Should I buy this welding table for $200? (picture)

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It is 3' x 6' and it's 1" thick, BUT the seller says it has a 3/32" crown in the center (he says from previous owners overdoing it when welding it to the table frame). This would be my first welding table, and would be for use on my farm. Originally I was planning on building my own table, but wouldn't hesitate to buy a good used table for a good price. This caught my eye but I was disappointed to hear that it is slightly warped. I doubt it would be an easy fix? Should I just pass on it?
Reply:3/32 crown on 1" thick....dammmm
Reply:Any way to block it and jack it to get some of the crown out? I got a 3/4 x 4x8 sheet for a top a couple of years ago and if memory serves me it was like $700. That would be a nice table.Good luck.
Reply:I guess it depends on how precise you want to be.... for me 3/32 wouldn't be a deal breaker.Millermatic 252millermatic 175miller 300 Thunderboltlincoln ranger 250smith torcheslots of bfh'sIf it dont fit get a bigger hammer
Reply:Not hard to take out the crown. Just grind/cut out the welds underneath. It make spring back by just removing the welds. If it does only weld at the outside corners and only 1 1/2" long welds. Takes very little welding to hold the top in place. If it does not spring back own its own, a chain and a hydraulic jack will put it back where you want it.ChrisAuction Addict
Reply:I'd have to really look at it to make any real call on if it's worth playing with. It might be as simple as heat shrinking the bad area, or it could be a lot more involved if the bow was welded in because there's a frame support right under it that was welded up and would need to be cut out.Also how flat do you need things? A nice heavy 1" table is great if you have to beat on stuff. That's especially true if you have to fix farm equipment. 3/32" over 6' isn't all that horrible.  Even 3/32" over 3' isn't bad. Most guys can't weld stuff to within 1/32" per foot anyways. You could probably grind out some of the crown if you know what you are doing and take your time. There are plenty of drawings on line for router jigs designed to plane lumber. You could use a similar idea to help keep a grinder at a constant height to remove some of the stock..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I would probably buy it. You can likely straighten it out pretty easily by cutting the welds and jacking it up, then rewelding.
Reply:Buy. If it does not work for you as a welding table. It is a hell of a work bench.I don't believe I would try to fix it.
Reply:Go price that piece of plate and you will quickly see that is a great deal.
Reply:Heck of a chunk of steel. I would take a straight 6' level or straight edge and verify the crown. As mentioned, 3/32 is nothing, it depends where it is and how it runs. That is definitely worth that in scrap.
Reply:abarsn180If this was a trailer - would you put it on the road - or even park it on your property?http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...iler-fail-picsThe table is junk - pay nothing more than scrap per #.Its' many 'former lives' are evident.Factoring the the hours of torch and CAC - plus the cost of new under-pinnings to make it respectable enough to take: the 'bag off of your dog' . . .Don't suffer - apply the $200.00 towards the purchase of a new surface for a table with unfettered utility: ie. a table-top-flange that projects enough to accept the throat of the largest 'C-clamp of your dreams'.Opus.Last edited by OPUS FERRO; 12-28-2014 at 11:45 PM.Reason: on/not/in
Reply:I'd buy it. If you don't like the top change it out. You aren't much over scrap price on the old top and it will save making a new frame... or as suggested use it for other purposes and build a new one as required. If I passed on it, it would just be to wait on a better one depending on how much activity there is in your area for welding tables.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:At the scrap yard near my home are some 4'X 8" heavy tables that are selling for $90.00 each; they look ten times better then that junk. http://www.shopjfi.com/
Reply:Edit editLast edited by Bosco99; 12-29-2014 at 09:02 AM.
Reply:Make an offer of say $100. If you get it you can perhaps weld warp it back down some then clean up.I have one 4' x 5' table with a crown and it is bomb for production tig work. The crown helps rotate frames. For precision work, I have a big surface plate. When I got the granite plate it had pot marks in it from assemblers pounding rivets into wing sections. The surface guy gound a full 1/8" off that 6' x 12' granite, so 3/32 would not scare me.Last edited by shovelon; 12-29-2014 at 09:50 AM.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:I think scrap is still bringing $150/ton or less around here.  So it's not worth scrap price.  He couldn't get near that if he took it in to a yard.Maybe around $100 if he can load it on your truck/trailer.  Don't ever forget loading when buying any of this kind of stuff.Judging by the pic, the frame isn't square.  And the top doesn't fully cover the frame in the back.I dunno.............I'd probably pass on it unless there's absolutely nothing else available in your area."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:I wouldn't be afraid of 3/32, for the work I do.If I just had to have it flatter, I would gouge out the welds, and use small wedges/shims to level it out.It probably weighs over a half a ton, so wherever you put it, that is where it will stay, though you could put some big a$$ casters on it, I suppose.I used to weld out Pickup Truck toolboxes for a living, and we built our tables with a crown to facilitate spinning them around, rather than walking around the table. (we got paid by the box) Once you figured out what was going on, the boxes always came out flat and square.Hobart Beta-Mig 2511972 Miller AEAD-200LEMiller 250 TwinNorthern Ind. Hybrid 200Longevity Stick 140Longevity Migweld 200SThermal Arc Pak 3XR
Reply:Just depends on how flat you need it to be.  If you're going to by laying stuff out to be welded nice and square, the swell would make that difficult.  If you just need a place to sit stuff up off the ground, it'll be fine.  I personally wouldn't want a table that wasn't flat.  Say I'm building a steel frame or bracket or something and I need to lay two long pieces on the table in a "T" so they meet perfectly square for welding; that would be a major headache with a lumpy table, if not impossible.Last edited by Ruark; 01-08-2015 at 09:09 PM.-RuarkLincoln 3200HDHobart Stickmate LX235TWECO Fabricator 211i
Reply:My welding table is small and has a slatted top so I can use drill press clamps to hold parts in place for welding.Any thing larger I use the cordwood trailer for a table.2 welded steel saw horses will do for many jobs.A 6x8 table will be in the way most of the time.Years ago I welded  up a 3x8 foot frame made from 1.5 pipe with 4 inch channel for the top.Sold when I moved.
Reply:I paid 300 for this from a surplus wholesaler. has a 1/2" steel top Attached Images