Making welding tables

Mine is 42" high. I do a lot of small stuff and it is a good height to work at standing or sitting on a tall stool. The height has been good for me. I have 2" x 1/4" angle at the bottom of the legs and 4" wheels under that. The wheels are fantastic in every shop I have had it in (5 since I built it 20 years ago). I have a column of 36" x 3" PVC tubes below the top, running front to back to store rod in. The top is 3/8" plate with the corners radiused at about 6" so it does not do a kidneyectomy on you if you back into it or cut the corner walking around it.

BobH

That makes a whole two people here who understand the folly of a 30" height for a welding table..... goodgawd.... Sheeit, kitchen counters/stove tops are 36" in height! Heh, mebbe Iggy is only 4' 8"??

Angle iron for legs is also a big help, can still weld pipe at the bottom for adjustability.

2" pipe for the whole leg is way too dorky.

Its not like they are completely gone...just...Covered Up.

Like my van. I believe I mentioned it was parked at a buddies machine shop for over a year after the stroke..and I went in one day to visit..he asked me for the keys so he could move it. Van? What van? Only van I knew about, Id given away a few months before. He looked at me a little funny, and walked me out into the back parking lot...and it was like someone had opened a stage curtain. I suddenly remembered I owned another van. I even remembered where Id hidden the keys. (rear bumper)

So I didn't really forget a lot (some) but a lot has been covered up. When I dug into my bullet molds last weekend..it was like Christmas all over again. Ive been bidding on molds for my 375 H&H and the .41 mag..and I already had molds for both. (2) for the .41 .

Hell..I found at least 9 molds I never remembered getting.

Its not been a real handicap..but it has caused me to trip once or twice.

Drill press?

Sigh

Shrug

Bullet molds

.25 Lyman 257312, 2 cavity, FNGC, 88gr (25-20/250-3000)

6.5 Lyman # 268645BV, 2 Cavity, GC, 152gr "High Speed" borerider, gas check

.270 Lee C-270-125-R GC

7mm RCBS 2 cavity, 145g Silloute .2775 nose Part # 55000 GC RCBS 2 Cavity, 168 FN, GC # 55000 RCBS 2 Cavity, 168 semi pointed, GC Part # 82018 Lee C285-130-R 90360

.30 Lyman # 308291. 1cavity, RNGC 170gr Ideal U311467, 1cavity, Lovern GC, 180gr Lyman 314299BV, 2 Cavity, GC, 180gr (308-Nagant) Lee 90366 1cavity 150gr CG FP

9mm Lyman 356402, 2 cavity, 120gr pointed

,357 Lyman # 358477, 4 cavity with handles. .360, 150gr RCBS 38-150-KT, Double cavity, 359, 150gr Modern-Bond # B - 358 - 742 with handles, .358, 160gr RN Lyman # 358432, 2 cavity, ,358 160g full wadcutter

LBT 360, 250 gr Spitzer Gas Check??

.323 Ideal 323471, 2 Cavity, GC, 215gr Semi pointed

.375 LBT .376, 240gr LFN Gas check???

.401 Lyman # 40143, 1 cavity, 180gr FP (38-44)

.410 Lee 410 195 SWC 1cavity Lee 410 195 SWC 2 Cavity

.429 RCBS 44-245 KT RCBS 440-R 2 cavity round ball

.452 Saco #130, 4 cavity with handles. .452, 185gr SWC Lyman # 452460 1 cavity, .454, 200gr SWC RCBS 45-201-KT (ACP) RCBS 45-255-KT (Long Colt) Lee 90489 HP, 225g Hollowpoint round nose 1 cavity

.457 Lyman # 457658DV 1cavity, .458, 500gr Sp Lee 457 340 F 340gr Flatpoint, no GC Lee .457 RB, 1 cavity Round Ball

50 Lee .90448 .490 RB, 2 cavity

54 Lee 54 caliber 380gr Maxiball/Conical

Gunner

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie

It probably makes some difference what kind of welding you are doing for how high you want the table. Pretty much all my welding is TIG welding. For me, I like to put my arm and hand down flat on the table for stability. For stick or MIG welding, the weld is happening a foot lower than your hand, so a lower table might be good.

