Welding Table: My first big project

[lynrob]

I finished building a welding table a while back and thought I might post some pics and see what you guys think. This was my first welding project of any size. I built it upside down and started with a 4'x6'x5/8" plate into which I had 5/8" inch slots cut by my metal supplier. I started by putting the plate upside down on 4x4s. Then I shimmed it up to get it as flat and level as possible. The frame, for the most part, is made from 2"x1/4" receiver tubing, the spreaders are 2"x1/4" stinger tubing. I elected not to put casters on it because my previous experience has been that tables with casters are never completely stable. Instead I put some extensions under the shelf so I could move it around with my pallet jack or the forks on my tractor if needed. I TIG'd 3/8" nuts onto the receiver tubing near the ends so that I could clamp my vise and other tools mounted on stinger tubes into the various positions around the table. I have 12 places where I can connect my vise.

I paid $1000 total for the material and have probably 30' of tubing of various sizes left over. I know that's a lot of money, but this will be the tool I will use more than any other in my shop so I thought I should go for it. I got the feet at a salvage yard for about $30. Overall I think it weighs about 1200 pounds. The height of the top is 42" above the floor which is working out well for me. I am just under 6' tall. If I was doing it over again, I would use a little heavier gauge of expanded metal on the shelf but other than that, I don't think I would change much. When the weather is better I will paint all but the top, then it should be good to go.

As I said, this is my first big project and I am hoping for some constructive criticism. I learned a lot from building it and I hope to learn even more from your comments. Thanks!

 

[lynrob]

I forgot to mention that the top weighs about 625 pounds and I shimmed and clamped it to get it as flat as I possibly could then tacked it to the frame in about 10 places using short welds of about 1" in length. I was really concerned about warping my nice flat table and that is why I used heavy tubing and only tacked it in place but in the end, it seems fine. Even though it's only tacked, I doubt if it will come off. Here are some more pics...

 

[mjncad]

I LIKE IT! :thumbsup:

 

[Shield Arc]

I gotta say, that is one of the nicest welding tables I've seen!


I always liked working with square tubing, one of the most reactive to heat materials you can work with. Square tubing can make a fool of you in a New York second if you're working to any kind of tolerances.

 

[Baby Grand]

Nicely done! I really like the thought you put into moving it. Looks like an elephant could sit on it without doing any damage.

 

[Army grunt]

Really great looking,That will go great in my shop,Ill paint it myself, when are you going to build your own?
Army Grunt

 

[ericher69]

Looks good! I take it your tube extensions are for a vise and such accessories?

How big is your shop?

 

[Bartcephus]

Outstanding Table.... Now you will have to battle the accumulation of projects that will sit on top and turn your table into a storage unit. :laughing: Every time I build a work table or welding table, seems like they get covered with so much crap, I end up having to work on the floor. :ashamed:

 

[rmully]

Outstanding Table.... Now you will have to battle the accumulation of projects that will sit on top and turn your table into a storage unit. :laughing: Every time I build a work table or welding table, seems like they get covered with so much crap, I end up having to work on the floor. :ashamed:

:laughing::laughing: Me too ...then it is too much work to move all the crap:confused2:

 

[lynrob]

Shield Arc, thanks for the kind words! I guess I was too dumb to know about problems with square tubing and tight tolerances. I was careful to tack on the long side then bend it back square prior to tacking the other sides. It seemed to work pretty well but it's not perfect, of course. Any tips for keeping things true? I will confess that, where I could, I moved the parts around to always be welding flat and horizontally. I haven't quite gotten the hang of running uphill and downhill. I mean, I can do it, the welds just look like crap so I tried to avoid it. Practice makes perfect, I guess. I've been trying to force myself to weld in other positions.

ericher69, yes the tube extensions are for my vise, notcher and other "accessories". My shop is a 48'x52', free span metal building. I just finished it last year and like Bartcephus' tables it is quickly becoming cluttered with all my treasures I don't want out in the weather.

Sorry, Army Grunt, I'm a retired Navy guy and well... you'll have to build your own.

