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Welding Table design

Woodtick

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May 23, 2010
Messages
90
I was gifted a piece of 1/2” Blanchard ground plate that I’m going to
make into a welding table. I’m considering drilling and tapping a grid of
threaded holes in it. For those of you who have done this , how did it work out for you in practice? Practical or not.? I’m wondering about weld goobers getting in the threads.
Thanks, Rich
 
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ReggieR

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Jun 21, 2018
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Vinton
Go sign up at welding web now. Don't tough that valuable piece of steel until you study A LOT
 

Rlastr

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Sep 28, 2014
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I was gifted a piece of 1/2” Blanchard ground plate that I’m going to
make into a welding table. I’m considering drilling and tapping a grid of
threaded holes in it. For those of you who have done this , how did it work out for you in practice? Practical or not.? I’m wondering about weld goobers getting in the threads.
Thanks, Rich

I just purchased a table with the holes and love the ease of layout!

I also own a 1” thick top Blanchard ground and I’m going to drill half the table.
 

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Woodtick

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May 23, 2010
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10-4.....that’s why I’m asking. Taking baby steps to
get this right!
 

Bigblue&Goldie

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Most serious race car fab shops use tapped hole blanchard ground tables. Granted, some shops straight up won't allow anything but tig welding on these tables. It really depends on what you're doing. As much as I'd love a blanchard ground, tapped table, my Certiflat works great for my use. I have no desire to go back to a solid surface top.
 

Prototyper

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Oct 31, 2009
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Kalispell, Montana
Years ago, I saved a fixture plate from the scrap dumpster at the shop I worked at. It's blanchard ground, 2.25" thick, 20x36". It has 300, 5/8"-11 tapped through holes in it on 1.5" centers. It's an absolutely amazing welding fixture plate. I do everything on it, and could not live without it!

I have a Te-co hold down set, like what you see on the wall behind every Bridgeport mill. It has a variety of threaded studs, nuts, toe clamps and step blocks. It makes quick work of fixturing a complex weldment and once you crank down the nuts, its hell for stout! I also have rounds that I use for bending metal around, angle plates, laser mounts for alignment, etc.

As far as spatter goes, it is an issue, but not hard to deal with. I do tons of work on my table, and do get spatter in the threads. Once a year or so, I chase all the holes with a tap in a cordless drill. The rest of the time, I keep a tap in one of the holes. If I frun into spatter, it's 10 seconds to knock it out.

I'd say start tapping some holes on a carefully layed out pattern. Hell, even a dozen holes, with a good assortment of clamp tooling, and you'll be able to do a bunch of stuff.
 
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Woodtick

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May 23, 2010
Messages
90
Thanks for the comments. Plate is 26"x29", I'm thinking about a grid of 4" centers.Since I'll
be using a hand held drill I don't want to go too crazy.
 

ReggieR

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Thanks for the comments. Plate is 26"x29", I'm thinking about a grid of 4" centers.Since I'll
be using a hand held drill I don't want to go too crazy.
You're already screwing up. Go RENT a mag drill and do the thing right.OR
It's that small I don't see a need in drilling the thing other than 4 holes to mount it.The proper selection of clamps will do whatever you need to do.
 

westcoastkevin

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May 7, 2018
Messages
49
Thanks for the comments. Plate is 26"x29", I'm thinking about a grid of 4" centers.Since I'll
be using a hand held drill I don't want to go too crazy.

Stop. You will wreck it. Seriously.
Take it to a machine shop and have it done.
You want a mix of threaded holes and dowel holes for fast alignment of fixtures and workpieces.
 

dr_clyde

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Jan 7, 2009
Messages
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Location
Holland, MI
My table build is in my signature, take that for what you will.

I have 5/8" holes on 12" centers. I really like it, but my table is 48" x 120".

I had a table that I built with 5/8" holes on 6" centers. They were cut in by waterjet.

For a table that small, I wouldn't bother with more than maybe 4 holes. Its not really big enough to warrant a full blown fixture setup. All you want is the ability to get a clamp on the inside of the table.

If you decide to put some holes in the top, I would skip the threaded holes, and go with 5/8" holes to utilize the StrongHand drop in clamps. They are cheap, and way, way faster than a threaded strap clamp set.

