This weeks garage project has been to finish up a fabrication/welding table that I've had in mind and to use or re-purpose as much as possible from around the garage/house.
I've had this old heavy steel table that was bought at auction a few years ago and always had in mind to fix it up for my use. It's not too big, 33" x 27" but big enough for my garage and projects. It came pretty crusty looking with remnants of old yellow paint and has gotten worse over the past couple years as I kept moving it around in storage and finally it had to spend last winter outside so a lot of clean up was needed now.
The first upgrade was to raise it a little higher for me and to get it rolling around on wheels. I had a set of good casters (one that locks) and proceeded to tack weld those on the the leg bottoms. This made the overall height 35" and much more comfortable for my size. And now it rolls freely.
Next was a total wire brushing with the wire wheel cup on a grinder to remove all loose paint and rust, a good wipe down to remove dirt, dust, grime and, then a paint job using some Rustoleum matte black paint that has been on the shelf for a long time waiting for such a purpose. One cheap HF 1" paint brush was sacrificed in this effort and served its purpose well.
The top was also wire brushed and then gone over again with a flap disc on the grinder to clean it up and give a little character.
A steel tube that was another auction purchase turned out to be just the thing for a cross bar to hold clamps. It needed a little bending of the ends and some left over bolts, washers and spacers made from pipe to custom fit it between the two legs and bolt in place. The tube was already powder coated green so I didn't even bother to repaint it. To finish this off I repurposed an old bicycle cross bar pad by cutting it in half and with the existing velcro was able to secure each half at the ends of the round bar as a cushion to stop the clamps from hitting those freshly painted legs.
Finally I added a vise to the spot where one had been mounted before and was able to use some of the existing holes. It's just a cheap 4" Chinese vise with a bit of cleaning and a coat of paint from some left over spray paint. It works smoothly enough to hold projects for grinding and welding and I won't feel bad about hitting it with the grinder, or getting scrapes or weld slag on it. Perfect for dirty jobs and I already had it from some past sale.
All fasteners were salvaged from my spare nut and bolt bins so I didn't even have to buy a washer. I think the .69 cent paint brush was the only thing actually purchased from a store specific for this project.
Ready for work now so I better think up the next project
Here's some pictures from beginning to end product.
