Best material for a welding table?

[DavidShearer]

There is a 5' X 10' Acorn table listed on eBay at http://cgi.ebay.com/ACORN-STYLE-HEAV...item1e633646e0. The bid is currently $760.00. Check it out.

[hooda]

Ive been thinking about welding up a welding table for myself. I dont have a lot of room in my garage. So I thought I would go with something that I can make unique to my situation. I am surprised to find some stainless cheaper than some regular steels? I was also thinking about if having a higher melting point would be a better material? Anybody have any suggestion on the best material to make it out of? I am talking the actual table itself. The part that will basicly act as the ground. I had thoughts about using aluminum to make it light and be able to move around. Then I thought about its low melting point. One of those projects I been keeping in the back of my head.

Well, it isn't clear whet you're looking for as far as size goes, but the words "space" and "garage" are leading me to believe you're looking at a little less than a 5 x 10 foot table here. My bro posted a pic of a welding table that gramps made, and is still in use. Given your situation, I would suggest that you take a folding tv tray and use that as a template. What we usually look for in a welding table is not only heat resistance, but stability. The lighter your table is, by nature the less stable it will be. But I think I f you were to make a frame out of aluminum angle with the legs folding scissors-style, and the top as a rectangle frame out of 1x1x3/16 aluminum angle. 25 feet@.4lb/ft= 10lb., then top it off with a piece of, say 10 or 11 gage steel(approx 1/8 thick). a 2x3-1/2 foot piece is 7sf@5.625lb/sf.=39.375. So, you could have a 2 x 3 foot welding table that would weigh in at about 50 lb. and be able to be neatly folded up and put in the corner of the garage. True 10 gage is going to want to warp if it gets real hot, but a guy could always add reinforcements underneath to help minimize this. This actually sounds like something I may draw up plans for. The only trouble I will have is finding the time. If you're interested in it, let me know.

[aaxiss]

Once I get better I am in the process of building a new welding table also. My Dad Does Mosaics (tile Pictures from little or big pieces) and currently has a pos 4x4' table he built by using that bolt together angle iron made for stuff like those home depot bolt together garage storage shelving racks. I'm still finding sharp edges left by the chop saw. So he's gonna let me have half... When I say half I mean underneath, It has the top and two shelves under it. In a Wheelchair I need to be able to roll under it, but he still wants to be able to store stuff under it. I told him with heavy duty Tool box type drawer rollers could make him 2 pull out shelves that will hold more than he currently has under it cause I noticed that he only uses about the first 10-15 in because the center is so hard to reach under to, oh and did I mention all the sharp edges left by the chop saw?. Don't even think about reaching under their without gloves and a long sleeve shirt on.

Gonna go with 3/8 top, 2" sq .180 tube for legs and 1x2 .125 to join it all together. Will support the top With some old Channel iron my dad picked up for me, .250 3" with 1.5" legs, should make it plenty strong and that's good because I may have to settle for 1/4 top because of cost 1/4 4ft square is 140 less than the 3/8. Got most of the material I need to finish this but the drawer slides Gonna spring that on pops when he gets back from vacation/fam reunion. only $80 for all 4 but he's kinda a pack-rat recycler kinda guy, and what I mean by recycle is .... when w go to get the slides he will say something along this train of thought." $80.. Heck, I got stuff at home we could make those outta for free" . And he probably does too, but it would be like 2 skate boards or a stack of 4 washers to use as wheel and bearing in one LOL. His most used tool in the shop is a roll of wire followed by contact cement Unless he's making one of his mosaics the he uses all the right tools properly for some magical reason me or my mom have yet to figure out LOL.

All the pieces for the table are cut to length and the caster pads are welded to the legs. I just need to heal up so I can get this thing built

Build what suits your needs, space and budget. The top?, If your really welding the heavy stuff at high amps alot and wand to use your table as an anvil too , than 3/4 or more but if your just a hobby welder anywhere from 3/16 to 3/8 will work fine but will warp slightly over time. Then you just grind the top free and put a new one on. Like Dad says " No reason to build a space shuttle just to mow the lawn"

[geezer]

"Build what suits your needs, space and budget. The top?, If your really welding the heavy stuff at high amps alot and wand to use your table as an anvil too , than 3/4 or more but if your just a hobby welder anywhere from 3/16 to 3/8 will work fine but will warp slightly over time. Then you just grind the top free and put a new one on. Like Dad says " No reason to build a space shuttle just to mow the lawn"

Your Dad is a wise man.

Which brings us to the question, what is a welding table for and what are it's basic requirements?

As I see it, a table should keep you working off the floor, have a metal top to act as a ground and possibly have a vise on the corner to hold things. For the pro/shop that can mean big , heavy and fixed in position in the shop, for the hobbyist it is light, portable and reasonable cost. A top of 1/4 inch will serve most guy's
needs, want to pound on something, get an anvil mounted on a stump.

The biggest mistake I see in portable welding table construction is the use of cheap plastic castors on them,

[aaxiss]

The biggest mistake I see in portable welding table construction is the use of cheap plastic castors on them,

Harbor freight sells some nice cast iron hub casters in different sizes for between 3.99 - 5.99 depending on size . They are really quite decent. I put a set of the small ones on my dads delta saw and they roll super smooth . just load up the bearings on the caster swivels with a good grease and you wont have any trouble for a long time. I plan on using a set of the 390lb rated casters on my table . I did dig through what they had in stock , picking the casters with the least swivel slop.

good luck in what ever you decide on