Welding table?

I was browsing the group but couldn´t find any link to a picture or drawning of a welding table. Any suggestions how to make one? A heavier table is in my mind, for making frames, doors, pipe constructions etc. What kind of clamps or fittings you use?

Jukkis

Reply to
JP Sipponen
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I have made several. The one I liked most was made out of 3" x 3'8 angle iron. It weighed a ton, and did not flex. First off, let me say that I have used mine primarily for the manufacture of ornamental metal, but a table can be used for most anything you can lift up there.

Having made several, I will share some things I learned ................

Check junkyards for materials. You can buy a lot of good heavy stuff there CHEAP. Some buffing and paint, and you are good to go.

I like a 4' x 10' table. It lets you build 10' sections of ornamental metal or longer. If you DO build a long table, use strong enough materials, or put a center support.

I use angle. I currently use 3/8 x 2, but at ten feet it has some flex, so when I finally put it where it is going, I will have to put a center support under the middle.

I put four parallel pieces on the long way. Space them so that you have one at the edge, one at 12", one at 30" and one along the other side. This lets you easily make ornamental metal of different heights.

Use long 5/8" or 3/4" carriage bolts and nuts at each corner on the bottom of the legs to make it able to be levelled. Vital to have a flat surface for making flat stuff.

Under the table, take some round rod or square tubing to make hangers for your clamps. Take some expanded metal to make shelves for your grinder, tape measures, squares, etc. If you will be using the same tools repeatedly, make the spaces to custom fit those pieces.

If you can, run electric to the table and put in an electrical plug box. Makes it infinitely easier than walking over cords all day. OR, put one overhead. Those reel thinguses are great for keeping cords under control.

I use ViseGrip 11R clamps. The ones without the moveable tabs on the ends. They are about $16 each, and I have a dozen. You will get others including longer ones, special ones, and the old C-clamps. You can usually pick up old C-clamps at yard sales for cheap, and a lot are the older ones that are very well made.

If you are going to make ornamental metal, get yourself a couple of twenty foot sticks of flat bar. You want 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 thick. Cut them 2,3, and 4 foot lengths. Weld a washer on one end to hang them. When making ornamental metal, you will lay them on the table to give you the right positioning for your spindles. (The vertical bars.) Makes every one spaced perfectly down the center of the rail. (The outside frame pieces.)

Note, these things are for an ornamental metal table. Some don't have the space, or want a smaller table. I like a large table because you NEVER know what you will drag in to be welded, and a large one will hold up big pieces better. Some people like a flat plate, but I personally don't like them because you can only clamp at the edge.

Whatever you build, take the electric wire brush to it, clean it up, and paint it with some GOOD enamel implement paint. It looks great, and makes working on things a lot cleaner.

So, just some pointers. Look at what you want to weld. The space available. The variables. Build your own. Adapt it. Add to it. Toss it. You will probably build more than one before you get through before you get the "perfect" one, and then you will probably change that one, too.

Good luck.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

I snagged mine at the plant salvage sale. 5'x5'x1/2" plate top, 3" I-beam frame, 4" pipe legs. Of course, it was nothing compared to the

4'x4' Acorn table my co-worker got, complete with a dozen or two fixtures and clamps. He paid $200.

Pete Keillor

Reply to
Peter T. Keillor III

My first ever welding project was to build a welding table based on the one located here:

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I made mine somewhat larger and heavier duty because it didn't need to be portable. The best thing about this design is the openings in the table top. They let me get clamps into the middle of the table top to hold odd shapes, such as mitered square tubing joints for example. One day I may weld a piece of plate in one corner of the table top to give me a flat surface to weld smaller items on, but as yet it hasn't been essential; I keep a 1" x 12" x 18" plate nearby that I can clamp down to serve that purpose.

Reply to
Artemia Salina

"JP Sipponen" wrote in news:Qh1wb.271$ snipped-for-privacy@reader1.news.jippii.net:

The one we have is: 2" channel for all support framework (legs, major support beams), with 1" square tubing for the actual table sub, and 3/16" sheet for the table surface. Cross beams of the channel are located between the legs so the table can be moved with a forktruck or pallet jack. For clamps, check out de-staco, or vice-grip. Off one side, there are 3 sets of rollers in a v shape, with roller clamps (all of this is homemade), for holding tubing. For a sketch of the roller v-clamp,

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(Second Model) You may need volvo view, but IE6 should view it.

Reply to
Anthony

The welding table I use the most is just a 30x30x1/2 inch steel plate welded to the top of an old DEC disc drive cabinet. I added a foot high backsplash which holds two 500 watt halogen work lights. The cabinet has wheels, so I can move the table out of the way when not using it. It also has a heavy 220/110 power strip/conditioner, which gives me a convenient place to plug in the halogen lights, angle grinders, etc.

As for clamps, I don't use many. Mostly I just tack pieces down to the table to hold them in place while welding. A quick pass with a grinder cleans up the table when I'm done. Sometimes I'll tack a vise down to the table when I need one to hold an odd piece.

Gary

Reply to
Gary Coffman

I also use a 30x30" piece of steel plate for welding. I have made some projects with it that I really feel good about. In use, it sits on a 55 gallon drum. Stored, it leans against a wall outside. Every year or so I knock off the loose rust and oil it with boiled linseed oil again. I haven't had to do that the last few years, it seems to have simply stopped rusting.

All that having been said, it isn't an optimal welding table. I really appreciate guys posting their designs. I have scrounged a really old big lathe faceplate. It's 37" in diameter and weighs at least 500 pounds. I scrounged a heavy new Timken bearing about 9" in diameter which I can use to make the table rotate. The faceplate has slots, so it would be easy to set up lugs in a circular pattern, or straight, or spiral, or whatever. I may wind up making this welding table or I might not.

