Welding Table Thickness?

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I'm moving into my new place at the end of June, and on the side of the garage there is an alcove that is 3m x 1.7m (10ft x 5'8") that just screams "put big welding table here".I've seen all sorts of tables on here, with thicknesses from 1/4" through to 2.5" - which makes it kind of hard to decide what thickness to get.  I'm intending to drill clamp holes all over it for clamps etc, and I'm intending to put it on castors so as I can pull it out of the alcove when needed.  Looking at a table about 8' x 3'4" which will leave room on the right end to have hitches for saw, vice, etcSo what thicknesses do people recommend, and what sort of steel/finish etc?Last edited by RSD; 05-21-2014 at 09:04 PM.
Reply:I'd say about a half inch should be about right for a table that size.  It would be heavy at around 500 pounds if my rough estimate is anywhere near right at 20 lbs per sq. ft.
Reply:I like 3/4", Actually warped a 1/2" table once... or twice. Oops.
Reply:I saw a big rig with 4 steel plates on the trailer today. They were about 8x10 and had to be at least 2.5" thick. I wanted to hyjack him right then! One of those situations where i wouldn't know what to do with it if i had it...Best advice is to go as thick as you can afford.Also, over build the top of the frame to support it.GravelThe difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.
Reply:Went 1 inch on mine...  Still flat.....From the desk of Kevin CaronTrying to be the best me I can!www.kevincaron.comAHP Alpha Tig 200x MillerMatic 251Miller Syncrowave 200
Reply:Originally Posted by ThomWVI'd say about a half inch should be about right for a table that size.  It would be heavy at around 500 pounds if my rough estimate is anywhere near right at 20 lbs per sq. ft.
Reply:What about type of steel, finishes/coatings etc?
Reply:Start looking for a used piece of plate now and get the thickest one you can find."The reason we are here is that we are not all there"SA 200Idealarc TM 300 300MM 200MM 25130a SpoolgunPrecision Tig 375Invertec V350 ProSC-32 CS 12 Wire FeederOxweld/Purox O/AArcAirHypertherm Powermax 85LN25
Reply:No matter what thickness you decide, I would advise watching your heat input into the top plate. To much heat and you will warp almost any thickness. I just finished two more tables, 3/8"pl, 48"x96" and limited my welds to about 10 total, 2" stiches all the way around. My table turned out fairly flat, another guys was not even close. I have tables ranging from sheet to 1/2", so it will ultimately depend on your needs.-Jonathan
Reply:I just found two piece of 2.25 in plate in my scrap pile.  They are 40 inches x 40 inches square each.   They were part of a big earthmover.   I thought about making a couple of tables out of them but they are huge.   I was given a table /bench by my late father in law from his truck shop.  The table is 1 inch thick about 7 feet long and 40 inches wide with shelves built underneath.  However one end of the table top  is bent a little.  I don't know if they dropped a 400Hp cummins engine on it or what.  It was free so I cant complain.   I would go with something that is affordable but I would keep in mind that sometimes it better to go a little heavier just in case you have something really big you want to beat on while its clamped to the table.  Good luck keep us posted.
Reply:Originally Posted by RSDI'm moving into my new place at the end of June, and on the side of the garage there is an alcove that is 3m x 1.7m (10ft x 5'8") that just screams "put big welding table here".I've seen all sorts of tables on here, with thicknesses from 1/4" through to 2.5" - which makes it kind of hard to decide what thickness to get.  I'm intending to drill clamp holes all over it for clamps etc, and I'm intending to put it on castors so as I can pull it out of the alcove when needed.  Looking at a table about 8' x 3'4" which will leave room on the right end to have hitches for saw, vice, etcSo what thicknesses do people recommend, and what sort of steel/finish etc?
Reply:Originally Posted by richeyI just found two piece of 2.25 in plate in my scrap pile.  They are 40 inches x 40 inches square each.
Reply:"No matter what thickness you decide, I would advise watching your heat input into the top plate. To much heat and you will warp almost any thickness. I just finished two more tables, 3/8"pl, 48"x96" and limited my welds to about 10 total, 2" stiches all the way around. My table turned out fairly flat, another guys was not even close.I have tables ranging from sheet to 1/2", so it will ultimately depend on your needs.-Jonathan "Welcome Jonathon.  Where are you from?JerryLast edited by storeman; 05-22-2014 at 10:24 PM.Reason: clarity30+ yrs Army Infantry & Field Artillery, 25 yrs agoMiller 350LX Tig Runner TA 210, spool gunLincoln 250/250 IdealArcESAB PCM 500i PlasmaKazoo 30"  vert BSKazoo 9x16 horiz BSClausing 12x24 lathe20T Air Press
Reply:I think that I'm going to go with a 1/2 inch thick top - it seems to offer the best cost vs. thickness vs. strength.
