Building a heavy duty bench

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Hey everyone, any tips or design sugguestions for a bench? 3/16 4" square tube for everything,I do exhaust manifolds so nothing too heavy. Here is where I'm at so far, it's a 4' x8' x34" tall and will have a center brace in the table top.Bought some harbor freight 6" casters raites to 600lbs each but realized they dont lock so I'll probably be using a huge bolt and nut type adjustable leveling legs.I'm gonna use a 1/4" hot rolled plate for the top should be fine for now. And I'll be adding a bottom shelf to tie the legs together. This will be tig welded with my diversion 180 on max 110v 125amps. (No 220 available)Last edited by urbansmoker; 01-11-2016 at 12:29 AM.
Reply:I recently built a similar table of 2" 11 ga tubing for a 5'x8'x0.50" top. I wouldn't feel comfortable without some cross bracing and gussets. Here's a photo of mine just prior to completion:I would caution you on two points if you plan to sit at the table in a chair: 1. It's going to be very high at 34" plus the caster height. You may find yourself standing quite often;2. Think twice about a shelf. That was my initial plan, but I realized that I couldn't get my knees under the table with a shelf at shin-height.-Chris
Reply:My shelf is going to be recessed 8" to accomidate foot pedal, 4" tubing won't need gussets or cross braces it's pretty sturdy, and I'm not going to use casters after all, just adjustment bolts, office chair should be fine wth hight adjustability. I think 2" is a little small lol
Reply:Then it doundsbkikegyouvevgotbit all figured out. Good luck with those long, heavy, unsupported spans.-Chris
Reply:How tall are you OP?I'm 5' 7"ish.  My table is 31"ish after leveling.  I have a shelf underneath that is recessed and I use an office chair.  I have used it enough now to know that I really like the height.  If you pause your project for a bit, I can get some pics of me seated at it with a pedal tonight or tomorrow.  Have to clean up my mess first.Last edited by Boostinjdm; 01-12-2016 at 12:08 AM.My name's not Jim....
Reply:I'm 6'2"  I'd appreciate the pictures! I havnt started the welding yet so i can still cut down the legs if necessairy.  The bottom shelf will tie the legs together so it's not going to be unsupported and mr smith i dunno if you read but my material is 3/16 thick 4" square tube so it's quite a a bit heftier then 2" 11gauge which I'd agree needs extra support and gussets. I'm modeling my bench off what i had at an old job which was extremely sturdy and held 2,000+lb pressure vessles without any signs of weaknessLast edited by urbansmoker; 01-12-2016 at 12:16 AM.
Reply:Nice table in the works.Just a suggestion make your frame 2 inches smaller all the way around than your top plate.Will give you something to use a c clamp on if you need it.trailblazer 302thunderbolt ac dc machine Hobart fluxcoreAHP tig 200x 2015
Reply:I actually did take that i to consideration! The front of the table top will have a 4-6" overhang while the rest of the table top ahould be about flush with the frame on the other three sides! Glad you brought that up though cause i as curious if others had done that.
Reply:Other option is to put side rails in between the legs, then a single centre rail between them, recessed enough to give leg room for sitting, and another rail at the back to allow you to have something like a 3/4 shelf? (If that makes sense).Also if you do decide to lower the height, rather than chop anything off your legs, consider just put them inside the corners, then they are both recessed, and will drop the height by 4 inches. But will make it prone for things to fall off your shelf at the back.Oh and I always make sure the back rail on a bench top frame is high enough to stop stuff rolling off the back when I drop the top on.!
Reply:I am 6'2" as well. Here is how I determined my height of my set up. I made sure when I used a hack saw with something in my vice that my elbow was at 90 degrees and then subtracted from the height of the vice and then you have your total height of the table. I use a stool to sit on when I weld (esp TIG) and I can rest my elbows/wrists for better support and control.www.tjsperformance.comDynasty 300 DXHTP 240HTP Microcut 380Hyperthem 85JD2 Hyd Bender and HF Hyd Ring Roller all in one =(Frankenbender)Bpt. Mill/DRO4' x 8' CNC Plasma TableInstagram: tjsperformanceYT: TJS Welding and Fabrication
Reply:I recommend that you keep an overhang on all four sides.  I have found it very useful to be able to throw clamps on each side of my table when handling larger work pieces.  Even if you make the overhang shorter (2" for example) on the other 3 sides.  You will probably regret not having a clamping edge in the future.I have a 6" overhang on one edge and 2" on the other three and although I like it, the next table will have a 4-6" overhang on all sides since I have already run into a need for the deeper clamping after building the table only a few months ago.Hobart LX235Victor 250 Oxy-Acetylene Rig (welding and cutting)Bobcat 773F-350, 1999, 4x4, 16' 10K# trailerOutdoor Wood Burner - 10 cords/year
Reply:Pic as promised.  Careful with the overhang if your top is only 1/4" thick.  I wouldn't do more than 2-3".  Also, my shelf is set back about 12" from the edge.  Do not go less than that with a low shelf.  You will catch your toe on it. I intended my shelf to be for temporary use only when I need to clear the top quickly.  It works well for that. Attached ImagesMy name's not Jim....
Reply:What sort of feet do you have? I like those. Heres some more pix. I'll be lowerinf down to a 31" with the top and have adjustable legs to go up to 33, I'll probably do 1/2" and I'll consider overhang on the other 3 sidesMy work's bench is 32.5" so 33 should be perfect, 37 is good for standing for me.
Reply:Adjusters and feet are made from scratch.  Pics of the parts are in my thread. The same thing could be done with carriage bolts.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...orkbench/page4My name's not Jim....
Reply:My only suggestions since you asked....-Overhang all the way around. -Casters on all fours, indeed.  Two of them locking type.  Having a table that moves is priceless when welding large objects resting on it. -1/4" was too thin for me with my first bench.    1/2" is better and 3/8" is minimum-install an electrical outlet power strip under an overhang, for easy access and convenience  for power tools and such.Lincoln Power Mig 216Lincoln AC/DC-225/125Miller  625 X-Treme PlasmaMiller 211 Forney 95FI-A 301HF 91110Victor Journeyman O/PMilwaukee DaytonMakita  Baileigh NRA Life Member
Reply:Well got some tacks on the top of the frame, finding out my bandsaw walks pretty bad  nice gaps in some sides but itll all work out as long as it stays square
Reply:Havnt posted in a while here. Got legs tacked on, top frame is fully welded. Just need to finish the leg braces and lower shelf and itll be good to go! It's definately sturdy and functional as is though. Decided to go with a 1/4" table top cause I'm broke got some uphill freehand weave goin also. Was tough considering im only on 125amp max on a 120v outlet.. But when i move into the new house ill do a pass at 180 on each