Attaching 1/2" steel top to welding table frame

[FULLSCALE302]

I think I'd like to bolt my 1/2 plate top to the frame of my table instead of welding it.

I could be wrong, but I think I'd be able to shim it if my top is bowed at all and this way I wouldn't have to worry about possible warpage after welding the top solid.

My top is 30"x60", and I was planning on using eight 1/2" bolts countersunk into the top in the pattern shown below. The grey is my frame under the top and the red are brackets that I would use to bolt the top down. Is there any reason that I shouldn't bolt it together instead of welding?

 

[Buckgnarly]

Bolt it...I welded mine and got some warping. Knowing what I know now I would have bolted or stitched it with only a couple welds.

 

[dr_clyde]

Mine is bolted in exactly the same fashion yours. I just threaded the top and used socket heads up from the bottom instead of countersinking the top.

No problems yet, and I use my table every day.

 

[SM Racing]

I used .310 bolts through the frame and into the threaded table top. Works great. Have no issues with bolts loosening.

 

[FULLSCALE302]

Sounds like it's a good idea then. I never thought of bolting them up into the top, it sounds like it may be the way to go.

Did you both drill it right through the top or just part way so there is no hole seen from above? If I didn't drill right through I don't think there would be too many threads catching the bolt.

 

[DBendr]

Drill and tap the top and the frame from the bottom.I use 1 1/4 or so angles welded to the leg( or upper frame) and then bolted the top. About four 1/4 x 20 will keep the wind from blowing it away.No need in getting crazy.
Drilling from the top with a countersink just creates a catch all.

 

[FULLSCALE302]

Thanks, my 1/2 bolts are probably overkill. I think I'd still like to space 8 out though in case my frame is not 100% flat then I can shim to make the top flat.

 

[brownbagg]

1/2inch plate you can just lay it there and its not going anywhere, or maybe epoxy it. dont want to tap the top you could clamp it with some angle, one side weld the angle to the legs, other side slot the angle with bolts, pull tight lock it down

 

[bullnerd]

We built one at a shop at worked at. We used 3/8 -24 flat socket head cap screws. The finer pitch gives lots of power to manipulate the plate and the hex hole is so small its not a catch all problem. Just take care to get the heads very flush with the surface. We used it for a tapping table, had a tap arm attached to one side, so it needed to be pretty flat. Worked great.

 

[Scout Driver]

I welded angle-iron tabs to the bottom of my 1/4" table top. The tabs got bolted to the frame by bolting thru the sides of the angle and sides of the table top frame. This eliminates any holes or fasteners protruding from the top of the table's work surface.

Scott

 

[BD1]

Here's a table I did with a friend where we bolted the top.
http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?430711-Small-3%92-x-5%92-rolling-welding-table&highlight=

 

[22george]

I did the same thing. Used countersunk bolts
worked well

 

[LXCam]

I used 1/2" counter sunk on mine. I never considered bolting it from the bottom but now I wish I had. Counter sinking mine was a muther, it's 1/2" stainless btw.

 

[sberry]

Some of the features of these benches are not new but the popularity is. I built nearly 300 benches, never warped one or bolted one. .Limited welds spaced a foot and less than a couple inches are not a problem. Corners need only a little.

 

[brownbagg]

mine is just some angle iron on the side with the top fit in between, its held by gravity. Its not going anywhere, the top is over 300 lbs

 

[DpSyChO]

The welding table I built has a 3/4" top. I drilled/tapped the plate and bolted it to the frame from the bottom as others have done above.
Easy job if you have access to a mag-drill.
While I had the mag drill and drill/tap in hand......I laid out a 6"x6" grid and drilled/tapped 1/2-13 holes and screwed setscrews in flush or just below the surface to keep weld splatter out of the threads. If I want to do some sort of quick jig or hold down, I can screw out the setscrews and use a cheap Bridgeport/milling machine clamp set for 5/8" slots since the studs are 1/2-13. In hind sight I wish I had gone with 4"x4" pattern "just in case" but it has has not been an issue yet.