Grant

Gary Coffman wrote:

Reply to
Grant Erwin

My goal was to have a portable work stand around the shop and made mine out of 2x2x1/4" angle iron for the structural pieces. The top is

3/8" x 6" bar stock that I welded to the angle iron. I aimed for a 32" tall table including 4" casters that can lock and are rated around 350 pounds each. If I recall, the top is 30" wide but 6' long. I left the last 2' open so I could move around clamps, have an open area to cut, etc. I then cut a piece of 3/4" plywood to sit down in the hole for when I just want to stand things there, plus it holds my firebrick collection. It's mounted such that the plywood is almost flush with the steel deck.. I tapped holes and mounted a 4" vise on one end to hold work. I painted everything with Rustoleum primer and Rustoleum black, except for the top. That I just wiped down with oil because it will get hot, be used for grounding, touched up with a grinder, etc.

I use Visegrip type clamps, tons of different C-clamps, special jigs, etc. That's why I made sure I had a lip of the 3/8" plate sticking out several inches all the way around. My first table didn't have enough places to clamp to.

If you opt to use casters, Enco has some really nice heavy duty casters. I have some nice 6" locking casters from them on my metal brake table and they are rated to 650 pounds each + have Zirk fittings for lubrication. On that bench, I used 4x4x3/8" stock and it's 8' wide plus about 30" deep. On that one, I had to factor in the leverage of using the brake and made the legs stick out as far as the table is tall - outriggers if you will. That stand is extremely solid and weighs in close to 400 pounds without the break. 650-700 with the break + another 75 for a big 6" vise with integral anvil.

Four lessons I've learned. First be careful you are keeping your desired angle. When you clamp near the bend in angle iron, it can take the piece in directions other than what you want. I may well notch my next table to compensate for the radius and make things simpler. Second, tack first because even long heavy stock can distort more than you think (or at least more than I thought). Three - measure throughout the process to validate the angles aren't shifting in you. Four, I've started using 3/8" x 6" bar stock to build up my table tops as the big sheets of plate are just way too heavy to move around (by yourself anyways).

I went to the L>I was browsing the group but couldn´t find any link to a picture or drawning

Reply to
George

Mine is not all that heavy but has served my purposes well. You could build it with heavier angle if you feel it necessary. I really like the open structure and movable cross pieces as that lets me clamp stuff in a great variety of ways. For those rare occasions when I want a flat top, I have a piece of steel I can lay and/or clamp on top.

C-clamps ranging from very small to huge, de-Staco clamps (from Boeing Surplus), vice-grips, anything that works. :-)

Ted

Reply to
Ted Edwards

I am in the process of making my welding table. I have assembled the materials and am in the process of machining and fabricating. The top is 3'x6'x1-1/2" steel plate. I had one side of the plate surface ground to make it absolutly flat. The legs are 2"x2"x1/4" tube steel. The legs will be bolted to the top in order to prevent any distortion that could have been caused by welding. It will be mounted on casters and have leveling jacks. The top will be drilled and tapped with

1/2"-13tpi holes on 6" centers. For hold downs I plan to use my milling machine clamping set. This set is designed using 1/2"-13tpi studs. I have the table drawn up on AutoCad and the parts in hand. Now I have to finish it.
Reply to
Ron Leap

Whoa - 1100 lb.!

!!!

That's a lot of drilling-and-tapping (55 by my count)!

Man oh man oh man, that is some friggin welding table. You win the welding-table contest.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

My welding table is a somewhat smaller chunk of steel plate (boeing surplus) that came already surface ground and pre-drilled with a similar grid of holes. (not threaded) The edges are also machined square and are handy for squaring up corners. Just clamp in-line with the table edges and weld.

After 8 years of grinding off spatter it's hard to tell it started out so pretty. If the holes were threaded they'd be a chore to keep clear. Works great though.

More recently I picked up a 2' x 5' piece of cold-finished 2" plate. Not surface ground, but no scale, almost as smooth. After it gets suitable legs it'll become a combination welding table / flat anvil.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Powell

I bought a welding table from a fab factory (belly up auction) a few years back that is 3/4" aluminum top. I've heard alum is a good welding surface and this one works great. Anyone know why they would use alum for a weld table?? Greg Sefton

Reply to
Bray Haven

conductive or spatter doesn't stick? doesn't weigh a ton?

Pete Keillor

Reply to
Peter T. Keillor III

Aluminum conducts current very well. Naturally it is intended for Tig / Mig / stick type welding A/O might be death to a table like that.

Martin

Reply to
Eastburn

One thing's for sure, you wouldn't want to be sitting on one side while letting some heat splash against it on the other end... aluminum being conductive and all... :)

Tim

-- "That's for the courts to decide." - Homer Simpson Website @

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Reply to
Tim Williams

Thank you very much you all! I have got lots of good ideas for a welding table and the clamps. I think I got to go first to a junkyard to get some materials. Here is one nice design more I have found..

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Jukkis Sipponen

Reply to
JP Sipponen

I recently picked up a 5'x5' acorn welding platen (

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from Pacific Industrial in Seattle. It is a surplus Boeing item and in really great shape. I'm really spoiled now! Jim

Reply to
Jim & Hils

Sorry - the correct link is:

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Reply to
Jim & Hils

On 26 Nov 2003 22:24:04 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (Bray Haven) wrote something ......and in reply I say!:

Conductive spatter won't stick _job_ won't stick (DAMHIKT)

I would not like to buy that table new!

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Imagine a _world_ where Nature's lights are obscured by man's. There would be nowhere to go. Or wait a while. Then you won't have to imagine.

Reply to
Old Nick

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