No flat surfaces -- where to weld?

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Where do you guys weld if your surfaces are not flat enough to lay out parts cleanly?My garage floor was never laid down very smooth (30+ years ago) and since then it has had gouges taken out and cracks raise and lower...so i am left with a less than ideal floor for welding.  I cant use a table yet, because that is what i am trying to build.  But without a flat floor to assemble the pieces, how can I get a good straight frame?  My drive is not paved, and the garage floor is the only hard non flammable surface around for me.
Reply:Pipe jacks. You can build anything square and true on pipejacks with a level and square and enough jacks. Most times four jacks will work but I always carried six because sometimes you really need more than four. V heads work for most things but I also had a set of flat heads for structrual work.
Reply:i would venture to guess that it would be somewhat limiting to work in your area Cheap. i would highly recommend that you build a table, even a small one for the time being, that has adjustable legs. that way you can move the table, and adjust the legs until the top is level. either that, or pour a new garage floor . lol. seriously tho, and i have said this before, 1x1x16 ga square tube is fairly cheap enough. get some of that, along with some 10 ga sheet, and just make a little table. you'd be surprised how strong it could be if you weld it right and use the correct structure for it.Later,Andy
Reply:Originally Posted by aczelleri would venture to guess that it would be somewhat limiting to work in your area Cheap. i would highly recommend that you build a table, even a small one for the time being, that has adjustable legs. that way you can move the table, and adjust the legs until the top is level. either that, or pour a new garage floor . lol. seriously tho, and i have said this before, 1x1x16 ga square tube is fairly cheap enough. get some of that, along with some 10 ga sheet, and just make a little table. you'd be surprised how strong it could be if you weld it right and use the correct structure for it.Later,Andy
Reply:i built a small heavy table with three legs so it had a better chance of not rocking on rough surfaces. it was 4x4x3/8 angle, i built it 2' on a side, its still in progress, will get some pics this weekend and learn how to post pics to this excellent site.
Reply:Aczeller had a good point on the adjustable legs. I was just thinking about getting the table built true. Concrete floors are not flat, even brand new ones. Without adjustable legs you can probably drag the table around until it won't wobble but it probably won't be perfectly level either. I don't know how important this will be to you. The last shop table I built was 4' X 8' with a 4" angle iron on one 8' side to hold pipe. It was 1/2" plate on 4" sq. tube legs with with 3/8 X 3" perimeter frame and X bracing. I put 1 1/2" stud bolts on 6" dia. circles for adj. feet so I could get it dead level. It made it simple to  true up whatever I built on it.
Reply:I would build the table upside-down on itself! The table top is plenty flat, prop it up on three cynder blocks and build away. City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Originally Posted by tanglediverI would build the table upside-down on itself! The table top is plenty flat, prop it up on three cynder blocks and build away.
Reply:I got a used steel typist's desk with three nice drawers on the right side. It was free so I felt that I could afford it.  I added a 3/8" steel top that is 36" X 60". I had this cut at a local steel yard. It's been about ten years ago now but I don't think I paid much more than $35 for the top. It's pretty heavy so it just sits on top of the table and doesn't seem to move. I also have a vise on it and it's been great. The above suggestions are all great for building a table but I went with a desk due to the simplicity of it and the fact that it has the drawers and also has adjustable feet to level it. It's not portable but I never move my welder or table anyway so it's not an issue. You think you're cheap, eh?
Reply:Thanks everyone for your responses!  If i can get to the local metal yard before they close for the weekend tomorrow i am going to start building the table from the top down (upside down of course ).
Reply:I don't even have a table. Just 4 adjustable jacks and 8 saw horses. Most of the stuff I work on won't fit on a table anyway, lol. Though I do have the stuff for one 4' X 6' out of half inch plate. Haven't had time to build it yet.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:I made a couple of steel saw horses with a 4x4 so I could use a skilsaw on it. Piece of 3/16 plate 3x4 is the top I set on it for fabbing stuff. works ok.Airco 300 squarewaveMig welding center...Powcon sm300/LN 25Powcon sm200/PD lHypertherm PM 1100Miller AEAD 200LE W/LN25 FCand now another sm200 pd l combo.