The wheels are important to me because I can move the table around to deal with different jobs in the shop.

BobH

Why I like my hydraulic table. Just adjust it so you're comfortable.

Or make a 48" table, and supply a milk crate as an accessory.... lol

Just remember your weakest area is going to be where it can be side loaded or pressure applied from the side.

Steve

"BobH" wrote

It makes a huge difference in the type of welding you do. I like a 4 x 10' table because I do a lot of ornamental metal. It has four end to end pieces of angle, clamp hangers, a couple of shelves underneath made of shopping cart material where I can toss my grinder, and hand tools between uses. I have a piece of 4' square plate that cam be put on top when I want a flat surface. A floor mounted table is good if you are welding something really heavy. Having wheels is handy if you have to move things around. So, as mentioned by several contributors, one table does not do it all, and sometimes the good choice is to have more than one if you have the space. A specialty table can get you more work done.

Steve

You can always raise that table on 6x6s also.

i

More like 12x12s.... lol

Reminds of what I use as a coffee table/ small dining table. It is a very sculpted old barber chair base or similar and I have a 30mm thick marble top a bit over a metre in diameter on it. It will raise from about 17" to 26" and spin round and can be locked. I would expect it to make a nice welding table with a steel top and an extension to raise it a bit. I know a couple of antiques restorers that have similar bases to allow the pieces they're working on to be raised to a convenient height.

Are you selling these or just helping the guy out by advertising them?

Looks like a clever budget concept, I would say, not bad.

i

for more information regarding this topic visit:

Excellent vids, almost mesmerizing.... this guy can really weld, table/system is ossum, excellent tutorial value. If I were welding again, I'd watch every one of this guy's vids.

I suppose eventually, over time, those holes will get buggered, but it's nice that if any plate got really damaged, it's only one of a dozen pcs.

I'm figgerin that table is at least 36" tall. That whole system he got hadda be a few thou..... It also illustrates that you don't need one continuous surface for welding, that in fact a DIScontinuous (but flat) surface can have far more utility.

Thats a VERY nice table indeed. Though $3,300 plus shipping might be a bit much for most folks here. Then one has to add the tooling which is additional.......

So is this one

I didnt bother to look up pricing...its made in Germany......

Gunner

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie

Given that I built my own welding table I reckon that $3,000 is way too much money - I think mine might have cost me $100 plus part of a day's work.

Been using it about 5 years so far and it seems to be working pretty well.

"John B." wrote

I agree. Mine works pretty well, and it sure helps to know how to use the square, clamps, tape measures, and stuff that those expensive fancy tables do for you automatically. I'm kinda old school. Now, for making a Jessie James one off bike, I'd consider it for its accuracy. For making parts carts, I'll stick with my temporary weld on an angle iron jig stop, burn it off when yer done approach.

Steve

The StrongArm and other Pro Welding Tables with the slots and threaded holes for attaching fixturing are $2,000 - $3,000 for a basic table, then you spend another $2,000 minimum for all the special fixturing and clamps - and that's to get started, I can see dropping $10K on fixturing one piece at a time.

And woe to the first person that grabs your torch without thinking and makes a huge burn in the face in the face of your $3,000 table...

If you don't need to jig something up and get tenths tolerances or better, I'll go for the "Chunk of heavy plate and weld on your own legs" table any day.

If you don't go crazy you can tack down and burn off a lot of stuff before it starts affecting the flatness of the table, especially if you put some bracing across the bottom to hold it flat.

Now I just need to locate a 2' X 4' chunk of 3/8" plate around here for inexpensive. Oh, and a 3X3 chunk of bar grating and an empty open-top 55-gallon drum for plasma and flame cutting.

I have lots of old light posts - 3" OD x 1/8"- 3/32" - 1/16" wall (except at the bottom foot where they rusted off...) to make a set of heavy legs. And the cross bracing can be any old mild tube.

The tricky part is making one leg telescoping to adjust for an uneven floor, Trailer Jack, perhaps? And finding a set of swivel casters for it - the only things heavy enough would be for Dumpsters.

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