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This could be the ultimate welding table.

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914forme

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Mar 19, 2006
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106
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North of Dayton, Ohio
Love the table, it is way more than I need, yet I like how you solved your issues and built a table that will perform the way you want it to. Thats the way it should be build the tools you need for the job you do.

One question though, is your floor dead nuts level? I don't see any way of taking the floor sloop out of the table unless you level all the plates each time you move it. Maybe its not an issue for you as long as the top is in a single plane. I just know from my floor it would be an issue. If I had that in my garage it would be doing a three wheel stand almost anywhere I put it.

Now please post your other items as you build them, these are crazy well thought out designs. I need a good rotisserie for a 914 project I am working on, been thinking about it for years now, and never got my final design laid out.
 
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nuttynil

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Nov 12, 2008
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Great table ,I work in a small ship/barge building yard in London going to show this to some of the guys .Neil
 
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machine_punk

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Napa Valley, California
Wow. Certainly a different design than I've seen from a home builder before.

I'd like to see some closeups of your table-top adjusters, from several angles. Having a hard time figuring out what is holding the pieces in place, how everything is attached, and why don't those plates and bolts just fall off? (not being critical at all, just don't quite understand what I am seeing yet).

Thanks!
Kev
 
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AMCguy

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Dec 23, 2009
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Sunshine Coast, BC Canada
Update.

First of all, I would like to thank all of the visitors to this thread and thank you for your questions and positive comments.

A few of you have asked me to explain with more detail or put up a photo of how the top is mounted. I'll kill two birds with one stone and post a picture that explains it better than words can.

The second photo is of the bottom shelf I made out of a discarded retail display rack. It cost me nothing. It fit the opening perfectly, so all I did was weld four little tabs for it to sit on. I don't want to store any tools on it. It's just there to set something on while I'm working keeping it off the floor or work surface.
 

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machine_punk

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AMCguy said:
Update.

First of all, I would like to thank all of the visitors to this thread and thank you for your questions and positive comments.

A few of you have asked me to explain with more detail or put up a photo of how the top is mounted. I'll kill two birds with one stone and post a picture that explains it better than words can.

The second photo is of the bottom shelf I made out of a discarded retail display rack. It cost me nothing. It fit the opening perfectly, so all I did was weld four little tabs for it to sit on. I don't want to store any tools on it. It's just there to set something on while I'm working keeping it off the floor or work surface.
Click to expand...

Aaaahhh...now I get it. I certainly like the overall design and the ability to clamp pretty much anywhere. Looking forward to seeing some pics of it 'in use,' building another project. Definitely going to file your design away, as I think about building my own welding table.

The shelf is nice...but unless you are a LOT more disciplined than me, that will be packed with 'Stuff' soon.

Kev
 
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terryo1965

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Nov 22, 2011
Messages
75
Location
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thanks for including the pics of the underside. I was curious how that worked also. I LOVE this design. I have a 4' x 6' table with 3/8" solid plate top and it is a PITA to fixture things on it. I think I am going to do it over like yours.
Thanks!
Terry
 
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oldtools808

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Dec 19, 2012
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48
Location
Honolulu, Hawaii
Great idea to make it adjustable, now I see how... (Why didn't you use bolts threaded all the way? more travel...)

"There will be a 1/2'' hole in the top flange of the 3''x2'' top rail for each bolt and a pair of nuts will sandwich the flange to hold the bolt into place.
A corresponding 1 1/8'' hole in the bottom so I can get a socket on the bottom nut."
 
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AMCguy

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oldtools808 said:
Great idea to make it adjustable, now I see how... (Why didn't you use bolts threaded all the way? more travel...)
Click to expand...

I used this length of bolt to space the plates at least 1 1/2'' above the frame. This allows me to clamp all around the edge of the table top as well as anywhere in the middle. The only place I can't clamp is the spot the bolt actually occupies.
 
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AMCguy

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Richard D said:
Do you plan to ever drill the top so you can use some Strongarm type fixtures of your own design?
Click to expand...

I don't think I'll ever need to drill the top.

I'm making some "H" shaped blocks with a 1/2'' threaded hole through the middle of them, to slide into the spaces between the plates. I have some old ViceGrip clamps. I'll cut the bottom jaw off and weld on a 1/2'' bolt. I can screw it into the "H". That will give me 360 degrees of swivel and should speed up the lighter duty clamping process.

