Smallish Welding Table for a Small Shop

admin

This welding table will be rather straight forward, following my Triple Stack Welding Cart the next thing to build is the welding table for my new metalworking area of my shop.It is all tacked together and ready for some welding.It is upside down in the picture, you can see I set a caster on the bottom of one leg on the left side. The casters are 10cm tall and with the 9mm thick plate that I'll weld to the bottom of the leg along with a foot that will go down to lift the casters off the ground, the bottom rail of the table with a platform on it should be about the right height to be a good footrest while seated on a stool and welding on the table.The five square tubes will be what support the table top, and I'll be able to insert fixtures into the open tubes, things like my vice, or my my roller. I was not sure which would work best, right, left or center, so I decided to put in five possible locations for fixtures to be inserted.The top will be 6mm thick, that is the thickest plate I could find, as it is I had to buy a larger piece than I needed, and the home center I bought it from could not cut it. I bought the larger piece and then I bought the plasma torch to cut it to size. The piece if have is about 180cm by 90cm (3'x6'), I'm going to make the table top 135cm x 65cm (53"x25.5") that is about the largest table I could fit in there and still have the ability to move it around when I need to.Lots of welding to do on this yet, and then I have to figure a way to attach the top to the table, I don't really want to weld it, I'm thinking something like bolts might be better? Any idea on that front would be welcome!I'm also toying with the idea of buying a second piece of plate and doubling up the two pieces to make a 12mm thick top, I read on this thread > HERE < that is may not be such a crazy idea. I would think that for longevity a doubled up 6mm thick plate would last longer than just a single 6mm plate. That being said, the table top will have lots of support, so maybe I'm going overkill here?Cheers!Dragon D-150 Arc WelderHobart Handler 175 Set up with 100% CO²WT-60 Plasma Arc Panasonic TIG Star YC-300TWX-2 Panasonic YX-0092UW Water Cooler for the TIG
Reply:I got it all welded, kept it mostly square, I think I might have to use a shim on the top to make it as flat as possible, but I'm happy with it. Ran a lot of wire through my Hobart Handler 175, but it worked very well. Now I need to make some feet for it, I'll be using the 10cm tall casters for mobility, but when in use I want it rock solid. The floor has plywood on it, but under that is 4" tile, it is not bad but certainly not smooth, so I'll be using these feet....I'll have a thick piece of flat bar that will cover the end of the table leg, and have the caster mounted to that, kicked out to the side past the swing of the caster wheel this foot will come down, any suggestions or examples on how to do this?Cheers!Dragon D-150 Arc WelderHobart Handler 175 Set up with 100% CO²WT-60 Plasma Arc Panasonic TIG Star YC-300TWX-2 Panasonic YX-0092UW Water Cooler for the TIG
Reply:I think you'll be fine with 1/4"--6mm top.Don't get nutty with the welding and warp it. A couple of one inch welds is all you need. One on each end bar and maybe one in the middle. How much does a 1220/2440 of 6mm plate cost o'er there ?Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:Originally Posted by BurpeeI think you'll be fine with 1/4"--6mm top.Don't get nutty with the welding and warp it. A couple of one inch welds is all you need. One on each end bar and maybe one in the middle. How much does a 1220/2440 of 6mm plate cost o'er there ?
Reply:In that case no weld is a better plan.No weld, no warp. When you move to Niigata it'll also be easier to get out and put on a truck .Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:Originally Posted by BurpeeIn that case no weld is a better plan.No weld, no warp. When you move to Niigata it'll also be easier to get out and put on a truck .
