Welding Table Build

[weldingisfun]

All fired up, getting ready to start a project I have been thinking and dreaming about doing for years. I am going to build a welding table and promise to carry you along, if interested, from start to finish.

My materials list consists of:
4'x8'x3/8" plate for the top;
3"x1/8" square tubing for the legs;
1-1/4"x1/8" square tubing for the spreaders;
2"x1/4" flat stock for stiffeners;
Titan Casters 3 in. Sintered Iron Plate Caster Swivels from TSC Titan Casters 3 in. Sintered Iron Plate Caster Swivel - 3520449 | Tractor Supply Company

I welcome any constructive criticism and suggestions from anyone. All I ask is that you not tell me my welds are amatuerish. I already know that.:ashamed:

The attached drawing shows the concept.

I already have the plate and casters, the rest of the steel has been ordered.

 

[Runner]

Looks like a good plan. You might consider adding shelves. I have two shelves under mine and they get lots of use. Also might want to think about adding some levellers if your floor is a little uneven (like mine....).

Oh, and if you're going to paint it, you might want to do so before you put the top on.

Best of luck, looking forward to the pics.

 

[Scooby074]

shelves and levelers are a good suggestion.

3/4 or larger bolts and a nut welded to a pipe then to the frame will work for a leveler. This comes in real handy when trying to build things "square".

I probably would have went a hair thicker on the top, but it should work for you.

you should have castors with brakes ( or install a stand alone table lock) if you want to use the table as a work bench.

expanded metal makes a good shelf if you put one in. Plywood burns (ask me how i know )

another idea is to add a cutting area with an inset grate, and a box under it to catch slag. This is more advanced but will give you a place to make cuts with a torch. You can add this later but it would be more work.

you might consider adding square tubing receivers under the edge of the top on the corners. This will give you a place to add "attachments" like a vise, but remove them when you need the space.

Also ensure that you have ~6" around the perimiter of the top to enable you to clamp things for welding. If the frame is too close to the edge it makes clamping harder.

 

[LD1]

I probably would have went a hair thicker on the top, but it should work for you.

I agree. 3/8" isnt very stout given the distance you are spanning. It may make some noise when doing some heavy hammering on it or it will likely bow a little bit if you place something heavy in the middle.

I'd suggest a few cross supports to keep the span down. Something like three 2" x 2" angle Iron supports every few feet spanning the 4' direction.

 

[gauthier]

Yeah,1/2 inch would be a better choice,,5-6 ft would probably be better even with 1/2 inch,unless you are putting legs in middle.But,,who knows,won't know till you got it made,I got one about 4 ft by 5 ft top out of 1/2 inch,,8ft out of 3/8,,don't know...

 

[Scooby074]

I agree. 3/8" isnt very stout given the distance you are spanning. It may make some noise when doing some heavy hammering on it or it will likely bow a little bit if you place something heavy in the middle.

I'd suggest a few cross supports to keep the span down. Something like three 2" x 2" angle Iron supports every few feet spanning the 4' direction.

+1 on this. Stiffen the top. Duplicate this on the bottom frame if you want to use expanded metal mesh for shelf. Install shelf frame perimiter with the open part of the angle towards the centre so that one leg acts as a lip to keep stuff on the shelf. The cross pieces will obviously be installed with one leg laid horizontal.

 

[CharlieTR]

When I bought my first house I built a work bench 4X8 ft. Could not reach the back part with out taking a run and jump. Of course mine had one side against the wall. After some time I cut it down to 3 foot deep and life was good. Still my main bench now. :thumbsup:

May want to think about getting a stronger wheel or add two more wheels.

Cheers!

 

[crazyal]

Are you planning on using the casters to make this table roll around? I would think that at 300lbs each they may be too small. If so I would find a way to make it so you can lift them up once in place. If you do need to hammer on something you really don't want to table rolling away or to be putting that much force on them.

 

[sjames]

I think your casters would be fine for your table as described. I have about a 3x5 table with a 3/4" top that has those exact same casters, it rolls around easily. Table weighs about 700lbs loaded with clamps/grinders and the other misc stuff i have in the drawers.

I used 2" square tubing for the legs and top stretchers, 2x2 angle for the bottom stretchers with expanded metal welded to the underside of the angle.

