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Thread: Welding Table
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12th May 2021, 07:23 PM #1Golden Member
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Welding Table
Having bought the material for this welding bench before Xmas I thought enough of life had got in the way and that I needed to make a start!
The table will have a central threaded rod with a large nut connected to the top of the table. A set of bevel gears and a shaft will enable it to be raised and lowered. Whether I ever use the feature is to be seen! There will be wheels on the sides that can be lowered by scissor jacks so that I can move the table around (wheels not shown in pics). The top is 16mm plate with 16mm holes at Xmm centres. The plates are mounted on screw jacks (yes I borrowed Fireball Tools idea) so that they can be perfectly levelled. Chips trays catch all the splatter.
Table2.jpgTable1.jpg
Not having a welding table yet meant time on the concrete floor - not good for my aging knees. I have 2 of the Fireball Tools aluminium mega squares which are an excellent bit of kit.
I spent a number of hours and multiple strip disks removing all the paint and mill scale from the cut parts. I don't like painting over the top of unknown paint. I welded the table top outer frame only to find the numpties at the metal retailer had not cut them square. Grrrr. I persevered and got the whole top tacked but was not happy at all. A quick phone call and replacements were ready for collection. Annoying but mistakes happen. Take 2 went much better - rubbish one at the back and good metal on the floor.
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As the top needs to slide into the bottom I had to ensure all the measurements were tickaty-boo so I got inventive.
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Welding the lower section was much the same after I had drilled 192 holes (8mm then 20/22mm) then hand deburred all 96 inside and out.
20210510_115709.jpg
That was a few days ago. The top and bottom fitted together nicely and I now have this...
20210512_172509.jpg
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12th May 2021, 07:50 PM #2Golden Member
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Yesterday and today I was working on the table top plates. My plan is to mill them flat then mill the edges. I will then drill and ream the 16mm holes.
This is the first time I have used my Fexac UP mill. It came with a 100mm face mill that had some 12.7x12.7x3.17mm plain carbide inserts. The cutter has some unmeasured lead angle and the inserts have tapered sides (clearance angle?). I spent quite some time trying to get the 6 inserts to sit at the same height and got them to within around 0.03mm of each other which is probably quite good. Before I did this there was 1 insert leaving nasty looking marks.
It took me many hours to mill one side of one 1000x300mm plate. I was learning the mill and had several worries with oil flow, oil level, removing the vertical head and removing broken bolts along the way. I also tried in vain to change to the ~250mm face mill but couldn't work it out.
This is the finish that I got which I am not happy with.
20210512_140225.jpg
This particular plate had about 1mm of bow in the middle so clamping it on the ends only resulted in chatter when cutting the centre. My plan was to take off the bare minimum from one side, flip it over and mill the other then flip it back and mill flat. I figured doing this would end up in 2 flat sides. (?)
I think I am changing my plans. I spent the afternoon looking at my Zocca 500 shaper that I am also yet to use in anger. The table was stuck so I removed the front support and cleaned and oiled the slide ways. It now moves nicely. Being a small shaper it will not cut a 1000mm plate in one process. I have considered changing my design slightly such that each of the 6 plates is cut in half (using the shaper) with a gap between them (same size gaps as on each side of the plate). The shaper can just about handle that size. Would you do this or do you think clamping the full 1000mm plate to the shaper table, cutting half, moving and re-clamping, would result in a decent finish? Having seen less than perfect results on the Fexac when moving clamps I have my doubts.
If I use the shaper I will also need to make a tool holder (the bit that sicks out with a slot in it that holds the bar that contains the HSS tool that I don't know the name of). This shaper is set up for cutting keyways.
If anybody has a manual for the Zocca 500 I would sure appreciate a copy. I cannot even work out how to oil the ram ways as there are no oil ports.
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12th May 2021, 09:11 PM #3Most Valued Member
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Cool looking welding table m8
You will struggle to get those plates flat as they move every time you take a skim, I know you would like to use your gear and do the job yourself but you will save yourself time and frustration if you take the plates to a heat treater and get them stress relieved and then take them to a mob that does wash grinding.
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12th May 2021, 09:24 PM #4Diamond Member
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Milling those plates will be a struggle, even with the big CNC's a work i would have trouble doing them.
Depending what side of Adelaide your are on i am happy to call round and give you some pointers if that would help.
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12th May 2021, 09:47 PM #5Most Valued Member
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There are some things that require precision, and some that don't. A welding table doesn't require three decimal places of accuracy on surface finish, or reamed holes for your clamps. Sandblast the plates, run a rotabroach through the plates, paint it, then weld stuff..
I like your work and your tenacity toward achieving precision with everything, you certainly have a level of patience I don't, and I completely get that in a home workshop some jobs are more about the journey than the destination.
Following along with interest, looking forward to seeing how this turns out.
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13th May 2021, 12:38 AM #6Golden Member
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Thank you Sir.
More things for me to research.
That is definitely where I am coming from. I am new to machining and so have much to learn. If I take the easy way out or take shortcuts I will be missing a learning opportunity. In this specific case it is forcing me to use and learn multiple machines.
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13th May 2021, 10:43 AM #7Most Valued Member
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The problem is that as you remove metal stresses in the plate are released and it will bow or bend slightly, you end up flipping the plate over several times to try to get it flat, and you might get the first one spot on.
Then the big problem is not only getting the next ones flat but also to end at the same thickness.
If you want to do this i would suggest getting the material stress relieved first and take up snappa's offer, he will show you some simple things to do that you may not know or think of to do the machining.
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13th May 2021, 01:54 PM #8Diamond Member
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Wash grinding is also called slash grinding or Blanchard grinding. We use tregonings (Treg trailer) at work
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13th May 2021, 08:07 PM #9Most Valued Member
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13th May 2021, 09:37 PM #10Most Valued Member
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There’s a thread on it in the General section.
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13th May 2021, 10:06 PM #11Golden Member
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14th May 2021, 09:38 AM #12Most Valued Member
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Oh, I read it as you were removing broken bolts during the milling process. I assumed clamping bolts. I didn't realise the mill was a work-in-progress. Carry on.
Chris
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14th May 2021, 11:28 PM #13Member
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15th May 2021, 05:22 PM #14Golden Member
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