Reply:OK this is what I've come up with for an idea for the feet, I saw something similar, I cannot remember where, but I liked it, so I made my own version....I'll first make a plywood template on my CNC wood carving machine and use that with the plasma torch to cut these out.I think it would work well, I'd cut down the ends of the the leveling feet bolts. and weld a nut on them, then I just put a socket on my impact driver to raise and lower the table so it will be on or off the casters.Here is the table all welded up....I still have to cut down the large plate for the top, that is the next big thing to do, then I'll use the off cuts to make the foot cantilevers.The smaller piece of plate I was using as a welding table before.So any thoughts on the foot cantilevers?Cheers!Dragon D-150 Arc WelderHobart Handler 175 Set up with 100% CO²WT-60 Plasma Arc Panasonic TIG Star YC-300TWX-2 Panasonic YX-0092UW Water Cooler for the TIG
Reply:Dragon D-150 Arc WelderHobart Handler 175 Set up with 100% CO²WT-60 Plasma Arc Panasonic TIG Star YC-300TWX-2 Panasonic YX-0092UW Water Cooler for the TIG
Reply:I was not sure why you are making the adjustable feet as cantilevers from the ends of the table.  Why don't you mount them inboard of the casters?  Drill a larger hole (enough to clear the impact socket) on the top side, then a hole large enough to clear the foot screw on the bottom, then weld a nut on the bottom of the base, centered under these holes.  Your other plan seems fairly complex, but would give a nicer appearance.  (I know, I know...just the opposite of what I argued with the three-tier welder cart.I tend to deal with moving benches in a couple of different ways.Either a 'wheelbarrow' wheel arrangement on smaller, lighter benches.  You set the wheels 'just off the ground' on one end and lift up the other end, when you need to move the bench...Or lifting the bench onto wheel dollies with a bottle jack with larger, heavier benches (this bench holds a 1300 pound (590 kg) machine).  I make sure the cross-brace on the legs is the correct height for one of my jacks.  This one was made of dimensional lumber, because I did not weld at the time.  You could just as easily incorporate this into a metal bench...KevKevin / Machine_Punk from The Aerodrome Studio - Lincoln PowerMIG 210 MP - Meco N Midget w/custom welding station - Vintage Victor 100Current Projects: The Aerodrome Studio
Reply:Well the bench is not wide to start with, so if I go inboard of the casters the feet would only be about a foot apart, not ver stable. I can't do the wheelbarrow lift and roll because my space is too small to allow that. CheersDragon D-150 Arc WelderHobart Handler 175 Set up with 100% CO²WT-60 Plasma Arc Panasonic TIG Star YC-300TWX-2 Panasonic YX-0092UW Water Cooler for the TIG
Reply:OK, I'm getting ready to cut down my plate to size for my bench.....I'll pull it out of the alcove a bit to get better access but the cutting shall begin!Dragon D-150 Arc WelderHobart Handler 175 Set up with 100% CO²WT-60 Plasma Arc Panasonic TIG Star YC-300TWX-2 Panasonic YX-0092UW Water Cooler for the TIG
Reply:And the top is now cut!... there was much rejoicing!I proceeded to cut out a template for making the foot cantilevers. I used some 6mm thick plywood.The first one was a bit rough, I admit......But they got mostly better as I used the plasma torch more.....I cut our a total of nine, but the first one was too rough.So those pieces are basically done.The plywood template on first inspection looks like it did well enough.......but when you flip the template over....Yeah, that is not very good.Now most of this is my fault, not handling the torch skillfully, and as the template took minutes to make and I knew it was going to be a throw away piece, I think it worked well enough.Cheers!Dragon D-150 Arc WelderHobart Handler 175 Set up with 100% CO²WT-60 Plasma Arc Panasonic TIG Star YC-300TWX-2 Panasonic YX-0092UW Water Cooler for the TIG
Reply:So far so good..I need to build one as well...Miller 211 & Spoolmate 100Miller Diversion 165Miller Spectrum 875
Reply:Originally Posted by BurpeeDon't get nutty with the welding and warp it. A couple of one inch welds is all you need.
Reply:weld that top down or it is going to get real noisy when you get out the hammer and start pounding.   Also, I'm amazed at the space your working in, is this just your little welding area or are you really that cramped for space around there?  Sure makes me grateful for the big spaces I have.
Reply:Originally Posted by SuperArc100% agree with what Burp said.....  Shorter weld beads look so much more cleaner too IMHO.  On another note... I'm too afraid to go to Japan, especially since I saw a Discovery channel show on those mean @ss mother F#%€'N Japanese Giant hornets!   Those beasts pack some real sting, bite and spitting cobra-like crap out of their mouths.   That's truly an insect with some horsepower!  They  make our USA "killer bees" look like newborn kittens!