Reply:I'm with MJ. Thick as you can afford. Originally Posted by M J MauerGo as thick as you can afford.
Reply:Originally Posted by blawlessI'm with MJ. Thick as you can afford.
Reply:Originally Posted by Silicon-basedIf you do build it in two sections, rather than drilling multiple holes in the plate, you may consider making one section out of channels or flat bars with spaces between them for easy clamping. There are several recent threads describing such tables, search and ye shall find.John
Reply:Originally Posted by storeman"No matter what thickness you decide, I would advise watching your heat input into the top plate. To much heat and you will warp almost any thickness. I just finished two more tables, 3/8"pl, 48"x96" and limited my welds to about 10 total, 2" stiches all the way around. My table turned out fairly flat, another guys was not even close.I have tables ranging from sheet to 1/2", so it will ultimately depend on your needs.-Jonathan "Welcome Jonathon.  Where are you from?Jerry
Reply:Welcome to WeldingWeb Jonathan!!!!!Better quit soldering, and get to welding.~JohnJust a couple welders, big hammers, grinders, and torches.Work will free you.Men in dirty jeans built this country, while men in clean suits have destroyed it. Trump/Carson 2016-2024
Reply:I've decided to go with the channels for clamps etc, but will have some spare bars that I can drop into the channels when they aren't needed to fill the gaps to stop things falling down them.Another question - posters have talked about welding the top onto the table, and Bugeloo bolted his on, but I'm wondering if there is a need to attach it at all, as given the weight of the flat sheet of steel it's probably not going to move in a hurry?
Reply:$.02    The table top is not more important than the structure underneath that is where the whole unit finds it's rigidity. 5/8" plate will sag under it's own weight as I expect heavier plates will as well. Pry a 4' x 8' plate up at one corner and you will see that you have to raise it a surprising amount before the 2 nearest corners lift. As was recommended keep the heat off the table top if you have to heat something on the table elevate it from the top and keep the flame off the table. The finish on the table is directly related to the type of work you plan to do on it, choose accordingly. The same applies to the thickness of the top. If you are going to use it as an anvil, go heavy. If it is for fine set up go smooth and flat. It is really up to you and your budgetary restrictions.---Meltedmetal
Reply:Originally Posted by MeltedmetalThe finish on the table is directly related to the type of work you plan to do on it, choose accordingly.
Reply:Originally Posted by RSDWhat finish to choose is something that I haven't been able to find much information on, so if you can provide some info on this it would be greatly appreciated.
Reply:One other question - how wide of a channel do you leave in the table top for clamps?  just wide enough for the clamp to fit through or wider?
Reply:Originally Posted by M J MauerGo as thick as you can afford.Originally Posted by RSDOne other question - how wide of a channel do you leave in the table top for clamps?  just wide enough for the clamp to fit through or wider?
Reply:Originally Posted by MeltedmetalCouple of videos with ideas.---Meltedmetalhttp://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/welding-table.htmlhttp://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/...ing-table.html
Reply:If you decide to use two tables and butt them together, I would think about ways to make the tops even with each other and the tables level overall.  Murphy's Law says they won't match as you would like. Adjustable legs on one table to match it with the other, pins through the underside edges to align the top, shims under the legs, or a myriad of other ways some folks here might suggest.
Reply:my table  is 1.1/2 in    4x8   and  its  assume... when  u  pound something  on it  it acts  just  like an anvil    and  it is  a anvil... i built a table  3/8  with  1x2  flat  set in 6 in  with almost  no welding  ..still warp the edge  down  a hair ,, sucks  to camp anything  to   but  i put  upsidedown  on the  big  table  and it pounded  nice  and  straight...  now  the 1 1/2 tabe  still need a stiffner  under  it to make  striaght...  ALL plates  have  a crown  and  u  can use this to your advantage...
Reply:I've almost finished the design of my new table, but could someone please tell me the dimensions of the plates that Buildpro use for their tables, and also what is better - CNC plasma or laser cutting to get the best edges on these plates?
Reply:http://www.stronghandtools.com/build...ual_plates.phpCan you buy 5/8" flat bar wide enough and just cut it to length?---MeltedmetalLast edited by Meltedmetal; 06-19-2014 at 10:38 AM.
Reply:Will find out tomorrow when I get on the phone to a few places.
