MY 60$ welding table

[05wrangler]

this is my first project with my miller 211 mig welder. I know some of the welds are not the best but its strong and works for me so far. so thought I would share!


I used 1 5/8 strut and double 1 5/8 strut with strut feet I got from work. I had the wheels laying around the house and a picked up the top plate (52"x24x1/4) for 60 bucks from a steel yard.

laying out the bottom frame


welded the frame to the bottom of the table


squaring and truing up the legs


some of my not so good welds


laying out the caster bolt holes


here she is!

 

[Zrexxer]

Looks like good work! If I can make one suggestion, it's only a matter of time before the corner of one of those strut feet cuts a big ol' gash in your ankle. At least chamfer off the front corners.

 

[saceone]

cool simple build


I would suggest rounding off the caster plates. I have the same setup and I did rip a couple pair of jeans...untill I decided to round them off !

 

[saceone]

zrexxer beat me to it !

 

[05wrangler]

Looks like good work! If I can make one suggestion, it's only a matter of time before the corner of one of those strut feet cuts a big ol' gash in your ankle. At least chamfer off the front corners.

thanks! you are correct on the strut feet, its got me already lol. chamfering will be the next thing ill be doing to the table

 

[nomonkeybus]

cool simple build


I would suggest rounding off the caster plates. I have the same setup and I did rip a couple pair of jeans...untill I decided to round them off !

Yes I could see you ripping your paints, It's a great looking table.

 

[James Aiello]

nice table... I would wire brush the welds then prime and paint them. they will rust. Paint everything but the table top.

 

[koditten]

Very nice job. I just got done doing a job using that unitstrut material. the galvanization on that stuf is a pain to weld thru. I'm betting you noticed as well.

 

[05wrangler]

thanks guys! koditten, yes the strut galvanization does make it a little difficult to weld. I work with strut almost everyday so its mainly what I practice on here at the house.

 

[nine4gmc]

I would put a diagonal support and tie those legs together down low before the top comes crashing down.

 

[Strouty]

I would put a diagonal support and tie those legs together down low before the top comes crashing down.

Ditto.

I could see you with something heavy on the table, wheeling it around and catching a rock and the legs start splaying out. It may never happen, but this is a better safe than sorry.

I am sure your welds would have looked much better with mild steel, next time grind the galvy first, you will know it is gone when sparks start to fly. With some braces, it will last you a good long time.

 

[05wrangler]

I will prolly end up bracing the legs in some way. When I designed it and built it I was considering puttin them in but ran low on wire and gas at the time and never got around to
It

 

[SASORacing]

I think it looks pretty sturdy. If you brace the legs I dont think it needs anything beefy. Even a very small and simple price of metal attaching two legs together or either a brace attaching a leg to the underside of the table. Just anything really would be ok.

 

[05wrangler]

I would like to mount a large vice on it
Sometime. I was thinking about welding a peace of square tube steel to the bottom of the table, then take another peace that is slightly smaller O/D than the tube on the tables I/D. Weld a plate to it and bolt the vice to the plate, that way I can side and pin the vice in and remove it if need be. If that makes any since. Similar to a Reese hitch design

 

[venturesomerite]

Looking good!

Take my advice, round those sharp 90* corners. Especially the ones that are gonna bite you in the shin/ankle.


Other than that, I'd like to see some bracing between the legs, so they can't spread when you're wheeling it around and get caught on a screw or something, or worse, when you have a load on the table. I think the easiest way to do that is to just simply add a shelf right about where the casters mount. You can leave welding related things on it as a bonus.

 

[creativecars]

cool simple build


I would suggest rounding off the caster plates. I have the same setup and I did rip a couple pair of jeans...untill I decided to round them off !

I ended with 12 stitches when I was about 10 scooting across the floor on a creeper and bumped the work bench much the same...

 

[creativecars]

I would think a drawer like in this bench would be great, and to add the bottom support for the drawer would add stiffness to the legs.

 

[SASORacing]

^ very good idea, that would be nice, store lots of heavy objects on the shelf, equipment etc. maybe put some angle iron around the edges so things wont roll off like the picture above.

 

[toofart]

Good job!

 

[tarbellb]

Nice table.

See that white stuff around your galvy welds, thats poison. Grinding galvy beyond where you need to weld will not only yield a better weld but you wont be sucking in as much poison.

Welding is already a pretty caustic trade, reduce as many things as possible that will make your brain melt quicker then it should.

 

[rslaback]

If you can stand to have it be 1/2" shorter or so, I would cut the caster plates off and grind out the weld. Cut each of the legs off so you have a clean edge again.

Now, when you weld them back on, do not put the leg in the center of the plate. The leg doesn't need to be centered on the plate. If you put the leg in the corner of the plate (corresponding to each corner) they won't be able to grab a hold of you and won't eat up unnecessary space which would allow you to get it closer to things (like the welder in your picture). Leave a 3/8" or so lip to get a good fillet weld though. Depending on how you do it you could either weld in a nut for the hole that will get covered by the leg or just bolt the casters on with only 3 bolts. Either way will be fine.

 

[05wrangler]

Thanks for the input guys! I draw or a tray it prolly the way I will go

 

[onemore]

Looks pretty good. Congrats!