Miller ARC-Station clone

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Hi there,I just found an old rusty piece of plate roughly 30'x30'x1/4". Fairly flat as well.I want to make a welding table out of it and I was thinking of putting together something like the Arc-station workbench from Miller. I was also thinking about cutting the same X pattern and make my own version of X-clamps out of some old/cheap clamps.So far I haven't found any pictures of the underside of said table and I wonder if they have any cross members to support the plate (besides the outher tube frame). Does anyone here own one of this tables and could take a few pictures of it?I plan on making a subframe that gives me a 4" overhang. Will the 1/4" plate be stiff enough to serve well as a light duty table with said X-pattern cut-outs without any cross members on the frame?Any help will be welcome,Mikel
Reply:I didn't recive much feedback about the ARC Station table so I went ahead and built the frame without any cross members.I made it out of 40x40x2mm square tubing and some 25x25x3mm angle iron. we capped the whole frame with 6mm caps on the legs (so they last longer) and 4mm caps on the other four openings. We ground smoth the welds on the caps and the welds on top of the frame (where the plate will be resting). The plan is to drive 10-12 8mm bolts from the frame to the top (drill and tap) so if we ever need to replace the top or we find a deal on a thicker piece, we can easily replace it. Avoiding any welds on the top also prevents it from warping. The top is a recicled, rusted piece of plate used before as a welding table so it will need some grinding with a flap disc to remove splatter, rust, etc.It is not a heavy duty table, but enough for what we will be using it. We built it over our main welding table. It is the first time we need to put together a frame using it and being able to clamp almost anywhere is quite handy. The top of the frame doesn't rock at all, which is great.Some pictures of it. We painted it yesterday using Martelé paint. No need for primer just some sanding and degreasing. We gave it two coats.One of the legs is adjustable so it will be easy to balance. In the picture we still need to weld a pad to the head of the M12 Hex bolt.We welded some brackets for two fixed casters that make contact when the oposite side of the table is raised a little bit. Since the table is light enough, we didn't add any wheelbarrow-stile handles. Will be welded/bolted on later if needed.For the bottom shelf we couldn't find a suitable pice of grate or expanded metal or whatever and we don't want to use a piece of thin sheetmetal, so for now I will cut a pice of thick plywood (scraped from the deck of a truck). If we manage to put it on fire, we will replace it with metal, but for now it will do.I will update this thread once the paint has cured enough and we can attach the casters, the shelf and the top plate. Still debating about cutting the X pattern or not. It may weaking the to too much and I wasn't planning on adding any cross members... what do you think? As it is now I will only have a 4" overhang all the way arround for clamping and I would like to have a few more clamping options.Mikel
Reply:Could one of the mods. move this thread to the Welding Projects & Pictures subforum? I think that now it fits better in there.Thanks in advance,Mikel
Reply:The top plate on the X table is a little thicker, its 3/8, and there are no cross members. Very similar to what you are building. I have one of those tables and can send you a pic later, but seems like your well on your way. The Xs on the table are actually punched. If you cut them on 1/4 plate it may warp pretty good. Maybe finese it by hand with a drill, die grinder, cutoff wheels, and a file. Little time consuming, but sometimes ya gotta go oldschool!I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Thanks for the info Weldermike! Any pictures will be very wellcome.When you say that cutting the top may warp it... are you talking about oxy or plasma, right? I don't have such equipment so I was thinking on just scribing the pattern, drilling with a 1/4" or so drillbit in all the corners to give them some kind or radious and then cut it with a zip wheel on my 4" grinder... I usually move the grinder along the cut all the time, helps keeping it straight and doesn't overheat much a single spot (it doesn't stay long in the same spot at all).Do you think this method may warp it as well?Mikel
Reply:Yes, you should be fine with that. Also a jig saw with some metal blades would help, and a carbide burr for your die grinder. Ill send some pics from home later.I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Here's a few pics of the x table I just picked up, if your skeptical about cutting the patterns for the clamps for sake of weakining your table, just make your pattern for your clamps and just weld a few stiffeners underneath where they won't interfere with your clamps. Some 3/8 x 1" flat bar on edge underneath wherever you think nescesary should do. Cheers bud, looks good already  Attached ImagesI hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:weldermike, what is the thickness of your table top? I *think* the Miller cat states its 3/16" thick however the slots in your photo makes it appear much thicker. I want to build a copy of these tables myselfThermal Arc Fabricator 2101970 Lincoln RedfaceMiller 150 STLStill need a Syncrowave and a plasma and a milling machine and a lathe and a bigger shop and a....
Reply:Originally Posted by Canoe2fishweldermike, what is the thickness of your table top? I *think* the Miller cat states its 3/16" thick however the slots in your photo makes it appear much thicker. I want to build a copy of these tables myself
Reply:Thanks a lot for the pictures WelderMike! I was wondering about the shape of the piece on the botom of the X-clamps and it shows clearly. I just asked a friend of mine with a machine shop to rough cut some 20mm slices of a 40mm round stock. They will come handy.What kind of finish did Miller put on that table? I bet it is not coated in any way, but it surely seems like some kind of clearcoat has been applied. It just shines too mucho to be bare ground steel.I will make the cuts and use it as is. If it starts to bow too much, I will tack weld some flat stock as Weldermike suggested.Will update this thread as soon as possible,Mikel
Reply:It looks to be glass beaded, and had a light coat of oil on it.I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Mikel_24,  did you ever finish this project?  I'm doing the same thing myself.  Making my own folding table (24x20x1/2" top; so smaller than the Miller but a little thicker) which I'll be cutting some 3/4" slits into.I'm curious on the "make my own version of X-clamps out of some old/cheap clamps".   Did you do this?   I don't fancy paying $39 each for the Miller 5" X-clamp (and that's the discounted online price).   I had a few ideas on making my own by cannibalizing some old C-clamps but before I start I thought I'd see what other people have done and found your thread via Google.    I have a lathe to make the 3/4" boss that will run in the slits and a mill to make the base.Last edited by crazybrit; 04-15-2014 at 06:49 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by crazybritMikel_24,  did you ever finish this project?