New High School Shop Table

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My kids just finished this up Friday.  It is made of 1/4" wall 2.1/2" square tubing with a 1/2" plate top.  The overall dimensions are 30" x 72" x 32" tall, it has holes drilled every 6" in both directions that will eventually be tapped to 1/2"-13 for creating jigs.  It has 1" bolts in the feet for leveling and a receiver hitch on each end for the vices.  The kids have been scouring Welding Web for a while and used a lot of ideas from other posts to plan and build this table.  We are going to build two more 4' x 8' tables to replace our last two wooden topped tables in the shop. (In the background of the first picture, the 1/2" plates are just sitting on the existing tables)  We still have to cut the shelf on our plasmatable, hopefully we will get it done this week.I think they did a great job on this one.Thanks for looking. Attached Images
Reply:Tell them they did a great job! You probably already have. I'd love to have one like that.DannyMy SiteJust worrying 'bout what I can't get to today.
Reply:Those footies look familiar! Looks like my table build but bigger.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=67821Nice neat work. Great shop too!Miller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:Great work, pass along.I would go back to high School if I could use that shop !!!!!
Reply:Very nice work. Just curious were those wholes drilled by hand or with a mag drill. You have some skilled studentsHobart Stick mate LX AC/DCHarris O/A outfit
Reply:Very nice!  That's the exact style of table I want to build!Miller Syncrowave 200MillerMatic 180 AutoSetHobart Airforce 500iVictor O/A (80cf)
Reply:It looks great.I would change a couple things though.- I have no background in designing structures, calculating loads and stuff so I usually tend to overbuild stuff.... But lately I have learnt that less is more so I try to build stuff using thinner wall tubing. Bigger tubing but thinner. The structure is more rigid, the tube is cheaper and it is plenty strong.- Instead of attaching receivers to the frame, I would use the uncapped pieces of the frame itself as receivers. You would get four receivers instead of two and will not need any new metal.- Lower tubes, if meant to hold a shelf, could have been made out of angle instead of tube. And also with a thinner angle as they don't bear any weight, just hold the structure square.Anyway the table looks great as it is and if you already had all the steel, then everything is ok.Mikel
Reply:It's nice to see kids doing something practical besides just welding up coupons. At least they are learning basic fab skills at the same time.The only critique I see is that they didn't wrap that corner with their beads. It's a bad habit to get into stopping at the corner..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:That is a really nice table, the kids did a great job. Nice shop too, I am glad to see at least one school still teaches shop type classes. I hope the students understand how lucky they are.Tim Beeker.
Reply:Really nice job the kids did looks like you taught them well
Reply:Very beefy table!  Looks great, and I love the cleanliness of the shop.  Its nice when ya got little slaves to keep it clean, eh?  I still would like to build a table for myself, on casters.  I've been using a sheet of steel from a naval yard, and its just sitting on a 2x4 frame.  Granted, its never had to put up with a bunch of weight, but it works.-AaronJet 17.5" Drill Press1942 South Bend 16x84 Lathe1980s Miller 320A / BP --- 2013 Power Mig 2562012 Jet 7x12 Horizontal BandsawVictor O/A Setup
Reply:Kids did an outstanding job...and I hope they realize how fortunate they are to have a facility like that.
Reply:nice to see kids learning good skills.shame that many schools over here dont teach this stuff anymore, although they are starting to teach it again inc cooking etc.luckily my boys school is one of the ones that still teaches it.
Reply:Nice looking shop. Around here they've cut the budget on shop classes down pretty good and I haven't seen a shop teacher competent enough to build that work bench anyways.  Thanks for showing.
Reply:wish my high school had that! hell i was a better welder than the "shop" teacher in high school. we werent fortunate enough to have shops though. it was automotive and "covered" all the others. really a joke of a class. its to bad.Miller ab/p 330Hobart champ 16Miller 140Lincoln Power Mig 255Lincoln SA-250
Reply:Very nice table bud....I am an Ag Mechanics teacher, mostly welding/fab class stuff. We just built a table for a friend, who commishioned the job to us. I will post pics a little bit later. I would like to know how you drilled your holes on that bad boy? Thanks
Reply:Looks great....definitely wish I had something like that in high school....
Reply:We drilled the holes with a Milwaukee Mag Drill we borrowed from a local contractor.  I couldn't imagine doing it any other way.  Now to teach the kids to tap them all STRAIGHT!  I am holding off until I am feeling really patient someday!
Reply:Great looking table, really skilled group of kids, very neat shop, and they have a good teacher!  You should be proud of them.
Reply:I gotta agree, they did a great job. I'd be happy to have that in my shop.If you don't want to stand behind our Troops, feel free to stand in front of them.
Reply:Very nice.Do you have any close ups of the vice receiver hitch? I might do something like that.Dave ReberWadsworth Ohio
Reply:See this thread for some other tools we made to fit the hitches.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=108281