Welding thin stuff to thick stuff?

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I was curious about making a welding table.  I just got a big 1/2" thick piece of steel plate to make a welding table out of.  I was thinking about getting some square tubing to make the table legs and frame out of.  Now, say the square tubing was 16ga steel.  Can I weld it to the thick metal plate with my Lincoln 175HD?  Say I wanted to weld a piece to the table top.  Would I just set the settings on my welder to the 16ga steel?  From what I've heard, it's very difficult to weld something thin, to something thick.  Would it be better to just build a frame out of the square tubing and then setting the table top on top of that?  What could I do to hold the table top in place?  Thanks!Matt in OKCLincoln 175HD
Reply:Build the frame then tack weld the plate to the frame.  aim the wire toward the thicker part when welding.    I would only weld the plate in about six places with one inch long tack welds.  When the table top gets all marked up and ugly you can grind the tack welds, knock the top off and turn it over.  Locate your inch long tacks to that you can reach them with a grinder.
Reply:Turn your heat up to just a little about what you would for 16 ga. but when you make your welds focus your heat onto the 1/2" plate more to avoid blowing threw the tube.Patriot Performance AutoLincoln Power Mig 255CLincoln AC-225 StickVictor Journeyman O/AQuincy QT-5 Compressor
Reply:I bolted my 5/8" top on the legs from the bottom. Tapped the steel top and put rubber pads underneath to absorb some of the noise from pounding on it.JimCut an MGB and widened 11" C4 Corvette suspension and LT1 Chevrolet power & 6 spd. Pictures here:Part 1http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,7581Part 2http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,22422