Light duty welding table ideas?

[markvfr]

Hi all, I'm limited on garage space and brainstorming how to make a small hobby light duty welding surface. Since I have two of these rolling cabinets that I store underneath my workbench, I was thinking of just plopping a 3/8" or 1/4" plate on top of the wood surface with some spacers between the two to isolate the heat a bit.

I like the plate idea as I can have a bigger sheet that overhangs the wood top to clamp stuff to. I could possibly take the wooden top top and see if I can attach the plate straight to the cabinet but haven't checked how the wood top is attached.

Any other ideas or concerns I should be aware of? Thanks.

The cabinet is 48 W x 24 D x 37-1/2 H


And here is my garage bench with cabinets underneath.

 

[amlee]

I used a sheet of 1/8 inch steel diamond plate, cut it in half, welded removable hinges to the halves. I bolted one half to my bench, with fiberglass sheet between for insulation. I put the diamond plate side down. The front half swings out like a desk top to weld on while I sit.

 

[amlee]

I keep meaning to weld a middle hinge on it, it bows a little with heavy stuff, i.e. semi truck brake drum. It holds up real well. I have two legs i stick under it for heavy stuff. Otherwise it's just a single pivot hinge strut that locks out underneath it.

 

[astroracer]

Go to harbor freight and pick up their folding welding table. A co-worker just pickt one up and he likes it. Lots of slots for clamping and it folds down to nothing... He got his for 60 bucks on sale.
Mark

 

[Maticuno]

I purchased one of the cheap HF steel tool carts, welded it all together instead of using the bolts, then put a piece of 3/16th steel on the top to use as the welding surface. I've since built a much larger stationary welding table out of channel iron, but I still use the cart for tool and welder storage. Something like this: http://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage/tool-carts/24-inch-x-36-inch-steel-service-cart-5770.html

 

[3 Gun Shooter]

Go to harbor freight and pick up their folding welding table. A co-worker just pickt one up and he likes it. Lots of slots for clamping and it folds down to nothing... He got his for 60 bucks on sale.
Mark

I bought one, I'm not a big HF fan, and the table at the store nearly made me walk away. But bought one, put it together CORRECTLY, it's a great table for the price, I use it both to weld on and hold my chop saw. Only thing wrong with it is the Y to make the two legs don't fold up. For $60 might buy another.

 

[markvfr]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I thought about the portable HF table, but its just another piece to hang/store somewhere. I can get the plate for around $60, so for the same price I can have a more sturdy surface and out of the way.

Amlee, and Maticuno. You're giving me some ideas... cheers.

 

[Zeke]

Seems like the steel over wood question comes up now and then. One other thread going now. My take is that if the steel top is >1/4" then it's not likely to get red hot while welding a piece clamped to it. And there is no oxygen between the steel and wood to support combustion except at the corners and edges which you could be mindful of.

On the other thread someone suggested cement board between the 2. I think that would work fine but cement can pop when real hot. The best would be some calcium silicate sheet.

 

[markvfr]

Seems like the steel over wood question comes up now and then. One other thread going now. My take is that if the steel top is >1/4" then it's not likely to get red hot while welding a piece clamped to it. And there is no oxygen between the steel and wood to support combustion except at the corners and edges which you could be mindful of.

On the other thread someone suggested cement board between the 2. I think that would work fine but cement can pop when real hot. The best would be some calcium silicate sheet.

I agree, I don't think a 3/8" sheet would get red hot with the stuff I'll be doing. I haven't thought of calcium silicate... interesting. That gives me an idea that I can use a thin layer of Roxul fire resistant insulation (melting point of 2150F) for a piece of mind instead...

 

[jimgood]

I like the idea of removing the wood and putting the plate on the cabs. It would certainly be easiest to just mount a piece 1/4" directly to the wood.

Another approach might be to remove the wood then put some bolts into the top of the cab. Temporarily put them in so the bolts have a nut above and below the top of the cab so you can adjust the height to get them all on the same plane. Then turn the whole thing upside down onto your plate. Weld the bolt heads to the bottom of the plate.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

I just finished a new cart build last night. I have a couple of the HF folding welding tables and I highly recommend them. They are great for larger projects. I replaced the top of one with a grid made up of angle iron and slats to be used for plasma cutting. I made sure the surface was the same height as the original so it could still be used as a second welding table. More recently I used it to hold my metal chop saw and it was fantastic for that purpose.

The new cart is my new Shiny Toy.

 

[jimgood]

BTW, I like the hinged top that amlee has in his table. That could work for you too! You could put one on each side of the cabinet and it might only take up an extra 2" on each side when folded. You can find weld-on hinges at places like McMaster.

 

[sberry]

I would see if the top came off, it has to be hooked somehow and didn't grow there. But a chunk of 1/4 on the top with some overhang is about as good as it will get for a scheme like this and is super practical.