Reply:OK, looks like I can get 150mm/6" wide bar, 25mm/1" thick for $280 (6 metre/19'8" length).  So effectively if I work on 1.2m/4' long plates, with a 40mm/1 3/5" gap for clamps between them, then three lengths will make me enough plates for a table about 2.7 x 1.2m/9 x 4' roughly with one plate spare.  The savings versus buying something like a Buildpro table will pay for a decent Mag drill I should think!
Reply:I know that there are potential disadvantages due to generation of toxic fumes, but are there any advantages to getting the plates for the top of a welding table galvanised?  Obviously rust would be less of an issue, but would spatter be less likely to stick to gal?  Any other advantages?
Reply:Galvanized won't offer you much other than rust protection.   Weld spatter will stick to it.  Build pro tables have an optional nitride coating that resist spatter.
Reply:Also the Zinc may contaminate the metals you are welding, especially stainless. I would avoid galvanizing.JohnA few weldersA lot of hammersA whole lot of C-clamps
Reply:Don't bother with galvanizing, just maintain wipe and wire wheel. Or if your afraid of swirls buy the 3m surface conditioning discs which are plastic and only remove the crud.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkif you can step across it I can weld it.
Reply:Thinking about my table design some more, and it has occurred to me that instead of having a table like the Buildpro where the plates are bolted down with the slots between each table, why not set the plates up so the plates all slide from left to right on rails so as you can decide where you want slots, and where it is better to not have gaps between plates for whatever you are building.  The setup could be something like their handrest here - http://www.stronghandtools.com/stron...s/handrest.php
Reply:Another quick question - for the support rectangle of box tube under the table - are mitred corners better? or does it not matter and welding the butts of the short sides onto the sides of the long pieces would be just as good?
Reply:Assuming good welds all around I don't think it would matter much except if you want to use one or more open end of the tube to mount something into(otherwise close them to keep the end of the tube from collapsing). And with mitered  corners all the tube ends rest on top of the legs and so don't depend entirely on the welds for support(in your case the short tubes). The rest I would think is aesthetic and depends on which look you prefer. Others may have more technical valid opinions.---Meltedmetal
Reply:This suggestion may be better suited to a work bench than a welding bench, but it comes from another discussion I was in with home built projects on the HAMB board. The idea was to have an inverted section of tubing the same as the receiver hitch in a pickup. With a 90degree adapter, you could make a variety of attachments that would work in your table, or in the back of your truck on a remote site. Some of the options I've been considering would be wire wheel, a bench grinder, a couple small vises, a shaped hammering dolly or small anvil ... the list gets endless really. It would also be nice to have a switched plugin close by for the electric motors. I'd post pics, but this is still floating around in my head for a future project. I'm just not sure if it's a welding table or a portable engine stand/tool chest yet.250 amp Miller DialArc AC/DC StickF-225 amp Forney AC Stick230 amp Sears AC StickLincoln 180C MIGVictor Medalist 350 O/ACut 50 PlasmaLes
Reply:I've made a few more decisions about the new table, the top will be inch thick flat bars 8 inches wide x 5 feet long (it will be similar to the Strong Hand/BuildPro tables).  Besides the main rectangular support frame a few inches in from the edge all the way round, will I need to have additional supports running left to right parallel to the long sides inside the main frame to support the 60" x 8" x 1" flat bars? or will inch thick bar be strong enough to support itself just from the rectangular frame?
Reply:RSD,I think I'd be inclined to have one more support running down the long axis of the main frame that I could tie the center of the 8 x 1 inch flat bar top pieces to.
Reply:Originally Posted by RSDAnother quick question - for the support rectangle of box tube under the table - are mitred corners better? or does it not matter and welding the butts of the short sides onto the sides of the long pieces would be just as good?
Reply:Here's a more recent base I built out of 2 x 2 x 1/8 wall square tube.   It got a 4' x 8' piece of 3/8" for a top (and a piece of OSB for a lower shelf).   If I were going to have a top out of spaced individual pieces of 1 x 8 like I think you're talking about doing I would have put one piece of tube down the long axis center of the top instead of the 2 short pieces (side to side) I've got in there.
Reply:Mine is made of 15mm thick flat slats (150mm wide) which is a bit over 1/2" inch. I design the subframe to allow me to make the table double width. Each slat is held in place at 4 different spots by 2 bolts from underneath. I think it is way cheaper than plate and also lighter. The spacing between the slats allow me to use clamps almost anywhere. It is not as fancy as precission holes in a big plate and dedicated clamps but it does its job.Mikel
Reply:Thanks for the replies guys - will be going shopping for steel for the frame on Tuesday I think.  Many thanks for the detailed explanation and photos HT2 - very helpful!