My first welding table.

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Hello there  new here to this forum just wanting some advice on my first welding table. What is the best size to make the table top. I already have the top of a 8x4 sheet of steel but was wondering if it's too big for my needs :/ although I am hoping to be making gates and such on the table which is why I was planning on the large size and so I'll be never be able to out grow the time. Thanks for any help
Reply:No-one ever wishes they had a smaller table.Built it 4x8"What size sheet do you have?
Reply:The sheet I have is 8 foot x 4 foot and 1/4 " thick got it for basically all I can afford :/ I suppose there's no harm having one the size of the sheet. And I'm coming from a 6x2  table which was way to small!
Reply:We had a very large table at work (on the order of ~20' long), and it was a real PITA.  I had to regularly walk around it, as vices were bolted to the ground on one side of the table, and torches were on the other.  I eventually convinced the owner to let me cut it down to a more manageable length (I forget now - maybe 12or 14'?), and it made a huge difference - way better.  In that shop, you are constantly walking around as everything is bolted down.  I think people spend about half their time just getting to the tool they need.My current philosophy about work benches is this - they CAN be too big, but they are often too small.  The best system is one that can change size, and this is easily done if instead of one work bench, you make two.  If you build them with leveling casters, you can push them together, arrange them in an "L" shape, spread them apart for support of large items, etc.  This is especially nice if you need to use them in different areas - smaller (though still substantial) mobile tables can be moved to where they are needed, rather than always having to move the work to the tables.  That can also be done of course, but with this type of setup you have options.If I had unlimited space, I'd have 2 or more fabrication tables, about 30" in depth, by 6-8' wide.  The more tables I had, the narrower the width I'd make them.  I think 6' would be ideal if there were 3 or more, but if I were to only have 2 and I had unlimited space, I'd make them 8' wide.Last edited by pbungum; 01-18-2014 at 02:51 PM.Miller Dynasty 200 DXMiller CP-300 with 30A feederHypertherm Powermax 900Oxy-fuel w/Harris torchesScotchman Glide-in bandsawMonarch 10EE latheEmi-Mec Autoturn latheDeckel FP2NC milling machinePro-Tools 105 Bender
Reply:QUOTE=pbungum;3590201]We had a very large table at work (on the order of ~20' long), and it was a real PITA.  I had to regularly walk around it, as vices were bolted to the ground on one side of the table, and torches were on the other.  I eventually convinced the owner to let me cut it down to a more manageable length (I forget now - maybe 12or 14'?), and it made a huge difference - way better.  In that shop, you are constantly walking around as everything is bolted down.  I think people spend about half their time just getting to the tool they need.My current philosophy about work benches is this - they CAN be too big, but they are often too small.  The best system is one that can change size, and this is easily done if instead of one work bench, you make two.  If you build them with leveling casters, you can push them together, arrange them in an "L" shape, spread them apart for support of large items, etc.  This is especially nice if you need to use them in different areas - smaller (though still substantial) mobile tables can be moved to where they are needed, rather than always having to move the work to the tables.  That can also be done of course, but with this type of setup you have options.If I had unlimited space, I'd have 2 or more fabrication tables, about 30" in depth, by 6-8' wide.  The more tables I had, the narrower the width I'd make them.  I think 6' would be ideal if there were 3 or more, but if I were to only have 2 and I had unlimited space, I'd make them 8' wide.[/QUOTE]that's crazy kinda size for a table! What kinda work would you be doing on a table that size? Just here in Ireland it's usual to have benches or tables to be tiny so anyone I talk to about them says that 8 x 4 is way to big but since I'm going to end up going into the family trade of welding and fab work I'll end up using it hopefully in the future