Welding a bench top

[472scout]

I have 12 feet of 3/8" x 24" plate for my bench top that I picked up for free (4 ft sections).

Problem is that I would rather have a 30" deep bench. Would it be worth the hassle to weld on 3/8" x 6" flat bar?

I've done a bit of welding, but never 12 feet of 3/8's.

 

[fergus]

My bench top is 28". I think its too deep because it enables me to keep extra junk on the top of it.

 

[MFGENG]

Make two 24x48 tables with adjustable height. Then if needed, you have a large table, but can easily store it.

 

[Hoyer Motorsports]

24" is plenty if you want to put a bench next to a wall, but 3/8 plate is heavy even if it is free. If I had those plates I'd weld them all together and makes a 4x6 welding table out of them. You could bevel the edges and stictch weld them and use the seams to drill nice straight clamping holes. It would be tough to wrestle that plate around and get it straight and square and flat. I've done something comparable to that at work with 1/2 plate, and it will make your fingers sore really really quick. You only have to drop it once! LOL

 

[Hoyer Motorsports]

Make two 24x48 tables with adjustable height. Then if needed, you have a large table, but can easily store it.

X2
I like this idea too!

 

[Brad54]

30-inches deep is very deep for a wall-backed work bench.
If it's a free-standing bench that will have access from all four sides, 36 inches by however long, is about right.

I have a Pitney-Bowes mail room desk that's 30 inches deep, and really, it's too deep.

I would not try to weld 6 inches onto it... you'll end up warping it.

-Brad

 

[472scout]

Yes, warping is my main concern. This will be a back wall bench. 56" tool box under one end and storage shelves under the rest. A good amount of votes for going with the 24" bench but that seems real shallow to me.

 

[Brad54]

How deep are your kitchen counters?

-Brad

 

[BD1]

If you really want that extra 6" [] Maybe think about running some channel flat on the bottom of the table to hold up the 6'' with a gap or slot between table and added 6'' that you can use for clamps, jigs, or hold down devices .
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...B7DBC5EF591B255EF0905E188EA176311FA&first=149

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...F1B02065583B605A765733012711B41144D0A&first=1

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/workstations/arcstation/

You will be amazed how handy it will be.

 

[sberry]

30-inches deep is very deep for a wall-backed work bench.
If it's a free-standing bench that will have access from all four sides, 36 inches by however long, is about right.

This is good, I find more than 5 or 6 ft is walking around problem and you can still reach across 36. Mine are not anything to write home about, did the 6 inch thing, most of this kind of work is not critical, I have a flat spot or 2 and if its critical I make it so but 99% of it any steel top will do.

Most clamping is near the edge, a tape measure and a square, very rarely do I need to make much really flat in a plane. Built an old train cab last summer, 2 sawhorses and a plate for a bench. Have built hundreds of pieces on floors, probably in the thousands, tailgates, benches of all types where rarely was a perfect flat bench a factor. In general fabrication and repair most pieces are squared to each other.

 

[472scout]

How deep are your kitchen counters?

-Brad

Any where from 24 to 28 plus a 48 inch island.

If you really want that extra 6" [] Maybe think about running some channel flat on the bottom of the table to hold up the 6'' with a gap or slot between table and added 6'' that you can use for clamps, jigs, or hold down devices .
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...B7DBC5EF591B255EF0905E188EA176311FA&first=149

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...F1B02065583B605A765733012711B41144D0A&first=1

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/workstations/arcstation/

You will be amazed how handy it will be.

Slots would be great, but debris would fall through on to the storage shelves under the bench.

 

[sberry]

I dont like slots or holes, these get used for more than just "welding" and I agree, don't want stuff going thru.

 

[Brad54]

Any where from 24 to 28 plus a 48 inch island.

Exactly.
24-inch counter tops aren't that wide by accident... YEARS (hell, centuries!) of regular use have dictated the depth and height of kitchen counters.

And they're work surfaces just like a bench in your shop.

Now, there's also a big difference between a "bench," and a "work table." My work table is 3 feet deep, and 5 feet long. I wouldn't want it deeper, but another foot longer would have been nice.

-Brad

 

[472scout]

My last bench, RIP, was 30" deep and I really liked the space. 24" seems like it would get congested real fast. I may make the frame, probably 2" tube, the same height as the table surface at the back to gain a little extra depth.

 

[donnykooy]

weld bar hinges and a piece of 3 or 4 inch angle iron to the end and you will have a sheetmetal brake and the deepth you want...my benches are 30 deep and Im 6 foot tall....they seem to be the perfect deepth for me...it also depends on the the height of your bench...mine are 37 inches high...there are alot of youtube videos of people making homemade sheetmeatal brakes on the end of their welding tables..check it out cause it is very simple to make

 

[donnykooy]

a more simple solution would be to screw some 2x4s horizontally to the studs to push the table out further...u could even recess them and a piece of plate to the back

 

[gorilla]

If you want a 30" deep bench go for it. The 6" strip only needs a 1" weld every 6" alternating from side to side for a bench top if it's well supported by a framework. I would add the strip to the wall side of the bench so that it will be hidden by the treasures you bench will accumulate.

 

[KPSquared]

Just tack that sucker together. Crank the heat and stitch it together with a thousand little tacks like you would with a patch panel on a car. Move around lots so you never heat up and warp one area.

Then just bust out the flapper wheel and grind it smooth. Any gaps after grinding you can just fill the same way.

It will provide a strong enough bond for a work bench and won't heat your steel up enough to warp anything. When you're done it will be smooth and straight.

 

[KPSquared]

My other question. . .how do you plan to cut a nice, clean 6" strip?

Make sure you use a good straight edge if you run plasma or a torch. Trying to free hand that following a line would make an awful mess.

 

[Steevo]

I built my workbench 30" deep, and I find it to be a very workable depth for a wall bench.
I assume you plan to weld a strip to each 4' piece, then put them on the bench top separately? Will you then weld the seams between the 4' sections as well?
I only ask because by the time that is all assembled, you'll have a ***** of a time moving it or flipping it to weld the seams on both sides and you'll want to clamp it and tack the bottom before welding the top seam, so it doesn't bend on you..