Welding table build, TIG flame straightening results.

[old_smokey]

Hi everyone,

I just finished building a welding fabrication table. This is the first thing I've TIG welded, so the welds aren’t good, but I’m learning fast and having fun.
I recently bought a Primeweld 225x and after running a few practice beads and watching a ton of YouTube I decided to build a proper table.

I wanted to share the process and results mainly because of how I handled the 1/2" steel top plate.

I got a really good deal on a 1/2" thick, 30" by 46" plate with 5/8" holes laser cut on a 2" grid. The problem was the plate was warped like a potato chip when I received it… This was a side deal through a friend and his work supplier, with no option to return/exchange.




The plate was warped 1/2" across its length and 1/4" across the width. I couldn't find anyone locally that could press it flat, and I didn't want to pull it flat with clamps and weld in place. My research ended up bringing me to the idea of flame straightening.

I don't have a good oxy setup (torch and regulators need to be replaced and I’m trying to stay on a budget here) so I started wondering if the same process would hold true using just the heat of a TIG torch. Figured why not give it a try.

I put the steel top on my work bench, crown up, and marked out all the high points with a scribe. Then I ran autogenous welds just hot enough to form a puddle. I'd run a “bead", then watch as the crown rose and the bend got worse from expansion, then cool and pull the plate a bit flatter. Pretty amazing to watch actually.




In the end it took me about 14 “passes” of varying size and location. The plate ended up flat to within 1/32 of an inch, and that gap is only at the rear corner, which I corrected with steel shims when I bolted the top to the frame.




Before and after a few passes:



A couple things I learned and wish I did better:
- Since I'm new to TIG welding, I obviously had poor technique on the autogenous/straightening welds. My travel speed was much to fast, resulting in some inconsistent, lumpy results. If I had slowed down I would have had little to no clean up afterward. Instead I needed to spot grind a few areas that prevented the plate from resting flat on its base.

- I was also a bit nervous of how this would go, so I ran a lot of low amperage passes. I think if I had cranked the amps up I could have done 4-5 passes instead of numerous low amperage passes. I guess I was worried about the plate pulling too far and having to do the same thing on the opposite face. Not really a bad thing, but something I learned.

All in all this process took maybe two hours and I now have a nice flat top.

I built the base out of 2" square and 3x1" rectangular 0.125” tubing. The top is bolted down using 14 M8 set screws spread throughout the base so I can shim as/if needed.

Only thing left to do is get a hammertone powder coat job for the legs.

Thanks, hope that was interesting for someone.

Here's a few of the in-process pics, and a couple weld examples. The flare-bevel's were the hardest for me. If I could weld in a horizontal position I would have pretty good results. But trying something more advanced like vertical up and such is something I should have waited till I was more practiced.












Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[racer-john]

Nice work on straitening the warped top. Your row of dimes are neat.

 

[Keyblazer]

Nice work!
Brave man!

 

[tdkkart]

Looks to me like somebody's sandbagging us on his welding skills?

 

[old_smokey]

Looks to me like somebody's sandbagging us on his welding skills?

Haha, just showing you a few of my best results. Rest assured there were a lot of dipped tungsten electrodes, forgetting to hook up my ground, gas turned off, holes blown through, snotty booger looking things I can’t even explain, the usual beginner stuff. But by maybe the halfway point of the project it started to click, mistakes were less frequent, and I could go more that three passes on a tungsten...

For example, the first pass of the project. The horror...Look away



I setup an arm rest so I could get real comfortable and stable, which brought me to this point. Better, but you can see where I dipped in both





And then just more torch time and things continued to slowly get better. Really enjoying this process.

 

[LXCam]

Nice job! I’ll have to try that out someday.

 

[txvwnut]

I've always heard if you get yourself comfortable you'll get better results. Table turned out nice.

 

[Hawke]

If you are new to TIG, do yourself a favour, and wear longer sleeves or gloves. That bare exposed skin to a TIG arc will get “sun” burnt. At best - just sore and will blister; at worst - could contribute to skin cancer.

 

[stinkity stoink]

Nice job straightening the table. I have never done that before and you made it look easy

 

[HoosierBuddy]

Love the table. Excellent work.

I'm still welding on the floor as I don't have a welding table. After 50 all kneeling and bending has gotten a lot harder. A table would be excellent.