I put some 1" allthread off the legs to drive down onto the floor if i need the table to not move, or be level. But at the weight that it is, the table has a fair amount of inertia, so it does not roll around under normal use.

But of course, I dont think you will be happy with a 3/8" top at that size. I think the minimum top thickness for that size table would be 5/8". If you move to a 5/8" top, the casters may be undersized.

 

[smfcpacfp]

When I bought my first house I built a work bench 4X8 ft. Could not reach the back part with out taking a run and jump. Of course mine had one side against the wall. After some time I cut it down to 3 foot deep and life was good. Still my main bench now. :thumbsup:

May want to think about getting a stronger wheel or add two more wheels.

Cheers!

This was my thinking also. If the table will be against the wall then you shouldn't make it any wider than you can reach. This is a very big welding table that will weight a lot. I wonder why you want it so big? If you are going to be welding long stuff you could use a saw horse to support an end and have a smaller table. If I were going to make a table this big, I would have a grate with a catch basin on part of the top for cutting with a torch or plasma cutter and make the rest of it solid.

 

[Dargo]

I built my table similar but did use 1/2" for the top. If you don't use some angle about every 16" or so under the top it will not only sag, but will bounce like crazy when you're hammering things on the top. I used 3"X3" angle every 16" under the top, going from front to back, and I can pound away with a 8 pound sledge with no spring from the table.

 

[weldingisfun]

Good comments, all. :thumbsup: Thanks.
Well, the top will be made with what I have. It was available and for the right price. Would have liked it to be thicker, but $$ were a major factor. I will add more stiffeners as several of you have suggested.
The reason for the size is because I build a lot of livestock panels, gates and other long things. The table will sit in the middle of my workarea so I will be able to get to the work from all sides.
My welding table for the past couple of years has been a 2.5'X5.5'X3/4", plywood, folding work table with a 20"X36"X1/4" piece of diamond plate set on top for the welding area. Believe me what I am about to build will be like moving from a tricycle to a Mahindra 8560.
The casters will allow me to move the table out of the way when it is not needed. When finished, the table will weigh around 650 to 700 lbs. The casters are rated at 300 lbs. I figured with four casters supporting the total weight, they should each be loaded with 225 lbs max.
I will be adding a leveller/brake at each leg made from a piece of heavy angle and 3/4"X6" bolts. Will try to post a picture of a mockup today for you to check out.
Still waiting on the metal for the frame so have been working on the small stuff.
Thanks again for all the pointers and keep 'em comin'.

 

[weldingisfun]

This is a picture of a mock-up for the table leg (A) with the caster (D) and leveller/brake (B & C).
(B) is made of 3"x2"x1/4" angle with the 3/4" nut welded to it. The bolt (C) is 3/4"x6" and will be turned up or down to contact the floor to either level the table or to serve as a brake.
The mock-up is being held together with clamps and a vise.

 

[weldingisfun]

As suggested by a couple of you, I will add stiffeners as shown in the pic spaced 16" apart. The stiffeners will be made of 2"x1/4" flat stock.

 

[sjames]

your leveling system looks almost identical to what I did.

I assume you are going to orient the stiffeners vertically, i don't think they would be very effective otherwise. I also might be tempted to install them in an X pattern, but would likely change my mind as it would be overkill.

 

[Scooby074]

As suggested by a couple of you, I will add stiffeners as shown in the pic spaced 16" apart. The stiffeners will be made of 2"x1/4" flat stock.

looking better but use angle for your stiffeners flat across that span will be essentially useless.

Edit: 2" stood on edge will be ok, but id still prefer angle if i was building it

 

[weldingisfun]

Scooby074 and Sjames, yes, the plan is to weld the 2"x1/4" flatstock stiffeners on edge. I figure, doing it that way (l) will be just as effective as using angle. Effective for stiffness as well as $$.
Thanks for pointing that out.

