Workbench upgrade

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My current workbench in my shop (actually it's a 24x24 attached garage), is made out of 4x4's, 2x4's and 3/4" plywood for the top.   It's in an L-shape, roughly 24" x 84" on the long side, and 24" x 42" on the short side.I'm wanting to plate the top of this work area with steel, so to make it more durable and easier to weld small items on.I priced some stainless steel plate a while back and the price was WAY MORE than I wanted to spend.What I have in mind is to use is,.... 3/16" mild steel plate.   I plan on tig welding the L area where the long & short side match up (aprox 24")Any thoughts or suggestions,......?!
Reply:That's not very thick. But should work doing light work
Reply:Originally Posted by motolife313That's not very thick. But should work doing light work
Reply:Bigger is usually better in welding. Are you gona weld the top together? We're you saying you have two pieces and wanted to weld them?
Reply:If you are just going to be welding small stuff and you have a 3/4" plywood base, 3/16" should be fine. My concern is the steel getting hot and burning the wood.GravelThe difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.
Reply:Originally Posted by GravelIf you are just going to be welding small stuff and you have a 3/4" plywood base, 3/16" should be fine. My concern is the steel getting hot and burning the wood.
Reply:Your gona wanna clamp it real good if you wanna weld the top together
Reply:What sort of use does the bench see, and what do you mean by "light" welding? Does the 3/4" plywood on it right now flex when you use it, or is that part of the durability issue you want to address?Keep in mind that a lot of people on this forum weld for a living and weld a lot of big things. Many people here need 250A welders with 100% duty cycle and would consider a 1/2" top to be "wimpy". But for weekend warriors like you and I working out of a 2-car attached garage, we (probably) have different needs. In my shop I have one bench made out of a 1.5" solid core wood door topped with 1/8" steel, and then a separate welding table approx. 3'x4' with a 3/8" top. Both of these are plenty for me, and to be honest the bench top sheet could be thinner -- 14ga or even 16ga would probably be enough given the sturdy wood top beneath it.
Reply:Originally Posted by ian1386What sort of use does the bench see, and what do you mean by "light" welding?
Reply:My thinking is that I wouldn't really want to weld on a table with plywood underneath unless the work is elevated and/or the table stays relatively cool. I don't think 3/16" would provide much more heat insulation than 1/8", so if you're going to have to be careful about heat anyways then you might as well go a bit thinner. You'd certainly be happy with 3/16", but I think you'd be just as happy if you went with 1/8" and put the few bucks you saved towards a small welding table. I wouldn't go any thinner than 1/8" (I said I probably could, but my wood base is also much more solid than 3/4" plywood), nor would I go any thicker than 3/16".
Reply:Put masonry (cement) board on it before you put the steel on, it will insulate the plywood....Have a couple of light duty work tables with just masonry tops, and weld right on them without any problems.
Reply:Originally Posted by USADPut masonry (cement) board on it before you put the steel on, it will insulate the plywood....Have a couple of light duty work tables with just masonry tops, and weld right on them without any problems.
Reply:Originally Posted by USADPut masonry (cement) board on it before you put the steel on, it will insulate the plywood....Have a couple of light duty work tables with just masonry tops, and weld right on them without any problems.
Reply:Yea it's also my "firewall" between metal and wood shops, and great extra protection for a gun safe......
Reply:I worked in a shop that had a handrailing department and their benches were topped with several layers of 5/8th plywood good one side.  The assemblies were tacked together on those benches.  Yes the spatter left black marks on the ply but there was no fire hazard.  A layer of ply would last about one or two years before they would screw down another layer.  Nothing wrong with a plywood surface for light welding like handrailing.  The spatter sinks in and can be blown off with an air gun unlike a steel table.   In most cases welding is done after the assembly has been tacked together.  That means you have to lift and turn the thing so rarely is a table needed to actually weld.  If the objective is to get the weldment to waist height steel horses make more sense.
Reply:Just a little a little update,.......I went with 3/16" mild steel, BUT,..........I used 1/2" concrete board like what was suggested.   Now I can weld on it, w/o fear of overheating the plywood underneath and/or starting a fire.I welded a lot on it this past weekend and no issues.I even Tig Welded the two plates together, AFTER they were bolted down.  No problems what so ever.Total cost was around 100 bucks including the concrete board.
Reply:Glad it worked for ya, keep a few boards around the place so I can have a non conductive welding surface, plus they also make great back drops and/or heat shields for cutting, and are easy to clean.....
Reply:Originally Posted by Copper headJust a little a little update,.......I went with 3/16" mild steel, BUT,..........I used 1/2" concrete board like what was suggested.   Now I can weld on it, w/o fear of overheating the plywood underneath and/or starting a fire.I welded a lot on it this past weekend and no issues.I even Tig Welded the two plates together, AFTER they were bolted down.  No problems what so ever.Total cost was around 100 bucks including the concrete board.
Reply:You can never have too thick of steel for a surface, I found exactly what you should get.   Remember, that is Inches.Millermatic 200Miller Spectrum 2050