PDA

View Full Version : Work/Welding table?



Peccavi18
10-13-2009, 04:17 AM
What size table are you guys using (length,width, thickness) and anything special about it that you really like or couldn't live without or hate? The guy that resplined my axle shafts had a 2'x4'x 6" thick old mill table that was flat on one side and had T-slots on the other so he could clamp down to it.I thought that was pretty trick but alittle overkill for anything I would need. He also had a 1"thick 3'x4' table that was what he was primarly using, just tacked parts to it as needed, about 3-4 inches of overhang on the sides so he could clamp around them and a medium sized vice.

I'm getting tired of working and welding on the floor or having to pull out the saw horses and lay my thin scrap steel over it to work on. I have accumliated a few heavy duty carts (1k and 3k lb capacity) recently and an old thin topped steel prep table. Soon one of them is gonna be modified to be a worktable/welding table. Looking for ideas, will prob be more of a workbench but I want to be able to put heavy parts up there, slam on them with a bfh, as well as grind and weld if need be without problems. I saw one that used 2" recievers and hitches mounted under the table so that vices, grinders, notchers, etc could be securely mounted when needed and removed so they weren't in the way for storage. Any other trick ideas you can think of?

Thinking 1/2" for the top, with a removable "backsplash" to keep the sparks contained. and a perment location for a fire extinguisher. Another design aspect I would like incorperated is a slide out locking "shelf" of expanded metal with heavy duty edges and bracing that I can lay parts on for stripping with the grinder, or cutting with the chop saw. Would also like to keep it mobile, so heavy duty locking casters or casters and a way to level it???

limegreentj
10-13-2009, 10:40 AM
i have one that is like 4x6 wood its about 2 inches thick, then there is a sheet of stainless on top of it that i got free from work, its nice and flat, and i can drill holes in it to hold things down a lot easier than if it was solid steel, its super durable and heavy as hell.

trailerrails
10-14-2009, 09:25 AM
i have one that is like 4x6 wood its about 2 inches thick, then there is a sheet of stainless on top of it that i got free from work, its nice and flat, and i can drill holes in it to hold things down a lot easier than if it was solid steel, its super durable and heavy as hell.

Not a bad idea as long as you don't get the work surface hot. You will burn the wood under the top. Right now my setup is similar, but I have a piece of 1/4" that I weld on top of. I will still burn the wood under there from time to time.
I am going to build a table using 1/4" plate with angle iron under the top for reinforcement. I am also going too put my vice and some other tools on receiver hitches and put a couple of receivers on the table. That way I can move them out of the way if I need to.

highlandercj-7
10-14-2009, 12:48 PM
I will be building one when I have a garage big enough to store it lol. It will be out of 1/2" plate, I prefer 5'x12' that way I can build frames or what ever on it.

limegreentj
10-14-2009, 12:58 PM
the only thing about that is its too heavy to move, you need a forklift or a few guys to help you, hell even my table is heavy, probably weighs about 100+ pounds

highlandercj-7
10-14-2009, 02:58 PM
Got that covered you can put casters under it to move it. Nothing else tab the legs one side for a floor jack and use casters that slip in like a tongue jack on a trailer. Most the time you will leave it in a corner anyway.

Peccavi18
10-15-2009, 12:01 AM
The 3k lb capacity cart has casters already, so I figured I could weld a nut to the top of a 1' long section of 3/4" or so all-thread and another nut or two to the cart and just wrench the all-thread down to level it as needed or stop it from moving. As is the cart alone weighs 100+lbs and is 3' x 4' approx. It has already been tested it can carry my complete front d60 axle and a ton of spare parts an tools so I think it may be a good choice for the base of this project.

joshs1ofakindxj
10-15-2009, 01:31 PM
in the garage i have a 6'x3'x1/2" steel table with a big ole vice on the concrete floor. hasnt made me want more ever.

back in the barn is the real table. about 20'x3'x9/16" steel on gravel with pipe flanges welded to the under-side and pipe legs so you can adjust the height. takes heavy equipment to move it. even bigger vice mounted to it.