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welding station/table


Ferd/289

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I am thinking of adding a welding station, i.e. steel table to be used for welding, to my garage area. I heard that a 3x5 foot, 1/2 inch thick steel table top would work, along with steel legs. Any advice on construction, ie legs type of steel etc.

Ferd

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The size sounds good but 1/2" plate for a top sounds too thick IMO. You could probablt get away with 1/4 or maybe even 1/8 with a brace. If you have 1/2 laying around by all means use it, but if you plan on buying a new plate get some price quotes. Prices jump up pretty fast with the thicker stuff, at least that was my experience when I built a cart.

 

On mine I used 1/8 plate with 1.25 angle for the legs. It's pretty sturdy. I also have a 2x3 ft cart with casters that I can lu around pretty much anywhere. If you're making a staionary bench with 1/4 or thicker plate you can also use pipe for legs. I would also recommend checking out any scrap yards for materials. Prices are high for new stuff, especially for a bench that will probably see some abUSE.

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I would think that 1/4" or 3/8" steel plate would work just as well as 1/2" unless you are working on some seriously heavy parts. Using the 1/2" plate would make it a very sturdy platform for mounting a vise to though. 2" square tubing with 1/8" wall thickness would work pretty well for the legs. Some more square tubing cross bars somewhere along the length of the legs would make it very stout. For what it's worth, the one I use at work is 6X6 foot, made of 3" thick waffle cut steel plate. It weighs almost 6000 pounds, I know this because it makes the rear wheels on a 6K forklift bounce off the ground when lifting it. It's a nice table to have, but it's serious overkill. Hope this helps.

 

Mike

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This is what I have, one of the old heavy office desks with the round corners. I installed a piece of plywood across the bottom to set my mig welder on. It is on wheels and has a piece of ¼†steel on the top. For what they sell for at used office places you can’t buy the steel for the base. Also the doors are great to have. Mine is also on wheels to move around the garage as needed. These things are built heavy enough to put an engine on if needed.

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Depends on what you want to do. If you go to this site

 

http://metalshapers.org/101/index.shtml

 

and poke around abit, I think there is one article that says 1/2 inch is a minimum thickness for a metal working table top. But they do some pretty intricate metal shaping, so for them a thicker table is probably a necessity.

 

Here is one with 1/2 inch

 

http://metalshapers.org/101/draczuk/shoptip10.shtml

 

I made a killer work bench out of 2 and 2 1/2 inch pipe I got from a scrap metal yard. They had a pile of it as tall as a house that use to be fire sprinkler pipe in a building. Got it for 25 cent a pound and it makes a STRONG bench. For the top I just have plywood for now. When I weld I put down a sheet of cement board and maybe cover that with a piece of sheet metal for a ground plane. Eventually I will pick up some plate steel, but the wood top is nice for dual use work.

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When I built my rotisserie, I used 3/4ths inch MDF for a 4X8 foot table that I could collapse by myself and lean against the wall. I have one of the magnetized grounding clamps that worked fine for me.

 

Space was a big issue. Now I have a table that is belly button high to use anytime I need one.

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I have countertops about two thirds of the perimeter of a three car garage. On one of the tops that I 'dedicated' to automotive/metal related work, I used 1 1/8" plywood and had a sheet metal shop cover it with 16 guage sheet metal. It has to be less expensive than solid 1/2" metal, it is very sturdy (easily holds several hundred pounds), and cleans up easily. If you needed more strength, you could make a stronger cabinet BASE. I just used Home Depot Mill's Pride stuff.

The important thing that I was offering for consideration was the THICK plywood covered with sheet metal alternative.

You didn't say the extent of the welding work that you plan on doing. If it is merely hobbyist level, I think that 1/2" steel is overkill.

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Then the most economical and still effective set-up would be THICK wood covered with sheet metal. For legs, as mentioned by someone previously, you could use threaded pipe (3/4" or 1" ?), with threaded 'feet' on ground and at top under tabletop. For added reinforcement, gusset as needed and maybe weld some perimeter 'skirting' about 5" off floor all the way around the table legs (make into a shelf?). I would suggest doing the same 'skirting' just under the tabletop around the top perimeter of the legs, as well.

My .02

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http://www.uniqueprojects.com/projects/weldingtable/weldingtable.htm

 

I used these plans and scaled the table down to ~4ft X 2ft. I used 1in square tubing 1/16 thick and 1/4 in think steel plate. Took about on afternoon to assemble (did all cutting first then welded). This thing is stout. I have a vise mounted to it and can really apply torque when needed. The bottom 'shelf' is handy to stand on when you need some leverage. I added a handle on the opposite end from the bottom 'shelf' and wheels that are just off of the ground where the 'shelf' sticks out. This allows the table to be moved by lifting the table to a steep angle to put the wheels on the ground. BTW 1/4in plate is plenty unless you are making a huge table with no support underneath.

 

Sam

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24X36 freeway gutter grate composed of 5/8 inch X 2 inch flat stock, 4 substantial pieces of 3X5 angle iron legs mounted on shopping cart swivel wheels. removable vice and temporary storage platform made from expanded metal and angle iron to stabilize bottom of cart.

 

Think anyone ever noticed the missing sewer grate?

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