Welding table evolution

[TXNinAZ]

I finally bought a welder about 2 years ago after wanting to learn my whole adult life. I went with an import TIG machine to get started with- most challenging, but would allow me to learn how to weld aluminum, thin steel is easier, and of course it doubles as a decent stick machine. The next trouble was a surface to weld on. I didn't want to spend big on a table as there was no guarantee I'd learn to use the machine, so I bought a Harbor Freight table to start.

The other option was a homemade table that someone else made, but those are usually not great. Like this one. If this is your build, I apologize if I hurt your feelings, that's not my intention. But I can't imagine a worse way to build a table [emoji23]



After figuring out how to TIG with some minimal level of skill, I decided it was time to get a real table. I scour Craigslist daily for various things, so I started looking for table materials. I found a machine shop closing its doors that was selling some fixturing blocks they used on their boring jig that could be disassembled and allow me to use the tops for a tabletop.





I've got a good friend whose company is building a data center here in Phoenix and mentioned they had some extra steel I could have. I jumped on the offer and took home some good sized pieces of 6" hollow structural steel. Ultra super overkill, but free is free.



I needed to get them cut, but didn't yet have my bandsaw, so off to Metals supermarkets to pay their shop rate getting cuts.



Next was getting rid of the zinc. Welding galvanized steel is bad news for those unaware- the fumes from vaporizing the zinc will give you flu like symptoms for a day or two and in rare circumstances it can kill you. I started with a respirator and grinding disc, but that was slow as Christmas. Chemistry is usually the answer and HCl does the trick to strip hot dipped galvanization in a matter of minutes. It's not cheap, but a gallon from Home Depot got me started to see how well it would work.





About 20 minutes of grinding vs 5 minutes of sitting it in the muriatic acid and working on something else while it chooches. Time for a couple more gallons.



Time to stack and weld. The dimensions of the frame would allow full length for the fixture plates on top and a 2" gap between them for clamping.



About this point I realized I was not going to like the end result of my idea. It was not going to work out, but I went ahead and finished so I'd have something to use since the HF table was such junk.

 

[TXNinAZ]

I kept looking on Craigslist after finishing the 'thing' and finally found something pretty nice, though small.



1-1/2" thick top, clever trailer jack system to move it around, and not terribly expensive. The problem I saw immediately was the small size (24x29").

I have a tool storage problem and can't seem to settle on my Lista, Vidmar, Snap On cabinets, and now tables. I found another good candidate on Craigslist two weeks ago.



Seller's forklift got it in my trailer.



It's a great size for my shop: 1" thick top, and 67x39". Not too wide, not too long, and super duty. The legs are awful and the top was gouged up from lazy workers not being careful with the cutting torch. But fixable problems and it was cheap. A new plate these dimensions would be well over $500.

Time to fix the 19 holes drilled through in random places and replace the missing 2-1/2"x2" corner area.



As I strip off the paint and crud, I find the surface to be worse than I realized. If I just can't stand it, I got a quote for a sheet of 1/4" steel that I can layer on top and weld to the 1" plate. Then all the apprentice marks will be my fault.

Time to repurpose the materials from the 'thing.' Forgot to mention the enormous weight of the finished product- 760 lbs. I don't have a cutting torch or plasma cutter, so grinding discs it is.



Now I needed them cut to length. I wanted the working height at 36" since I'm not a fabricator and usually have a TIG pedal needed when welding so nothing too high. I ordered 8" casters from Amazon with a 1200 lbs each rating that would be 9-1/2" total height, so I needed each leg 25-1/2" long to make my 36" finished height.

I got my old Kalamazoo band saw a while ago from an estate sale, which fortunately has the capacity for my 6" HSS.



It was slow going as the blade got dull, but it chugged right along. Until the last cut, the blade finally gave up.



All done within 1/16" of each other.



Now time to get some plates welded onto the bottom of the legs to mount the casters on.



I still have a long way to go, but I really love stick welding. This is Lincoln 1/8" 7018.



With the 3/8" plates welded on, time to drill and tap the mounting holes. I could have more easily drilled them before they were welded on, but I was concerned about them changing shape too much from the heat input of welding. Wasn't too big of a deal, just some setup involved to get the full leg in the drill press. Note the reassembled fixture block. Very handy way to mount the mill vise in position on the drill press base.



No broken drill or taps in the 16 holes so that was nice.

 

[TXNinAZ]

My hole patterns were not perfect, but close enough that a little deburring ball cutter made one hole on each caster more oval and allowed a nice fit up.

