Building a Shop / Weld Table

[chim]

The top on my table is 36x48 and the casters are 28" CTC, and it's 37" high. I did a mockup first with longer legs and shortened it to a comfortable-for-me 37". Quality of life has improved greatly with completion of the table. I've often complained that although I love working on projects, till now the welding was done on sawhorses with a piece of plywood or while crawling around on the blacktop.

It is easy to roll in and out of the garage, and there's about a 1" difference between the concrete and the blacktop. It isn't tippy at all, but it only rolls on the long dimension. I threw a 6' scraper blade on it for repairs and rotated the vise so the blade could rest on the table and stay upright. A project last week involved clamping a 5' piece of 4x6x3/8 galvanized angle in the vise.

The floor jacks are inboard of the casters. I used fixed casters on one end and swivel on the other. The table is easily maneuvered and with the floor jacks on the end with the swivel casters it stays put when I set the jacks. I figured if there were swivels on all four, the table would move sideways on the one end unless there were four jacks

 

[MOTractor]

Change #999 I am going to widen the top, and shorten the length - 36" x 48". 6 inches wider, 12 inches shorter. Well, unless I change back to 60 inches when I get ready to pay for it!

 

[Big Barn]

MOTractor I think that's a good plan and you will be happy with your decision.

 

[bigtiller]

I measured my leg width today, it is 29" to the outside of the tube. The table is 36 x 60 x .5 thick and is pretty stable. The plate on the bottom shelf is only 3/8 thick.

 

[MOTractor]

I measured my leg width today, it is 29" to the outside of the tube. The table is 36 x 60 x .5 thick and is pretty stable. The plate on the bottom shelf is only 3/8 thick.

View attachment 548792

Thank you for measuring!

 

[MOTractor]

No turning back now, I bought metal yesterday. I have gone full circle, the top I bought is 3/8 x 36 x 60 - that was my original size I also picked up 60 feet (6 @ 10') of 2" square tube 1/4" wall thickness and one 10 foot piece of flat bar 3/8 x 5".

I went ahead and put it on saw horses with a couple pieces of 2" square tubing under it. Figure I will use that to start building the framework.

The fun begins this weekend, I hope!

 

[webcrest]

It depends on what and how much you are welding .If you're doing flat welds that generate a lot of heat then you should have a steel top, even one of a modest size. I've seen 4 x 8 sheets of 1/4" steel, but even 40" x 40" or 36" x 36" may be enough if you're mostly doing smaller pieces, and thicker is better than thin, though if your table is too big or too thick, it can be a beast to move around the shop building, which can be a positive or a negative, depending on the situation.

 

[MOTractor]

I started cutting pieces for the frame this weekend. I cut the eight pieces I need to make the ends (short side) of the bench and the four long pieces that form the long sides. Cleaned up the ends where the abrasive saw cut them. I have the top plate on a couple saw horses with a couple 2" cross pieces under it for support. Oddly, did not plan it, but the saw horse rig is within 1/2" of the height I want the final table height to be. I like the 36" height.

I made a cutting station to cut the 8 pieces for the ends. Clamped a square to the table top and clamped the cut off saw to the table saw too - I was able to cut the 8 pieces exactly the same length. Just measure from the square to the right side of the blade.

I pretty much have everything I need now. I have the vise (Yost Vises FSV-5), floor locks, receiver tube and casters. I have a couple small projects to finish up, grapple dolly and a small shelf, but I should start welding in a couple days. This will make life a lot easier!

 

[MOTractor]

A couple questions:

About caster mounting, what is your preference, bolt or weld? If I weld, the top plate of the caster looks galvanized and if not galvanized, a very shiny coating. Do I grind this off before welding? If weld, do I weld entire outside, about 16" worth or a couple 1" long tacks on each side.

Same question about the nuts I plan on welding onto the receiver tube do I grind the coating off the edges I planning on welding to.

Edit: Weld the nut all around or just a couple good tacks, one on each side?

About the nuts welded to receiver tube: Is 1/2 sufficient or larger? Grade 5 or 8, does it matter?

Thanks!