Any thoughts about the top? So far I've just left the red-colored mill scale on but I am trying to decide if I should sand it down to bare metal. Then I might have rust issues. I am leery of putting anything on the top that might off gas when heated and end up making me sick.

 

[ericher69]

Was it expensive to get the slots cut?

How many did you get cut and why

Thx

 

[Shield Arc]

Any tips for keeping things true?

lynrob I'm fairly new to this welding fabrication ordeal. I only know two ways to deal with warpage. First is to pre bend before welding with shims, and clamps or heat shrink. Second way is after welding heat shrink the items.

 

[Bartcephus]

Mill scale ok if left on, but with constant use, and a good wire brush on a slower speed grinder, that top will stay rust free. Mine will get a little rust on it from time to time but if necessary I have an industrial buffer that I put a 4 inch wire cup on that cleans her right up.

Regards,
Bart

 

[weldermike]

I forgot to mention that the top weighs about 625 pounds and I shimmed and clamped it to get it as flat as I possibly could then tacked it to the frame in about 10 places using short welds of about 1" in length. I was really concerned about warping my nice flat table and that is why I used heavy tubing and only tacked it in place but in the end, it seems fine. Even though it's only tacked, I doubt if it will come off. Here are some more pics...

SWEEEEEEEET MAN! Cheers, to many years of good use! Really nice build!

 

[lynrob]

I think there are about 20 slot total, 10 on each side. My metal supplier already had the plate on his CNC plasma machine to cut it from a much larger piece. He cut the slots for an extra $90. I was pleasantly surprised about the neat, accurate job the plasma bot did, truly impressive.

I put the slots in to allow me to layout jigs on the top of the table much like a machinist might do on a mill. I wanted to be able to clamp down angle iron anywhere on the table then clamp work pieces to those. That way I could lay it out once then repeat the setup easily over and over.

I used this method to make some sheep handling panels recently. I'll post some pics that will illustrate this much better when I get a chance.

 

[Shield Arc]

Miller sells a welding table with slots in it too.

Miller - ArcStation

 

[lynrob]

Here is an action shot, MIG gun in hand! You can see the panel laid out on the table ready to be tacked. You can also see the pieces of angle clamped to the table (through the slots) which form the jig. I had my metal supplier plasma cut the "clamps" basically just a 1-1/2"x3/8" piece of T1 steel (so hopefully they will be harder to bend than mild steel) either 4" or 6" long with a 9/16" slot down the middle for the bolt and the corners at one end knocked off to allow access to tighter spots. I had about 30 "clamps" made and they seem to be working great!

In the picture I am using all of the vise grip clamps I had so I had to clamp as much as I could, then tack then move the clamps, and repeat. Since then I have purchased more vise grips so now the welding goes much faster. At first, I would just tack one side then flip the panel over and weld the other side, flip it back and complete the weld on the first side. Later, I discovered that I could weld the first side, flip it over and weld the second side without too much distortion. As the first welds cooled they would draw up the piece so it wasn't perfectly flat on the table any more, but I decided that for this use, it was acceptable. I guess I could have done as Shield Arc suggested and pre-positioned the pieces a little out of square so that as they cooled, they would be pulled in to square but I didn't think it was worth the extra time in this case.

I made 21 panels and have enough material left for about 30 more. I had my metal supplier pre-cut the thin wall (1/16") square tubing to length for me which saved me hundreds of cuts on the band saw and made things go much faster and probably more precise too.

I got the panels done just in time. I had them blasted and painted since my shop isn't heated and I needed them right away. Got them back and set them up and we had our first lambs the next day. They think they're in the Ritz-Carlton!!

 

[jake98]

That's a really nice table! :thumbsup:

 

[Johnbro]

That's a a great looking table only surpassed by that sheep panel! One thing for sure, no rams or ewes will be knocking them apart like they did to my cedar ones (oh well).

Cheers and good luck with the lambing (ours are all done now).

 

[Sublifer]

Love the table. Great looking welds too! Is it pretty stable? I ask because I notice you put levelers on all of your legs. I did that on a wood workbench and it made it really wobbly, of course that could have been the wood... In any case, all my future tables will have three regular feet then leveler feet for however many other legs are on the table.