SJames, all I can say about the leveling system is, "Great minds think alike.":thumbsup:

 

[dts1449]

I envy the space you must have for a work area, I would love to build a table that size to work on and have room to walk around it, but my space is limited and any flat surface I once had seems to be two layers deep with 都tuff. I think another out building is in order. (or maybe a dumpster, lol)

In my future project plans I had come up with a few ideas on what I might do for a leveling system on such a table. I've attached some sketches I drew up. (with Google Sketchup) I thought they may be something that you might find useful. The idea is similar to your own but instead of using an angle to suspend the leveler from I use a steel coupler. I had found couplers at a local hardware store in a 6 length for another project. 6 inches will help distribute the load up the leg of the table. I might be able to cut them in half but will probably leave them 6? My idea was to have more threads to distribute the weight of the table. A 3/4 nut is about 3/4 tall which is a small area for load. I plan on using a grade 5 all thread and weld a nut to one end. By having the steel coupler stand away from the leg a little I will be able to get to the adjuster from the top. I could see myself using an impact with an extension and a 填 joint for leveling.

To make sure the caster has room to make a complete circle I'm going to cap the bottom of the leg with a piece of 1/4 plate. The plate will extend beyond one edge of the leg and have at least one gusset for added support. I think I'll be able to keep most of the caster under the leg which should help carry the load better.

I'm enjoying your project and it is helping me see mine in the future. Thanks for sharing. -Dave

 

[lostcause]

I envy the space you must have for a work area, I would love to build a table that size to work on and have room to walk around it, but my space is limited and any flat surface I once had seems to be two layers deep with 都tuff. I think another out building is in order. (or maybe a dumpster, lol)

In my future project plans I had come up with a few ideas on what I might do for a leveling system on such a table. I've attached some sketches I drew up. (with Google Sketchup) I thought they may be something that you might find useful. The idea is similar to your own but instead of using an angle to suspend the leveler from I use a steel coupler. I had found couplers at a local hardware store in a 6 length for another project. 6 inches will help distribute the load up the leg of the table. I might be able to cut them in half but will probably leave them 6? My idea was to have more threads to distribute the weight of the table. A 3/4 nut is about 3/4 tall which is a small area for load. I plan on using a grade 5 all thread and weld a nut to one end. By having the steel coupler stand away from the leg a little I will be able to get to the adjuster from the top. I could see myself using an impact with an extension and a 填 joint for leveling.

To make sure the caster has room to make a complete circle I'm going to cap the bottom of the leg with a piece of 1/4 plate. The plate will extend beyond one edge of the leg and have at least one gusset for added support. I think I'll be able to keep most of the caster under the leg which should help carry the load better.

I'm enjoying your project and it is helping me see mine in the future. Thanks for sharing. -Dave

i like the looks of that setup a little better. i'm sure the angle with the bolt will also work fine, but i wouldn't be surprised to see it a little springy at times, and maybe even bend a little over time. just your table top weighs 500lbs, and with all the support pieces you must be coming in at around 1000lbs for the table (i'm too lazy to add it all up). then put a several hundred pound metal project up on the table and you're getting into some real weight being supported by those legs. like i said before, i'm sure it will work fine as the original poster envisioned it. maybe i'm just a little fussy. at the lest i'd probably put a small stiffener in the angle near where the nut is welded to it.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Last year I made a similar table for a friend of mine. His top was half inch and he had plenty of shop space so there was no need for the casters. He also has a forklift so moving it if needed isn't an issue.

One of the things I did was use quarter by two bar stock as a skirt around the perimeter underneath. I also rounded off the corners. Between the bulk of the bar stock and the arc of the corner there is minimum opportunity to damage a body when they contact it.

I also put receiver hitches on the corners and in the middle. This is because he liked my idea of having benders and such on hitch inserts.

Our one conflict on the table was I am a believer that a welding table is made to be welded on/to. He didn't like the idea of grind marks on his table. To each his own.

The beauty of such a table for fabrication is you can use angle iron to build the jig for a project. Weld the angle iron onto the table so that the pressure is against the weld but when you're done you can grab the angle iron and break the back of the weld to remove the angle. Then you just have to grind down the part of the weld left over on the table.

One of the advantages of the receiver hitch concept is you can have a project laid out on the table and attach a vise or bender without bothering the current project. It also allows for the table to be clear of any obstructions if your project is as big or bigger than the table.

What would be grate would be a quick attach grate for using the plasma or torch. Another reason for the receiver hitch concept to be used.

Keep the pictures coming. This is going to be a great project.