New shop, and sizing a welding table

[sivy]

Hey folks,

I've been lurking on here for a long time, following various threads and admiring some of the amazing work showcased. I'm a hobby welder and I've been out of workspace for a year after my father took back his shop. I've been working on building a new garage/shop next to my house, and need some advice about sizing a table for my needs and the size of the space.

The structure is relatively large for a residential two-car setup, it's roughly 28' wide x 27' deep. About 6' across the back is all dedicated storage, leaving a 28 x 22 space for my wife's minivan and my shop. So my space will be about 22 x 13, and be used for both my welding work (MIG, plasma, 14" bandsaw) and general rural home improvement (meaning wood workbench, vice, table and miter saws, storage for tools and nuts/bolts/screws/misc). The building will have a 100A panel, with one 50A circuit shared between the welder, plasma, and outlets for shop tools.

I don't need a massive table, but I've been imagining something around 60" x 30" x 1/2", with casters so I can move it around as needed, and leave room at that end for the welder/plasma equipment.

Any tips or advice on the space and table size appreciated!

Thanks,

--Steve

[fortyonethirty]

Bigger the better. You won't ever complain that the table is too big. The length is a bit more important than the width, I often wish my table (5'x10') was longer, but the width is usually enough.

You can do wood work on a metal table, can't really do much welding on a wood table. You can alway throw a piece of plywood on top of the table if you need a wood surface.

Avoid putting holes in the table if you plan to use it for mechanic type work. Screws and bearings and such get lost too easily as it is.

Get good casters. You won't ever complain that the table is too easy to move. Name brands don't mean much. Look for tall wheels and heavy weight capacity.

Don't forget saw horses. Make some heavy duty saw horses at the same height as your tabletop.

[sivy]

Hey Ian,

Sawhorses are a great idea that I haven't seen mentioned here before. I'll definitely look into it. And good point about being able to do wood work on a metal bench! I need to break out SketchUp and update my shop drawing so I can play around with table size and movement within the space.

Thanks!

--Steve

[monte_santa_cruz]

I'm working out of a single car space with shelving down both sides. Built a 60" X 32" table on castors. It's pretty good size wise. Sure, I'd love a bigger table, but it does what I need and when pushed up against the wall doesn't take up to much space. I find it is a good compromise.

YMMV.


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[BD1]

See what material is available for the top first and then size the table. In other words you may find like a 33'' x 78'' piece of plate for less money then a 30'' x 72''. It depends on what suppliers or recyclable places have . You could also consider a couple of pipe stands for additional support , incorporating receiver tubing on ends or front with long 2'' square tube for sliding in when needed. A engine hoist is handy too.

[little_sparky]

heres the table im currently building for my new workshop that is 23'x23'





and also plan for a workbench to go on a wall, may look something like this;

[sivy]

Finally got some time to whip this up in SketchUp (hoping I post the pic right)



This isn't everything but it's the pieces I've had time to measure out. Sized up the table to 6' x 4', and still looks like a good size to me (whether I can afford to build it as another thing )

I'm still combing the forums for shop layout ideas and things to think about.

Cheers,

--Steve

[Bistineau]

)

I'm still combing the forums for shop layout ideas and things to think about.

Cheers,

--Steve

Don't forget to include room for the fridge to keep the beer cold.

[sivy]

Ha! Mini-fridge, check!

[Bistineau]

Ha! Mini-fridge, check!

Make sure to plan your layout of electrical outlets for the items you want in certain places for use. Maybe try to find a Maxi-Fridge, not a Mini one.

[sivy]

Yeah, I'll be meeting with an electrician after tax return time and going over what's going where.

[psacustomcreations]

Here are a few ideas to consider.

At home I have my bandsaw and most other tools on casters so I can move them around as needed. You might want to put casters under yours.

Is the utility/work table next to the tool boxes or craftsman cabinet a good height? If so, it can also be used to support long or odd shaped pieces.
Are you going to put a removable vise on the welding table? Using a receiver hitch is common on here. You may want to add that to the drawing in sketch up to see how that additional space changes the room between items.
Do you have a shop vac, chair, tool you expect to purchase in the future, etc? add those to the diagram. Each may be small, but it all adds up and uses floor space.

At work I have a situation similar to yours in shared space with a vehicle sometimes parked nearby. We hung pieces of 1/2" pipe as curtain rods and some tarps between the two areas to keep the dust and sparks down in the "clean" area.

[sivy]

Hi,

Good points... the utility table doesn't exit yet - it was an idea, but I ought to finish measuring up the gear I already have before adding mythical furniture. :-) Biggest is my table saw that' going to take up space; I'm considering finding a sanding wheel for it to make it more useful for cleaning up steel projects.

I have a vise on a piece of 2" tube, so yeah I'll probably add a piece of receiver tube on there as well, thanks for the reminder!

[Bistineau]

Hi,I have a vise on a piece of 2" tube, so yeah I'll probably add a piece of receiver tube on there as well, thanks for the reminder!

You might want to consider adding more than one. That gives you options on where you put it, or you can have several items mounted and usable at the same time. I have one on each corner of my table. I can have a shelf for my chop saw on one corner and a bench or pipe vise on another, so I don't have to swap them in and out when I am using them both regularly on one project.
When ever I get another piece of plate for a top, I plan on making a removable wing section that I can put in the receivers on one end to increase table top size if I need it or remove it when I don't need the extra top space. I plan to make them so they can scope out some to increase the width of the table, too, so the top plates don't need to be butted up to the existing top.

[Toolferone]

Mount the outlets 4' high, no reason to bend if you don't have to. Make sure lighting is on a separate circuit.