 

[DocRock]

Go to harbor freight and pick up their folding welding table. A co-worker just pickt one up and he likes it. Lots of slots for clamping and it folds down to nothing... He got his for 60 bucks on sale.
Mark

+1that. Have one and is very practical. Stores out of the way. Price is right.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Scout Driver]

Another vote for the Harbor Freight table. Excellent bang-for-the buck and stores in a small amount of space. It has adjustable fences for the table edges that are handy too. The ability to tilt the table has merit also.

Scott

 

[markvfr]

After pricing out the 1/4" plate, I decided to get two pieces and put them on each rolling cabinet so I'll have two rolling working surfaces 24"x60", with the same height for a total working surface of 48"x60", and no extra foldable tables to store.

I checked and can easily take the wooden top off and attach the plate right to the cabinet although because the plate is only 1/4" I might just plop it on the wood like my original plan to eliminate any sag.

Total cost: $150.

Thanks for the input guys.

 

[kkroger]

After pricing out the 1/4" plate, I decided to get two pieces and put them on each rolling cabinet so I'll have two rolling working surfaces 24"x60", with the same height for a total working surface of 48"x60", and no extra foldable tables to store.

I checked and can easily take the wooden top off and attach the plate right to the cabinet although because the plate is only 1/4" I might just plop it on the wood like my original plan to eliminate any sag.

Total cost: $150.

Thanks for the input guys.

Maybe get a thicker piece of Aluminum to put under the steel for a spacer...
I use my HF Welding tables a lot, I have a couple and a connector plate and made a hanger to put them on the wall.

 

[markvfr]

My tops have arrived and pretty happy how it's gonna work.

Dry fitted them and testing the different setups.

 

[zkling]

I just finished a new cart build last night. I have a couple of the HF folding welding tables and I highly recommend them. They are great for larger projects. I replaced the top of one with a grid made up of angle iron and slats to be used for plasma cutting. I made sure the surface was the same height as the original so it could still be used as a second welding table. More recently I used it to hold my metal chop saw and it was fantastic for that purpose.

The new cart is my new Shiny Toy.

That's very nice, compact yet very usable.

 

[sberry]

I like the cabs under the table, very clean.

 

[Pwta]

I have been dabbling with building benches out on hospital beds for a few years. My first attempt wasn't the greatest, But it did do the job and is still in use today. I acquired a couple of the foot pump up beds a while back and decided to build a welding bench as I just got a new mig welder. I have included some pics to show the finished bench. I shortened the bed top to the length of the base and centred it to the base. I raised the top 300mm to make it a good height for working. I completely redesigned the part that used to be the upper body raiser and turned it around to become an extra bench on the end, And with a pull of a leaver, I can lower it out of the way down the side. I also used the bedhead clips and made and extra addon bench on the other ended if needed. And it stores on the end of the bench vertically when not in use. I mounted my mig welder underneath the top and made fittings to hold cables and welding helmet. Size of the bench on its own is 1260mm x 870mm, The extra add-on benches adds 500mm to each end of the bench. I kept the tilt action as I found its handy when welding angles. It still has the wheel brakes and steer guide for pushing the bench straight... The bench height adjusts from 650mm to 1 metre. Pic at the bottom is what I started with....

 

[KenS]

Came across this one many years ago and always loved the design.

 

[Jo Diesel]

HOLY **** Pwtr! That is really cool.

Mark, find a way to be able to bolt them together so they don't separate or move while you are using them. Weld a couple of 2" receiver tubes under neath and mount your vice and grinder to hitch tubes so they are removeable. You can also use the receiver tubes to make bench extensions. Could also put tubes under both benches, have them align up with each other so you could slide them apart but still be hooked together.

 

[markvfr]

KenS, that is a cool table! Would take up hardly any space.

Jo Diesel, good idea on the receiver hitches. I like the idea of having a matching set on each table, slide and lock them together, and when separated, used the receiver for a vise/grinder. Thanks.

 

[steel 35]

Thanks for sharing that one KenS!

 

[DpSyChO]

My tops have arrived and pretty happy how it's gonna work.

Dry fitted them and testing the different setups.

Nice,
The tops may not line up exactly but might I suggest a couple of pull action toggle clamps on either side to "lock" the two half's together when you want to use both to form a bigger table.

 

[Jo Diesel]

One other suggestion is to radius those outside corners. THEY WILL GET YOU!

 

[ESierra62]

I have two Craftsman benches as described with the particle board tops and a 4x4 sheet of 1/4" steel right on top. I have been welding on this for about 10 years now with no issues. I just clamp my ground clamp right to the 1/4" steel and weld away. It works great. I will be rebuilding my rolling bench soon as I have redesigned it. One person posted that since there is no gap between there is no room for combustion, however it could still get hot enough to burn darken the wood if you do too much in one spot, however I have never found this an issue. With 16 square feet of work space move around.

 

[AnEv942]

The tops could be replaced with ply if you wanted the full support (short of welding a frame to support tops). Just seems those wood tops could be utilized elsewhere, unless there not really hardwood as appears?