DIY Industrial Metal Mirror Hack

text by Vicki     Sign up to get Mother Daughter Projects updates in your email!

This post is sponsored by The Home Depot as a part of The Home Depot’s ProSpective Campaign.

DIY inspiration is everywhere! This DIY project takes its inspiration from a mirror we saw at a craft store. You might have seen when we shared it on our Instagram page.

​We liked the vintage/rustic industrial look and thought it would make a great project to DIY. Plus, we received a cordless band saw through The Home Depot ProSpective Tool Review program and we had been looking for a project that used metal so we could use it! This idea was perfect!

A post shared by Vicki & Steph (@motherdaughterprojects) on Aug 10, 2017 at 9:27am PDT

Materials:

• Mirror (upcycled from an old frame, check thrift stores)
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• (2) 2x6 8ft Boards
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• (4) Angle Zinc 48” 1/4x18ga
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• (10) Lag screws 1/4x 1 1/4 zinc
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• Rust-Oleum Oil Rubbed Bronze Spray Paint
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• Rust-Oleum Carbon Gray Stain (Home Depot)
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• DAP Rapid Fuse Glue (Home Depot)
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• French Cleat (Home Depot)
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• Wood Glue
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Tools:

• Makita 18v Compact Brushless Router (Home Depot)
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• Dewalt 20v Cordless Band Saw (Home Depot)
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• Milwaukee Framing Hammer (Home Depot)
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• Makita Xtract Vac Wet/Dry (Home Depot)
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• Husky Gimbal Palm Racket (Home Depot)
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• Kreg K4 Jig (Home Depot)
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• Milwaukee Cordless Brushless Miter Saw (Home Depot)
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• Logan Dual Driver Elite
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We cut the grooves where the mirror would sit before we assembled the frame. In retrospect, we should have probably routed after the frame was together! Steph handled the routing while I kept the dust collection hose up and out of the way. It was a team effort! The Makita Xtreme Vac kept the piece virtually sawdust free.

Product: Makita 18v Compact Brushless Router
Fav Feature: "The router fits really nicely in my hands and I feel in control when using the tool."- Steph
What else can I do with this: Because there are so many router bits available, this tool has great potential in DIY projects. With the right bit you can make a decorative edge, smooth edge, groove, or channel.

All the boards were cut to size with our miter saw.

The frame was assembled with pocket holes which Steph made with the Kreg Pocket jig. We attached the dust collection hose to the jig which helped keep the holes free of debris.

This was fun! We added distressing with the Milwaukee framing hammer by dragging it along the boards and hitting the boards randomly with the end which produced a cool pattern.

Using wood glue and screws we assembled the frame. That's a Kreg clamp in the picture above. It's really handy for keeping boards tight while screws are put into place.

Product: Milwaukee Milled Face Framing Hammer
Fav Feature: "Not only is this a great hammer for demo, it can also be used to give wood a distressed look!"- Steph
What else can I do with this: This is a great hammer for driving nails fast, it even has a magnetic tip to hold the nail in place.
Strength/ Age Test: "It's really nicely balanced, a little heavier than what I'm used to, but very manageable." - Vicki 

We really like this new Carbon Gray color stain by Rust-Oleum. I wiped it on with a t-shirt rag. I wanted it a little opaque so I didn't wipe it back off. I added two coats of stain and once dried, I very lightly distressed it with 220 grit sandpaper.

The angle iron was measured and marked and cut with this DeWalt Cordless Band Saw.

Product: DeWalt Cordless Band Saw
Fav Feature: "This cuts through metal with ease. The weight of the tool is all you need to make the cut, no extra force is needed."- Steph
What else can I do with this: It will cut through many metals, as well as pipe. If you want to build with iron pipe to get that industrial look, this tool will make quick work of the cuts you need. 
Strength/ Age Test: "Well, this one surprised me as I didn't think I'd have the strength to use it, but I used it with ease. I'm hooked. It was so much fun to use!" -Vicki

To get kind of a rusty, crusty look, I sprayed the angle iron with oil rubbed bronze spray paint. I tried really hard to get it to spit out of the can to get just the look I wanted.

The angle iron was glued into place with Dap Rapid Fuse. We also added some large hex bolts more for decoration rather than to keep the angle iron in place.

This tool does one thing, but it does its one thing really well. I actually bought this after I saw another blogger using one. I had a picture that wouldn't stay in the frame, so I got this to do the framing correctly. Those little metal pieces hold the mirror snuggly in place.

This is the original mirror we had in the space....

...and this is the new one!

This was so much fun to build. Now that we have a way to safely and efficiently cut metal, we see many more projects utilizing metal in our future!

What about you, do you like the industrial look or would you prefer the mirror without the metal? That's what is great about DIY--you can customize something the way you want it. 

Check out a few more tool reviews from fellow #THDProSpective members:

• Makita Router- Pro Tool Reviews
• DeWalt Band Saw- Tools in Action

We acknowledge that The Home Depot is partnering with us to participate in the The Home Depot ProSpective Campaign. As a part of the Program, we are receiving compensation in the form of products and services, for the purpose of promoting The Home Depot. All expressed opinions and experiences are our own word. Our post complies with the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines. 

FYI: We are not professionals, and we don’t claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first!

FYI: Affiliate links are being used on this page. Purchasing via these links help support MDP!

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