Now that the legs are done, time to get the frame built. From my same buddy I got some 6" channel iron in 8' lengths. With the bandsaw down and new blade on backorder, I wanted to minimize cutting by hand. Since I wanted an overhang for clamping anyway, the channel could be cut just once and I'd have two 48" lengths for the long sides. That would give me about 3" overhang on each end, which should be fine on 1" plate. I gave cutting a try with my sawzall using the Milwaukee Torch blades and was thoroughly impressed.



A bit of grinder cleanup and my side pieces were good to go. I went back to Metal Supermarket to get the lower support tubes and got 3x3" 1/4 wall tubing which should be way strong enough. Time to lay everything out and pull out the new MIG welder.



And now the base is done!!!



I weighed the individual pieces so I would know what my final project weighed:

Casters: 9 lbs each
Leg sections: 54 lbs each
Channel sections: 64.5 lbs each
3" tubing: 16.7 lbs each

Total weight of base: 414 lbs, give or take.

The big 8" casters are great- my 4 year old boy has no problem pushing it around the garage. Once the top is on I'm sure that won't be the case, but I'm very happy with the design. And the structure is rigid enough that one wheel up in the air over a low spot will free spin.

The rental company brings a forklift by tomorrow morning so I can get the table out of the trailer and flip it over to cut the old legs off. Then get it mounted on the new base.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

Cool!

 

[Shootinok]

Holy canoly !
That is a monster table. Awesome !!

 

[matt_i]

Looking good, time for a big vise I've had good luck with the "varipitch" sawblades, mostly they are Starrett from McMaster Carr but Lenox is also a very good brand.

Also it would be nice to have a torch setup, for heating but you could take the legs off the steel plate quite rapidly also with the gas axe.

 

[TXNinAZ]

Looking good, time for a big vise I've had good luck with the "varipitch" sawblades, mostly they are Starrett from McMaster Carr but Lenox is also a very good brand.

Also it would be nice to have a torch setup, for heating but you could take the legs off the steel plate quite rapidly also with the gas axe.

I had a good experience with the Starrett that was on there. Bought another one just like it. For a backup I may try something different.

A big blue wrench is definitely in the plans. There's a million on Craigslist so I'm just waiting for the right price and setup. Fortunately the old legs are just pipe, so it shouldn't take too long to cut them off with a wheel. Definitely easier with a Victor though.

 

[TXNinAZ]

Things are getting serious this weekend!

 

[86turbodsl]

Holy **** dude, what are you parking on that table? 65' Buicks? Giant tractors? Talk about overkill...

And i say this with a grain of salt.

 

[James E]

Jeezus. In two thousand years, all remnants of our civilization will have returned to the dirt, but that welding table will still be sitting there.

 

[bryceaugustine]

i want that table so bad.

 

[rslaback]

Since you already made a new stand for it, I would suggest flipping the table top. It looks like you'd have some grinding in each of the corners where the legs were but I imagine the rest of the surface is probably in a lot better condition than the top.

 

[TXNinAZ]

Since you already made a new stand for it, I would suggest flipping the table top. It looks like you'd have some grinding in each of the corners where the legs were but I imagine the rest of the surface is probably in a lot better condition than the top.

That will definitely be evaluated. The underside does have a couple of questionable slag/leftover brackets under it, so I'm unsure if it has already been flipped at some point in its life. If the underside is nicer, I will definitely use it for the top.

 

[TXNinAZ]

Holy **** dude, what are you parking on that table? 65' Buicks? Giant tractors? Talk about overkill...

And i say this with a grain of salt.

Jeezus. In two thousand years, all remnants of our civilization will have returned to the dirt, but that welding table will still be sitting there.

i want that table so bad.

Thanks guys, I'm happy with how things are going so far. As long as I can figure out how to manipulate the forklift without killing anything, I should be pounding away by Monday!

 

[matt_i]

I would drag out some 2x4s for spacers/cribbing, so you don't get to a situation where the top is flat on the ground and have to go excavating.

To flip the top I would drill/punch a square piece of steel, weld the tab to the leg up near the underside of the bench. Now you can install an anchor shackle and attach a sling or a chain, carefully raise up from that point and the tabletop will go vertical. Allow one corner to touch down and then manipulate the steering slightly to get the rollover going the direction you want. I always place a heavy C-clamp on the parallel part of the forks (not the tapered section ideally) and tighten it as tight as I can get it to keep the sling/chain from sliding down the length.

Keep people and pets a safe distance back. They don't stand a chance...

 

[TXNinAZ]

I would drag out some 2x4s for spacers/cribbing, so you don't get to a situation where the top is flat on the ground and have to go excavating.

To flip the top I would drill/punch a square piece of steel, weld the tab to the leg up near the underside of the bench. Now you can install an anchor shackle and attach a sling or a chain, carefully raise up from that point and the tabletop will go vertical. Allow one corner to touch down and then manipulate the steering slightly to get the rollover going the direction you want. I always place a heavy C-clamp on the parallel part of the forks (not the tapered section ideally) and tighten it as tight as I can get it to keep the sling/chain from sliding down the length.