 

[chim]

I prefer bolting the casters and floor locks. It's easier to replace them if needed. Plus, weld spatter can find its way into the openings and interfere with the smooth operation of the ball bearings. If you do weld the casters on, wrap something around the bearings to prevent that.

For cad plated nuts, chains, bolts etc. I don't worry about removing the thin plating. The MIG takes care of it. For heavily galvanized parts like angle iron or the square tube I used for the table legs, I grind till the plating is gone. When the grinder sends a decent stream of sparks, it's an indication you're down to the steel. You can also see the slight difference in color where the plating ends as you grind it back.

 

[Big Barn]

I prefer bolting the casters and floor locks. It's easier to replace them if needed. Plus, weld spatter can find its way into the openings and interfere with the smooth operation of the ball bearings. If you do weld the casters on, wrap something around the bearings to prevent that.

For cad plated nuts, chains, bolts etc. I don't worry about removing the thin plating. The MIG takes care of it. For heavily galvanized parts like angle iron or the square tube I used for the table legs, I grind till the plating is gone. When the grinder sends a decent stream of sparks, it's an indication you're down to the steel. You can also see the slight difference in color where the plating ends as you grind it back.

^^^ all good advice ^^^

1/2” bolts will probably be adequate for most applications. I mostly use 3/4”, occasionally 5/8”. Grade 5 is fine IMO.

 

[MOTractor]

Sounds like I will be bolting the casters and floor locks. Thanks for the advice Chim & Big Barn!

 

[Big Barn]

If you find bolting isn’t an option there’s nothing wrong with welding. Just plug weld the bolt holes to the mounting point. DONT weld around the perimeter.

You can easily drill out the plug welds if you need to remove the casters.

 

[MOTractor]

After a bunch of cutting pieces to length we had a couple weeks of life getting in the way. Weekend before last we started welding. I am going to break this up into 3 post so each post is not so pic heavy. Disclaimer: any welds you see that look good belong to my son, mine not so much, but I am learning! The square frame you see is one of the ends. It is 28 inches tall and 32 inches wide. Adding a 3/8 inch caster plate to the bottom, 7.5 of caster and a 3/8 top will put me right at 36 finished height. That will also leave a 2 overhang on all sides. I clamped short pieces of angle to the end pieces to alight and hold the 52 stretchers. The close up of the weld is my work yep, need more practice

 

[MOTractor]

This group of pics shows the frame coming together. That really pretty weld you see, yep itç—´ my sons. I started mocking up where I want the received hitches. I think I have decided on what you see there - the other end of the bench the "end" receiver will be diagonal to the one in the pic. The 4 cross members (braces) you see are for the top, the bottom will have the same. I like this project, it is making me think outside my normal "make it with wood box". Of course shop dog (Bella) is helping.

 

[MOTractor]

I admit it, I have an addiction... tools. I bought one of the fireball tool mini squares. Made clamping up corners easy. The more weight I added to the table, the more the saw horses would sway when you bumped it the hoist is my safety net.


More pics tonight of this weekends work.

 

[mike48130]

I admit it, I have an addiction... tools. I bought one of the fireball tool mini squares. Made clamping up corners easy. The more weight I added to the table, the more the saw horses would sway when you bumped it the hoist is my safety net.
View attachment 557113 View attachment 557114

More pics tonight of this weekends work.

Who sells the square? I've been looking for something like that. Table looks good too. I have the same addiction. We should start a support group.

 

[BukitCase]

Fireball Tool - Welding Squares for Clamping

 

[MOTractor]

Fireball Tool - Welding Squares for Clamping

Thank you!

When I bought mine a couple months ago there was a 10% discount for first time orders... I found the code on TBN in one of the forums. I will look for it.

 

[MOTractor]

I could not find the fireball tool discount code...

Last night we got the caster plates (5 x 5 x 3/8") welded on the bottom of the table. Then I cleaned up the ends of the receiver tubes for welding in the next couple days.

Next on the to do list: (1) Cut the end of the receiver tube to 45* to make inserting the 2 x 2 tube easier, (2) drill 9/16 holes in the receiver tubes and then (3) weld 1/2-13 nuts over them to clamp things in the receiver tubes.

I hope to have the table right side up this weekend!