Tucko
Well-known member
Does a welding table need to be made entirely of metal? I have a rather heavy wooden tabletop that I was thinking of skinning with some 10-12 ga. for a welding table. Would that work?
Question on welding tables
- Thread starter Tucko
- Start date
pepi
Well-known member
Ground effect, because of the wood, well maybe if you clamp the ground to the leg. I could see that as causing a problem ...
X2 on thicker material, how is the level of the wood, f to b, s to s. Welding tables are often made in a way, so the welder can have a true surface to build on. A metal table also offers a thin strong surface to clamp the pieces to, prevents distortion of the project.
Something to think about.
X2 on thicker material, how is the level of the wood, f to b, s to s. Welding tables are often made in a way, so the welder can have a true surface to build on. A metal table also offers a thin strong surface to clamp the pieces to, prevents distortion of the project.
Something to think about.
What do you mean by grounding problems? Wood usually isn't the best conductor. Another thing you have to watch out for is smoldering wood underneath the top piece. The metal top will get hot and possibly cause the wood on the back side to burn. Left unattended, say at night, well the worst could happen.
beakie
Well-known member
well "grounding" refers to the ability to clamp anywhere on the table and get a good connection to what your welding on. with a wood table, metal top, you'd have to be certain to clamp to the work piece, as clamping to the table would only "ground" one jaw of the clamp.
better ground = better weld
dr_clyde
Well-known member
I wouldn't.
I think it really depends on what kind of welding you're gonna do, but I wouldn't want to have to think about it. I'd rather just set the weldment up and go to town, versus thinking about where the ground was and how hot the top is getting.
I think it really depends on what kind of welding you're gonna do, but I wouldn't want to have to think about it. I'd rather just set the weldment up and go to town, versus thinking about where the ground was and how hot the top is getting.
Uhm,
I thought it was common knowledge that wood is not a conductor. I guess I was giving people a little bit more credit than I should have 
I really think/hope the OP was asking a different type of question than that. Even if one has a full metal table, it is still best to put the ground on the table top, instead of a leg or the like.beakie
Well-known member
Uhm,
well it's best to put the ground on the piece being welded, otherwise you could get an arc between the piece and the table... but it's easy and convenient to just hook up to the table and move your work piece around on it.
that said, my buddy has a wood bench along the back wall of his garage, and a piece of 3/16 bent to cover a 4' wide part of it, with a 6" lip down the front as a "welding table" works for him in a limited space.
Uhm,
I know that wood isn't a conductor. Basically what happened is I dragged home a tabletop yesterday that's about 3 1/2'x 7' and an 1 1/4" thick, and heavy as hell with the intention of fixing it up and using it in an outdoor patio. Closer inspection showed that the core of the table is particle board...hence killing the outdoor idea. Now I'm stuck with a heavy assed tabletop, and the welding table idea floated into my head. However, it's a stupid idea. Now I'm thinking I'll skin it with galvanized to waterproof the top, and an angle iron frame and legs for the bottom. The industrial look is all the rage...
DanarchyCustoms
Well-known member
You can use wood as a welding table without a problem. I use one at work and always have for 4+ years. Its a 4'x8' 3/4" plywood top and we just staple wooden jig blocks to frame something out and weld it up. Quick and easy. Despite what people think its actually hard to get a piece of plywood to burn on its own. Its just the way its done in our industry and after all these years I have yet to light a table on fire.
As a scenic carpenter/welder; the frames we have to build can be up to 26 feet long and 8 feet wide so we have no choice but to jig them right on the wooden shop floor. Depending on the things you are welding a wood table top may be better than a metal. However if you are welding very small items than go for a steel plate so that grounding the workpiece is easier.
As a scenic carpenter/welder; the frames we have to build can be up to 26 feet long and 8 feet wide so we have no choice but to jig them right on the wooden shop floor. Depending on the things you are welding a wood table top may be better than a metal. However if you are welding very small items than go for a steel plate so that grounding the workpiece is easier.
I know that wood isn't a conductor. Basically what happened is I dragged home a tabletop yesterday that's about 3 1/2'x 7' and an 1 1/4" thick, and heavy as hell with the intention of fixing it up and using it in an outdoor patio. Closer inspection showed that the core of the table is particle board...hence killing the outdoor idea. Now I'm stuck with a heavy assed tabletop, and the welding table idea floated into my head. However, it's a stupid idea. Now I'm thinking I'll skin it with galvanized to waterproof the top, and an angle iron frame and legs for the bottom. The industrial look is all the rage...
I wouldn't say it was a stupid idea. The biggest overlooked thing, that people make with that idea is the smoldering problem I talked about above. You definitaly are not alone in thinking about doing it. What makes nice small welding tables IMHO are old CI table saws that have a good top and dismal other parts. Throwing one of those on top of your bench would be OK, or even a piece of plate steel that you could remove at the end of the day. But permanently attaching a metal skin on a wood table and then walking away after welding could be very dangerous.
neonnblack
Well-known member
Along with Danarchy , i used to weld on a 3/4 piece of plywood all the time, it got blackened but never caught on fire.