Phil

 

[Bradc1989]

Too cool of an idea, nice table to boot

 

[ekuhn]

Wow. Awesome. Would have figured the plate was to large to warp it back. Great work!

 

[csp]

You may be new to TIG welding, but you obviously know how to watch and read the puddle.

Nicely done!

 

[Bradc1989]

sorry wrong thread

 

[Gunfixr]

Well, for a beginner, it looks real good.
I've not tried weld straightening, but I did used to do flame straightening with an oxy acetelyne torch and water sprayer, mostly on boat drive shafts. There is some art to it, as you can go too far, and, you can only hit the same spot once or twice, at least with flame.

 

[Mandres]

What a great result, nice work! I remember seeing a link a few years ago to a very scientific analysis on flame straightening steel. It had specifics on correct angles and temperatures to achieve the desired movement, a really interesting read. I'll see if I can find and link it.

 

[misocustoms]

If you are new to TIG, do yourself a favour, and wear longer sleeves or gloves. That bare exposed skin to a TIG arc will get “sun” burnt. At best - just sore and will blister; at worst - could contribute to skin cancer.

Looks like those are just the cuffs from his gloves!

 

[William Payne]

There is nothing better than having a good welding table. Great stuff. A tip for the welding. Don't worry about doing the stack of dimes deal. Just focus on a consistent puddle and good filler technique. The more welding you do your welds will just naturally look better and better purely because of seat time. In time experience will teach you when to pulse when not to pulse and all that kind of stuff.

Also get yourself in the habit early of allowing yourself to sit over the weld after you end your arc just to keep that gas flowing. You don't want to develop a habit where you stop and instantly pull away.

 

[yhprum]

Here is some light reading……

https://www.boconline.co.uk/en/images/Fundamentals-of-Flame-Straightening_tcm410-113398.pdf

 

[old_smokey]

Thanks guys. It's been about two years since I made this table and I have used it a ton! It's worked out great. My welding abilities have improved a lot since I made this (thankfully!) and while I certainly could make this table better now, I'm still very happy with it.

Here's a few samples of projects I've done since:
- cast aluminum engine casting repaired - this was my first cast alu project. Did it a few months ago. The photo here is just before I finished - you can see there is still some cleanup and blending required
- 2x72 belt grinder - i use this thing ALL the time! I learned a huge amount during this project
- stainless exhaust crack repair. This was the first time purging and doing thin wall stainless. First year of riding was a success!
- rack for Husky storage bins using mostly scrap bed frame rails

 

[Keyblazer]

Love it!
Keep the updates coming!

 

[whateg01]

You don't actually need to get it hot enough to form a puddle. We shrink sheet metal the same way but just get it to start to turn blue. I wish I had a table top like that

 

[sanddan]

Haha, just showing you a few of my best results. Rest assured there were a lot of dipped tungsten electrodes, forgetting to hook up my ground, gas turned off, holes blown through, snotty booger looking things I can’t even explain, the usual beginner stuff. But by maybe the halfway point of the project it started to click, mistakes were less frequent, and I could go more that three passes on a tungsten...

For example, the first pass of the project. The horror...Look away



I setup an arm rest so I could get real comfortable and stable, which brought me to this point. Better, but you can see where I dipped in both





And then just more torch time and things continued to slowly get better. Really enjoying this process.

Props for showing both the good and the bad. Big thumbs up. A gas torch setup is a great tool to have in the shop, especially the cutting and rosebud tips. I don’t weld with mine but the rosebud has come in handy many a time.

 

[Boat_211]

Very nice. Can you tell me where you stumbled across that 1/2" plate with the holes in it? That's a great find

 

[indisguise]

Nice update. Loving the content here. Great table top too.

 

[old_smokey]

Very nice. Can you tell me where you stumbled across that 1/2" plate with the holes in it? That's a great find

I had it made for me at a local steel company. Actually it was a Hutterite colony with some really impressive steel capabilities. They have this machine that stores, loads, and processes steel plate per a set of drawings. I told them the dimensions, hole sizing and spacing, and it spat out my table top. A friend of mine is a bicycle builder and had a relationship with them after doing some welding work for them.

That said, just buying a piece of 1/2 plate steel and getting it laser or water jet cut wouldn't have been all that much more expensive where I live.

 

[BigLeagueSmoes]