmet like those of professional blacksmiths.

My friends love it and the one comment I get is, “Can you make one for me?”

See more of the vintage metal cabinet hack on my blog.

~ by Andreas

The post Vintage metal cabinet created from simple IKEA chest appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

Comments

SKÅDIS: 5 ways to make the IKEA pegboard even better

IKEA introduced its own pegboard system, SKÅDIS, two years ago and I’d say it’s one of the best systems IKEA launched in recent years. I love how super customisable it is, with a growing range of accessories that help keep things organized. It works everywhere, in your wardrobe to bathroom . Probably anywhere you have a flat surface to hang it up. Photo: IKEA.com SKÅDIS pegboard system See it on IKEA.com But no matter how perfect a system, you can trust IKEA hackers to improve on the SKÅDIS. And they’ve settle these 5 issues you may have faced with the handy IKEA pegboard. Read on for their fixes. 5 IKEA SKÅDIS issues and fixes #1 Expensive hooks? You’ll need quite a number of hooks and accessories to fill up the SKÅDIS pegboard, and Kenyer was shocked at how quickly they all added up. So he figured he could make his own hooks to save cost. Photo: Kenyer Over at Instructables , he shows us how to twist copper wires into the SKÅDIS hook shape. It works s...

A beautiful design idea for the IVAR cabinet with doors

A wall of IVAR cabinets with doors engraved is astonishingly captivating. Because IVAR is real solid wood (unlike a lot of flat-pack cupboards), it makes a great blank canvas for CNC machining work and engraving. IKEA items used: IKEA IVAR cabinets in 30mm (12″) and 50mm (20″) depths. IVAR cabinet | IKEA.com Other materials and tools: CNC Router How to engrave the IVAR cabinet with doors: Build a wall of IVAR cabinets to your preference. It’s not too difficult to shorten some in order to fill a wall exactly. I shortened the top row to 695mm and reduced the depth of the middle column to 40mm to create a 50/40/30 sequence so that I didn’t block the window but maximised storage capacity. Take a drawing, trace it in Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator into a black-only flat design. You can simplify the path at this point to reduce the time needed to engrave. Chop up the drawing in Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator into door-sized sections. Save as an SVG. Import the ...

Hackers Help: How to remake cam lock holes?

I want to put a 78.5” wide PAX configuration in a 77” space for a kids room . My plan is to eliminate the drawer on the right unit, then cut the shelves and rails to be 1.5” narrower. My question is, how do people attach two laminated pressboard IKEA pieces after they’ve cut off the cam lock holes? Related: See more Hackers Help questions and answers . Are they using drills bits and/or tiny hole saws to remake the cam lock holes? Or screws drilled in from the outside with wood glue? The outside pieces won’t be visible in my completed setup so I could go either way. I’m curious what other people are doing, either I haven’t seen this detail in past hacks or I haven’t been paying attention. ~ by Jenny *** Hi Jenny The best and tidiest method is to use the cut-off portion as a template to reproduce the same cam lock holes in the correct positions. The right sized drill bits and a Forstner bit should do the trick. A Forstner bit will drill a flat-bottomed hole (...

Martin Cooper

Search This Blog