Simple rules for building a table:

Height is important. Probably more important than anything else. It needs to fit what you're doing. My tables are all 34" tall. It's a good height for me, I'm 6'3". I need to sit, stand, and build off my table. It seems to work well for all but very large frames, then I need to stand on a ladder or up on the table top.

Leave a lip around the top deep enough as the throat of your deepest clamps. 6" is usually perfect. That way, you can clamp all around the edge.

Be careful with wheels. They can be either a blessing or a curse. I have a forklift, so nothing has wheels in my shop unless I have made that decision to have a mobile table. On a table as small as yours, you don't really have the mass to keep it stationary when pulling hard, so I would think you'd want wheels. It would be handy to have a small table like that mobile.

Keep it simple. A tube frame base, bolted on top, and leveling feet or casters are all you really need. I have some features that I LOVE, but wouldn't work as good in a smaller table. I have receiver tubes under the top to insert vises and benders, but they rely on the table's weight to work. They won't work as well in a small, lightweight table.

YMMV, I've built a bunch of tables and benches, simple and complex.
 

matt_i

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Mar 14, 2008
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Location
SE Michigan
You're already screwing up. Go RENT a mag drill and do the thing right.OR
It's that small I don't see a need in drilling the thing other than 4 holes to mount it.The proper selection of clamps will do whatever you need to do.

Magnet Drill. :thumbup:
 
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Woodtick

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May 23, 2010
Messages
90
Keep the comments coming. I was actually going to try to find a mag drill rental.
Height wise I was thinking around 33-34 as I like to sit for the smaller projects I
usually do. I’ll check out the Stronghand clamps......it would be nice to avoid
tapping. Not sure what the base will be but I definitely need wheels as I
have to take it outside to weld. No room in my 20x 20 shop to weld.
Thanks
 

MichaelP

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Jul 27, 2009
Messages
908
Location
IL/WI border
If you decide to put some holes in the top, I would skip the threaded holes, and go with 5/8" holes to utilize the StrongHand drop in clamps. They are cheap, and way, way faster than a threaded strap clamp set.
Do you mean BuildPro Inserta Clamps: http://www.buildprotables.com/clamps/inserta_clamps.php ? Do you happen to know the min thickness of plate (table top) that will be sufficient for the clamp to stay in place under tension?
 
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BD1

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north side

Duker

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Livingston, TX
My table (38” x 60”) started off with no holes but I eventually drilled 5/8” holes on a 4x4 grid with a mag drill so that I could use Strong Hand type clamps and eventually built some others from HF clamps etc.. Since you can always come back and drill the holes you might try using the table as is to see how you tend to work. Due to my limited space at the time my table had to function in more ways than just a welding table so I didn’t want slats but before drilling the holes there have been a couple of times they would have come in handy for some ackward size projects.

I would plan on incorporating some way to level the table top to take advantage of that Blanchard grinding. :thumbup:
 
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Woodtick

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May 23, 2010
Messages
90
Thanks again for all the input. I’m still leaning towards drilling holes. Seems to me
that they will be useful for screwing in a couple bolts or pins to index parts to in
addition to clamping. I called some local rental shops today and found a mag drill.
I understand that this sounds like overkill for a table this size. But, for what I do it’s an ideal
size and I want it to be as versatile as possible.
Does someone have a part # for the Stronghand clamps referred to above?
 

Bigblue&Goldie

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Stronghand is a brand, they have numerous styles of clamps depending on your intended use.
 
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Woodtick

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May 23, 2010
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Interesting concept on the dyi clamps. Love it when he grabs the
hot clamp parts.!
 

Tinner

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Aug 31, 2013
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Location
N.E. Wisconsin
If it were me, even on a small table, I'd drill it on 4-6 inch centers. Beside the obvious uses for welding and jigging, it's really nice to be able to clamp things down for grinding and straightening.

You will find an endless amount of shop projects that can benefit from the use of your table. Make the frame heavy and stiff enough that it doesn't flex or jump around when you hammer on things.
 
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Woodtick

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May 23, 2010
Messages
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I hear ya Tinner. I’m a carpenter/ woodworker and I have a table with holes
on a grid that I use a lot for various clamping applications. I can see this small welding
table being used for woodworking also.
 
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