Vegaman_Dan
Well-known member
The portable welding tables from Northern, Eastwood and Harbor Freight are surprisingly useful for many projects and I quite like it, but it has one huge design flaw that drives me nuts.
Clamps don't work.
This table has slots that are punched and the edges bend/flared down like a dimple which adds strength. That seems to be no issue, that vertical amount of the flare offset is about 3/4" and it's just enough to cause interference with welding clamps. The $15-30 welding clamps have one jaw that is flat all the way back to the spine with no offset. The other jaw has a slight offset. While you could apply the clamp from the bottom, that means having to reach under the platform to tighten it and it becomes awkward. If you try from the top, then the whole thing catches on the lip and skews off at an angle.
There is a simple solution. Add your own offset or depth to the jaws.
I decided to grab a few $2 Harbor Freight special bar clamps and then cleaned the jaw of the fixed end and tack welded on a 1" long 5/8" bolt I had handy. This was enough of an offset that the jaws now reach around that table slot flare without any problem.
I sprayed the clamp and screw threads with anti-splatter coating so this should help out as a cheap clamp. Considering the others are $15-30 each, I think $2 is a pretty good deal.
Clamps don't work.
This table has slots that are punched and the edges bend/flared down like a dimple which adds strength. That seems to be no issue, that vertical amount of the flare offset is about 3/4" and it's just enough to cause interference with welding clamps. The $15-30 welding clamps have one jaw that is flat all the way back to the spine with no offset. The other jaw has a slight offset. While you could apply the clamp from the bottom, that means having to reach under the platform to tighten it and it becomes awkward. If you try from the top, then the whole thing catches on the lip and skews off at an angle.
There is a simple solution. Add your own offset or depth to the jaws.
I decided to grab a few $2 Harbor Freight special bar clamps and then cleaned the jaw of the fixed end and tack welded on a 1" long 5/8" bolt I had handy. This was enough of an offset that the jaws now reach around that table slot flare without any problem.
I sprayed the clamp and screw threads with anti-splatter coating so this should help out as a cheap clamp. Considering the others are $15-30 each, I think $2 is a pretty good deal.
