1/4" welding table

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Does anybody know if this will be alright or will I regret it?I was looking at the miller welding tables and they are 3/16". I was going with 1/4" Will I regret this?
Reply:Buy the thickest you can afford. I built a workbench out of 1/4" or 5/16" (don't remember, I'll have to measure). But I can set a Mack truck on that thing. I don't use it for welding, but I would & could. Look at some designs here and read the pro's & con's.For welding I have two plates, a 5' x 6' x 1/2" and a 7' x 9' x 5/8", and they still sit on the gravel in my yard. (Tbone550 couldn't lift them onto my F550 when he stole it.) I drive my semi truck over them. I use them to lay on when working under a vehicle. And when I need for welding, I pick it up with the bobcat and set it on two steel horses. In other words, easy storage.Last edited by Stick-man; 10-19-2011 at 10:08 AM."Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:Originally Posted by Stick-manBuy the thickest you can afford. I built a workbench out of 1/4" or 5/16" (don't remember, I'll have to measure). But I can set a Mack truck on that thing. I don't use it for welding, but I would & could. Look at some designs here and read the pro's & con's.For welding I have two plates, a 5' x 6' x 1/2" and a 7' x 9' x 5/8", and they still sit on the gravel in my yard. (Tbone550 couldn't lift them onto my F550 when he stole it.) I drive my semi truck over them. I use them to lay on when working under a vehicle. And when I need for welding, I pick it up with the bobcat and set it on two steel horses. In other words, easy storage.
Reply:Thanks guys. I got a good deal on a 35" x 72" X 1/4" for $55 dollars.I was just afraid since it is so long. Might have to make it in two piece top like the miller arc station.
Reply:Don't worry about whatever table Miller is advertising - put "welding table" into the search box on this site and see what people here have made.  There should be enough posts that you could look at them all day long.  Personally I would leave the top together if I had room - it's only 3' x 6' - that's not really that big.
Reply:The frame beneath the top has as much to do with how well it will function as the top itself.for example, if you stick four legs under that 1/4" top at the corners then start putting heavy projects on it, it's going to want to get al splay legged and you'll end up with a saddle instead of a table.However, if you build a substantial frame that supports the table on all four edges as well as a couple cross members, then add lower cross members. that 1/4" top just turned into a goliath that will last far beyond your years.What most peole want with a welding table is a !FLAT! area to work. where they are able to clamp projects down and not have to worry about it moving once it's set. The problems come in when people try to clamp components down that are stronger than the top. a 2"x2"x1/4" sq bar is stronger than a 1/4" table top that doesn't have the proper structure supporting it. so if there is a bow in the component, the table is going to bend to fit the piece, as apposed to the piece bending to fit the table.Last edited by ThorsHammer; 10-19-2011 at 11:50 AM.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:Originally Posted by pyroracing85Thanks guys. I got a good deal on a 35" x 72" X 1/4" for $55 dollars.I was just afraid since it is so long. Might have to make it in two piece top like the miller arc station.
Reply:Another ide that is worth thinking of is instead of buying ordinary flat plate (flat on both sides) buy tread plate that has those little criss cross things for grip under foot. This tread is only on one side offering the other side as a good flat surface.I have a piece of 10mm tread plate on order at the moment and this cost about 30% less than ordinary flat plate. I have done this in the past and it's the cheapest way to get plate. What you save you can use to buy a bigger thickness plate.
Reply:as Thorshammer said 1/4" can be a fine welding table with proper framing. i have a 4'x6'x1/4" top on a hellova beefy frame that has served me well for 20+ years. the only drawback is if you want to beat on something on one end of the table be sure your prized coffee cup isn't on the other end because it will likely bounce off or at least splash a good portion of it's contents on the table. the table i just bought with the 1.5" top is nice for no bounce. i put a cup of coffee on one side and smacked the table on the other side with an 8lb sledge and the coffee barely rippled. also as TH said make sure it flat.225NT bobcatAEAD200LEScott 125mm175, mm252 w 30A, PT225mm211, TA 181iHyper Therm 380, cut master 529100X & XX, Digital Elite6 Victor setssmith little torch, meco midget kalamazoo band sawsteel max saw evoulution circular saw
Reply:Originally Posted by jbmprodsas Thorshammer said 1/4" can be a fine welding table with proper framing. i have a 4'x6'x1/4" top on a hellova beefy frame that has served me well for 20+ years. the only drawback is if you want to beat on something on one end of the table be sure your prized coffee cup isn't on the other end because it will likely bounce off or at least splash a good portion of it's contents on the table. the table i just bought with the 1.5" top is nice for no bounce. i put a cup of coffee on one side and smacked the table on the other side with an 8lb sledge and the coffee barely rippled. also as TH said make sure it flat.
Reply:Originally Posted by pyroracing85I went with the 35" x 72" x 1/4" topWhat kind of frame do you have? I am thinking about going 2" square tubing don't know the wall thickness yet.
Reply:I don't see anything wrong with using 2" sq tubing for the legs. but I would stick with Angle for the top frame and the cross bracing, and heres why.For the frame of the table, Make your angle with the corner pointing up and in like this ¬. this gives you a total thickness of 1/4"+ the thickness of the angle you're using at the edge of your table. More than likely this is the area of the table that will take the most abuse. either from clamping, or hammering.  so say you're using 1/4" angle, then you'll have 1/2" along the edge. and so on depending on the thickness of the top.Now if you plan on adding anchor points/clamping points throughout the surface of the table, I would make sure that I used angle iron cross members for every anchor point. again (in this case) doubling the thickness of the material  of the clamping surface.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:I built a welding table out of a 1/4" plate (diamond on the bottom side) 2 feet wide 4 feet long and used a bed frame for legs and braces for a shelf. Then added some locking casters (Harbor Freight) 4". Makes a very portable table for all around work. Plenty strong for my welding projects. Bed frames are very hard metal, I dulled a hacksaw blade and had to use my chop saw to cut them into pieces.
Reply:I like ThorsHammer's idea for making a frame, essentially, out of the 1/4" L-stock.  In addition to making the clamping edges beefier, it will also fight any warpage if you're repeatedly heating the top surface of the table.Jack OlsenMy garage website
Reply:If you use 2" ID square tube for the ends or the main lengths of the top you already have built in recievers for things like a vice. You need to do a bit of filing/ grinding to remove the weld seam sometimes depending on the stock you want to use. 2 1/2" OD 3/16" wall works ok with some slop, but you can either shim , or weld a few take up patches on the the vise mount..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:Originally Posted by DSWIf you use 2" ID square tube for the ends or the main lengths of the top you already have built in recievers for things like a vice. You need to do a bit of filing/ grinding to remove the weld seam sometimes depending on the stock you want to use. 2 1/2" OD 3/16" wall works ok with some slop, but you can either shim , or weld a few take up patches on the the vise mount.
Reply:Originally Posted by jbmprodsdepending on the size and length i drill 1 or 2 holes and tack a nut on it and run a bolt in to take up slop and lock the tube inside.
Reply:I used 2" x.120 sq tubing for my table base.