Reply:Originally Posted by cd19weld that top down or it is going to get real noisy when you get out the hammer and start pounding.   Also, I'm amazed at the space your working in, is this just your little welding area or are you really that cramped for space around there?  Sure makes me grateful for the big spaces I have.
Reply:Except for the paint, the table is done!I did weld the top on with two short welds on each tube under the table top, not a lot, but enough to keep it from rattling.It ended up being fairly flat, for what it is.The worst dip I could find in the table is 10 thou, certainly not flat, but I think flat enough for this table.I also got the feet done.Here is one welded up next to the cardboard mockup I made.I ended up putting the feet on the corners so to speak, I think it worked out well.There it is.I need to next build the removable vice mount and a removable grate that will be used for the plasma torch. I also want to make a pull out drawer that will set under the plasma cutting grind to catch most of the spray that comes off the cool cutting tool.Thanks for all the feedback.Cheers!Last edited by Stu In Tokyo; 12-01-2013 at 08:58 AM.Dragon D-150 Arc WelderHobart Handler 175 Set up with 100% CO²WT-60 Plasma Arc Panasonic TIG Star YC-300TWX-2 Panasonic YX-0092UW Water Cooler for the TIG
Reply:The plywood held up about how I'd expect. If you were doing more, you could drill a small hole for starting or position the template at the very edge of last cutout or edge of sheet and you would get a lot more cuts with it.Cramped living for sure. You can barely make out my neighbors house through the trees.Millermatic 200Hobart Handler 120Victor O/A & Ramco BandsawLincoln 225 ACSnapOn AD HoodMiller XMT304/22AHypertherm Powermax 1650 G3Lincoln Idealarc DC600 w/Extreme 12 VSMiller Digital Elite "Joker"
Reply:Originally Posted by RaptorDunerThe plywood held up about how I'd expect. If you were doing more, you could drill a small hole for starting or position the template at the very edge of last cutout or edge of sheet and you would get a lot more cuts with it.Cramped living for sure. You can barely make out my neighbors house through the trees.
Reply:One more thing that I decided to do was to put some steel down over the plywood I have, yes I guess fire was a concern, but the biggest thing for me was clean up, very hard to sweep up that rough plywood.It's only 1.6mm thick mild steel, and it has one seam, I tacked it with 1/2" long welds in a few places so I can remove it fairly easily.Should work just fine.Cheers!Dragon D-150 Arc WelderHobart Handler 175 Set up with 100% CO²WT-60 Plasma Arc Panasonic TIG Star YC-300TWX-2 Panasonic YX-0092UW Water Cooler for the TIG
Reply:Thanks Mick.Yeah, tell me about expensive, and we are inside the Yamanote loop, which is one of the most expensive areas of an expensive area.Dragon D-150 Arc WelderHobart Handler 175 Set up with 100% CO²WT-60 Plasma Arc Panasonic TIG Star YC-300TWX-2 Panasonic YX-0092UW Water Cooler for the TIG
Reply:Hi Stu,Nice build mate. For a small workshop you have a good setup. I am using one half of a garage and i thought my space was a bit small. I guess you raise the bar on that one mate.Love the angled stabiliser legs as well. Thinking outside the square.
Reply:Originally Posted by dinkum daveHi Stu,Nice build mate. For a small workshop you have a good setup. I am using one half of a garage and i thought my space was a bit small. I guess you raise the bar on that one mate.Love the angled stabiliser legs as well. Thinking outside the square.
Reply:OK, I finally got around to putting in the supports for a shelf on the bottom of my welding table.....Maybe I did not need all four pieces, but hey, I had a piece of angle iron that I could get four supports out of, so I did I'll next cut some expanded mesh and cut it to fit the shelf.Cheers!Dragon D-150 Arc WelderHobart Handler 175 Set up with 100% CO²WT-60 Plasma Arc Panasonic TIG Star YC-300TWX-2 Panasonic YX-0092UW Water Cooler for the TIGSome nice builds -- looked at you cart as well.  Living in a condo/appartment, don't you get complaints about noise?  And how do you extract fumes?Keep grinding!Regards, Patrick