Thread: Welding table ideas

What's your ideal welding table surface? I've got room for something about 2.5m x 1m, and a few hundred bucks to spend.

Those drilled 3D jig tables look fantastic, but they cost thousands of dollars. I've been thinking of fabricating something with a load of parallel, thick-walled RHS (with wide enough gaps to get clamps through).

What about the traditional steel slab? How thick?!

Interested to hear your ideas!

Originally Posted by Dusty Dave

What's your ideal welding table surface? I've got room for something about 2.5m x 1m, and a few hundred bucks to spend.

Those drilled 3D jig tables look fantastic, but they cost thousands of dollars. I've been thinking of fabricating something with a load of parallel, thick-walled RHS (with wide enough gaps to get clamps through).

What about the traditional steel slab? How thick?!

Interested to hear your ideas!

I bought one of these and it’s been much better than I thought it would be. The clamps are actually useful too.
https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/W07706

I have several welding tables, but one of my favorites is a 36 inch cast iron lathe faceplate which has been mounted on a single centre post and can therefore rotate freely about it's axis. (Not too freely, of course - you don't want it to spin while you're welding something.)

I have a 4 inch vice mounted on it, and a bunch of G-clamps that I've ground the sides off a little so that they will fit down through the slots and then clock around sideways to hold stuff down.

I can't take credit for the design though, as I bought it from a friend whose father built it half a century ago.

Cheers,... Jon.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Mine is two slabs of 32mm plate that has been machined flat both sides and has a grid of M12 threads tapped on 100mm centres. I have a about 1800x900 of work area.
The plates were the two top halves of milling fixtures built for a massive CNC machine. I sold the lower halves. To cover some of the cost.

Before I spotted those at auction I had decided to use a piece of 12mm plate around 1500 x 750 and grid it with M12 at 75mm centres.

Thanks guys, I guess it's all so dependent on the user and the work isn't it. I'm torn between something extremely flat, and something that I can tack to and grind off (meaning less flat as time goes on). A cast iron platen would be nice, but unless I get really lucky at a local auction that won't be happening any time soon!

I'm planning to have it on wheels so it can live against the wall but pull out for bigger jobs. Still leaning towards RHS at the moment, maybe C section, as a compromise.

I like the idea of a hole grid type pattern similar to the bluco, demellers, strong hand setups.

With a span of 2500mm I would be aiming for at least 25mm plate, ideally it would be gusseted as well to stop it from bowing.

It would also be a good idea to have some levelling feet on there to get it perfectly setup.

Magnetic drills and annular cutters are cheap these days and are a good way to get some accurate holes.

With your budget of $200 you might have to check out some scrap yards, you might find something suitable for your needs or at least something to get you started and modify later on.

I have the type of table you are describing almost exactly.

2400 x 1200 made from 40 x 40 x 3 RHS on castors, top has RHS every 300 or so in the 1200mm direction for clamping.

Works a treat for what I do in my shed. it is not exactly flat but close enough for me. A bit of extra time when i built it would have been good but I am happy enough.

Castors were expensive but it was roughly $300 to build.

Photos of workbench

#1 - photo when when I first made it, I made a removable cradle in the center for a job site table saw which I have since removed. I recall having to take some photos of me working to RPL a cert course if you are wondering why I have photos of myself routing
# 2 - I have now built in underneath one end for storage. I have left 150mm at the top for clamping. The MDF top on the ride hand side is removable and slides along the table when I need it out of the way.

Works for me, the same design we had in the workshops that I worked in when I worked in my trade..

That probably won't really be an ideal welding table though.

OK, I'm thinking of something along the lines of this, using 100x50x4? RHS:

weldbench.jpg

Each piece is 50mm apart. One of the things this would offer is a grid of 50x50 square holes, easy to make vertical posts that would 'plug in'. I'd put it on some hefty wheels so I can tow it out of the workshop when required.

My concern is that with so many welds it might be inclined to bow during construction, but I'm hopeful that careful spot welding (and possibly even dummy welds on the opposite sides) would minimise this.

Any thoughts?

Hi Dave
Did you see the table Justin at TFS made? Quite similar to your idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWOM0IApasY

Cheers
Si

Bolt the top layer. Then you can shim to get a flatter surface

Originally Posted by SiJ

Hi Dave
Did you see the table Justin at TFS made?

I didn't, thanks for the link. I almost had a panic attack when I realised he was going to cap every end! Crazy. There's no way I'm doing that. Otherwise interesting viewing, and reassuring that I'm probably on the right track. The removable centre section is interesting.

I still don't get what that angle is for on the end - butt welds?!

Originally Posted by pippin88

Bolt the top layer. Then you can shim to get a flatter surface

Oh that's an interesting idea. Do you foresee a lack of flatness anywhere in particular or do you just prefer the idea of having some adjustment?

Originally Posted by SiJ

Hi Dave
Did you see the table Justin at TFS made? Quite similar to your idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWOM0IApasY

Cheers
Si

When I see vids like this I wander how much sun burn these guys suffer after all that welding.


As far as tables go I find it hard to beat a 1" piece of plate welded to four legs with some large 8' wheels.

Gives you the stiffness you need for those large jobs.

DSC05757 e.jpg

Tony