Welding table questions

[*chris*]

I am sure you old timers are really sick of these posts, but anyway I couldn't find the answers searching. Bought a 3/8" thick 2' x 3' steel plate for the top. Couple of questions;

1) is it against the law to use a wooden frame?
2) Should I plan a height for sitting or standing when using?
3) Is underneath a good place to store my 120v mig and ac buzz box or will it get ruined with slag/dirt?

I am planning on putting it on casters to wheel it out to use.

Chris

[MoonRise]

1) Yes.
2) Yes.
3) No, yes.

A little more details.

1) Welding means hot and also molten metal will be involved. The table top may get hot, and molten metal may drip or run or spatter around the area. When welding things, a lot of time there may also be sparks from grinding and so forth. So putting a wooden frame under your steel plate table top is not such a good idea.

2) You have to decide what you want, based on personal preferences and style and what kinds of work and workpieces you will do and work on.

3) Under the table is an OK place to store the equipment, but it is not a good place to have it when working because of the dust, dirt, grit, slag, etc.

[leonandlisa]

I agree that you should go with a metal frame for the metal top. That will allow you to weld the top to the frame and keep it from bending and moving while you hammer on it and get it hot while working on projects.

As for storage underneath just make it a shelf instead of setting everything on the floor.

As for the height I went 40" so it is comfortable to stand by and if I want to sit I use a bar stool like you find at a auto parts store.

[Oldtimer]

1. I don't know about the law but I wouldn't do it. Personally I want a stable, heavy table so that means steel.

2. Yes, absolutely. This is my own personal experience. The more comfortable you are the longer you can work and the better work you can do. The straighter you can stand, or sit for that matter, the easier it is on your back. I am facing back surgery from all that heavy lifting and those odd and uncomfortable positions I worked in for years. Sometime you just have to weld things where they are but get comfortable if at all possible

3. No. The area right around a welding table is a very unfriendly environment for tools and equipment. I don't put anything under my table.

I would use steel or cast iron casters and fairly large diameter. All this is just my personal preference.

[Yamahammer]

I have never owned a MIG machine, but have kept my TIG machines underneath my welding table for 20 years and have never had a problem.

[zapster]

Mine won't fit under mine..:nono:

Good place for footpedals though..

...zap!

[bhardy501]

I would definitly build the table out of all metal. Try local scrap yards for metal. We have a scrap yard that sells it for .20 per pound. You can find all kinds of stuff there.

[*chris*]

I bought some deep Unistrut at lunch today 1 5/8" x 1 5/8" to build the base for my welding table. Haven't figured out the wheels yet, thinking about doing a gas grill type thing with only one set of wheels.

Critiques on the design?
Are heavy duty casters good enough to withstand hammering and beating?
Is a 3" overhang enough for clamping purposes?

I am planning on mounting a ~100 pound vice to the table.

http://www.woodwurker.com/webimages/20080509weldingtable.jpg

Chris

[A_DAB_will_do]

on the subject of 2 wheels...my table has 2 wheels mounted on the sides of two legs, just barely off the floor. I can pick up on the opposite side of the table, and the wheels touch down. The table weighs about 300 lbs, so it's very difficult to move in this fashion. But, it's resting on 4 solid legs whenever it's not being moved. I've thought of adding some removeable tube 'handles' to improve the leverage I have for lifting up the table to roll it.

2 fixed casters welded vertically to the legs of the table were cheaper than 4 heavy duty steel casters with locks.

If you're going to work on the cheap, or only move the table infrequently, I'd recommend how I did it. If you're going to roll the table around all the time, spend the extra money for 4 heavy duty steel casters.

[*chris*]

Here are the results, being a woodworker I needed it to have some wood (plywood shelf) Once I find a scrap yard, I will replace it with expanded metal or posssibly a thin sheet.

I am still not sure if I am going to leave the welders underneath, but they were good for testing load capacities and stability.

I started welding this with 1/8" 6011 on the arc welder, but was just punching holes. I went back to my trusty MiG to finish it up, I really need to work on my fitting better as bridging gaps makes for ugly welds.

http://woodwurker.com/webimages/20080512weldcart.jpg

I also repainted this almost 100 year old vise for the table.

http://woodwurker.com/webimages/20080512parkervice.jpg