Keep people and pets a safe distance back. They don't stand a chance...

Thanks Matt that helps me visualize it. I planned on setting it down on a pallet to help get it maneuvered while it's upside down. I've got some 3" angle I can use for the anchor point on the table, and actually have a lifting eye on the bottom of the fork frame provided by the rental company. Should help keep things as safe as possible.

 

[TXNinAZ]

Sadly the weather wasn't great today. 108 degrees on May 5th was a new record. Got started at about 5 to avoid some sweating. Got a tab welded on:



Used a strap with hooks on it- wrapped around the lower part of the fork frame, and hooked onto my tab.



After some wrangling, got it upright.



And some more maneuvering got it to lay down safely without dropping it.




There is some kind of plaster material stuck to the bottom, but once removed, the table is in pretty good shape. There are some boogers on there where apparently someone was trying to practice overhead stick welding. Between those random blobs and a few bracket remains, I've got some work to do but I think this side will turn out better than the other side.

 

[RobSmith]

Not too sure of your plans ... but that heavy duty frame sitting on those four tiny axles won't be too solid. I hope you are going to put decent feet (to lift the wheels off the ground) on your set up.
Turn the table top over and use that surface ... you only need to clean up the leg welds.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

And now the base is done!!!



I weighed the individual pieces so I would know what my final project weighed:

Casters: 9 lbs each
Leg sections: 54 lbs each
Channel sections: 64.5 lbs each
3" tubing: 16.7 lbs each

Total weight of base: 414 lbs, give or take.

The big 8" casters are great- my 4 year old boy has no problem pushing it around the garage. Once the top is on I'm sure that won't be the case, but I'm very happy with the design. And the structure is rigid enough that one wheel up in the air over a low spot will free spin.

The rental company brings a forklift by tomorrow morning so I can get the table out of the trailer and flip it over to cut the old legs off. Then get it mounted on the new base.

Man that is sweet looking! Nice fabricating!

 

[TXNinAZ]

Thanks guys! More progress today. Only 96 degrees so not as bad as yesterday.

I

After about 4-1/2 hours of grinding and we're there. Just need to weld up the holes on the underside and flip it onto the base. I will be using the original topside for my topside. The under side wasn't any better and I had already patched up the top so we'll run with it.

 

[TXNinAZ]

Got the underside holes all filled.



Made a new friend.



Brought the base around to the side yard so that any mishaps would fall over dirt rather than crack the driveway. Then the waltz with a 735 lb piece of sail. Went pretty well considering I'd never driven a forklift before Friday. (The better half took this from inside through the bug screen thus the weird photo)



Success!!



Ground off the lifting tab, welded a few stitches along the sides and moved it to garage.



Overall a pretty nice upgrade. Thanks for following along.

 

[Plastikosmd]

Nice table, I like the newer version. I went with noncaster table as I now have the space. With 2 large vises and the ability to crank and bend stuff with without movement is very handy. I think your table will serve you well

 

[mcbassin]

Very nice table! Looks super heavy duty!

 

[Mgnu]

TXN looks great! Can you please post a link to those casters on Amazon? I think I have found them, but not certain. How do you like them?

I'm near Stetson Valley, what area in the Valley are you in?

Loving this weather! (Before the blast furnace comes back on)

 

[Plastikosmd]

Also, on one table I made I used heavy steel casters to prevent stray current grounding issues as I tend to lean on the bench at times. Probably overthinking it but I tend to do that

 

[TXNinAZ]

TXN looks great! Can you please post a link to those casters on Amazon? I think I have found them, but not certain. How do you like them?

I'm near Stetson Valley, what area in the Valley are you in?

Loving this weather! (Before the blast furnace comes back on)

I'm just about due south of you in Laveen (67th Ave and Baseline). So far the casters are great- even with the top added, the table rolls easily and applying one brake keeps the whole thing solid.

E.R. Wagner Plate Caster, Swivel with Total-Lock Brake, Polyurethane on Aluminum Wheel, Roller Bearing, 1200 lbs Capacity, 8" Wheel Dia, 2" Wheel Widt https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003E7E9Q2/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[TXNinAZ]

Nice table, I like the newer version. I went with noncaster table as I now have the space. With 2 large vises and the ability to crank and bend stuff with without movement is very handy. I think your table will serve you well

Some day I'll have enough room to have a table like this that I can center in the shop and level it perfectly. But for now I need the flexibility. Thanks!

 

[ZipSnafu]

Very nice table... I like it a lot.