I suppose I could also use the "H" pieces to attach some fixtures to. You've got me thinking now.
 
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CNGsaves

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Sep 26, 2012
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KS and OK
Simply awesome weld table design you've done!!

Ingenious for all the clamping surfaces. No need to ever tack items to table when you can just clamp it down.

Since it's dedicated welding table, I might use some of that undertable space with some sort of clamp storage. Maybe some hanging square tubes that would have similar sized clamps that you could grab the whole "stick" and use what clamps you wanted. When done, that whole stick of clamps would go back into slot below the table. Also, you might want hanger spots for hammer, or grinder, etc. that you'll be using at the table.

Keep pics and updates coming. I'd sure vote this as Ultimate Table!
 
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AMCguy

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Well you guys have me thinking. Although I have no intention of ever loading the table to the point that deflection would be a concern, I'd like to know just how much it takes to deflect a given amount. Tomorrow I'll do some tests and get some empirical data.

In the mean time, here is a little anecdote.

I bought a twenty foot length of the 1/2''x6'' material. It was cut from a forty foot length. I watched them lift the entire forty footer by the very middle and bring it over to the saw. The ends drooped a huge amount. Like ten feet. I couldn't watch. I'm sure a bit of the metal got stretched in the process. A couple of the planks have a slight crown (maybe 1/32'') to them. I tried bending one of the offending planks in the opposite direction to see if I could get it to come back. I stacked seven of them and then put a piece of 2x4 at each end then sat the last one on top. I clamped my four biggest clamps in the middle and tightened for all the clamps had. I got it to deflect close to an inch and when I released the clamps, it came right back to where it was to begin with.

I'm not worried. One of these days I'll just shrink the surface with a few tacks of weld and sand them flat.
 
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machine_punk

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I'm sure there are tables that will give you the bending moment on that...and tell you how much weight it would take on a point load in the center of that bar, which is this long, and tell you when it would be irreversibly damaged. I don't think the average user is ever going to reach that point on 1/2" steel plate at two feet long. I suspect you could balance a car on the center of one of those plates and not permanently damage it.

I looked up the bending moment on the 2x4x0.25" rectangular tube I used for my custom spreader bar. The bending moment is already a 'percentage' of weight the piece could take. I cut that moment in half for the rating on my spreader bar and I still rated it at 4 KIPS (4,000 pounds or 2 tons) at the 2-foot length for a point load supported on both ends (the upside-down equivalent of what a spreader bar does). The bending moment was really 8 KIPS...I just wanted a full 100% safety factor on the rating of my bar.

Kev
 
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AMCguy

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Well I conducted a little test today.

I piled 300 pounds of cylinder heads on a 6'' piece of 2''x4'', the load is concentrated in the middle of one plank. Each head weighs 50 pounds.

The third picture shows a short piece of 1 1/2'' square tubing sitting under the plank. It fit the opening with just enough space left over for measurement. Before I loaded anything there was .028'' clearance between the top of the tube and the bottom of the plank. That was using feeler gauges. I didn't feel like setting up my dial indicator. I put two heads on the board and measured again. I got .023'' or .005'' deflection. I put two more on and got about another .010'' of deflection. I put the last two on and got another .010'' of deflection. So with 300 pounds on I had about .003'' clearance or about .025'' deflection.

In the fourth picture it looks like it's sagging quite a bit, but it also looks like the top tube of the table frame is crowned. In reality, it's sagging .025'' and the frame is straight. I have a crappy old camera and close ups get a little distorted.

So that's about as far as I'm going to go measuring deflection. It was easy enough to do, but the outcome probably means more to those of you who asked than it does to me. All I wanted was a welding table, so I wouldn't have to work on the floor anymore.
 

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LutzTD

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Dec 31, 2011
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Lutz, Florida
that is a nice piece of work. I wouldnt worry too much about deflection at that thickness and if for some crazy reason you do it would be simple enough to add a Tee down the center of the bottom of each slat to quadruple their bending moment great jopb, I saved this link this looks like a great first project for my shop welder
 
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sanddan

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Oregon
You might consider notching the lower cross bar for tig peddle access.
 

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AMCguy

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Thank you again fellow Garage Journal members, for all the positive comments.

KLRCraig, May I send you a private message? I would like to pick your brain about those "good old days" if I may.
 
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