Project 2 from KSmith. Cateory: Welding Table

[KSmith]

This is my welding table, mobile and relatively small. It is made for sitting while welding. I built a short extension on the opposite end from the handle, for holding tools and misc. Works great.

Dimensions:
Table Top size: 28x36” / 30x36” with brake surface.
Overall Length with handle and extension rack: 47”
Table height: 25-1/2”
Casters: Two swivel, two fixed, 5”

Materials:
2”x3/16” angle
2”x2”x3/16” sq. tube
5/16” top

FYI: I have recently built a layout table of 4x8’ osb, with a 4’ square sheet of 18gauge steel countersunk screwed to the top so I can do some tacking and light welding on the surface. You can see it in the background in one of the pictures.



ken

[undercut]

Nice. That's a great idea - having a place to sit while welding. I don't have a welding table (yet!) but this has given me some ideas. Did you MIG the whole thing?

[KSmith]

Nice. That's a great idea - having a place to sit while welding. I don't have a welding table (yet!) but this has given me some ideas. Did you MIG the whole thing?

I started with flux core, then got rid of that thing, and finished with mig solid wire. Night and day.

ken

[KSmith]

I plan to drill and tap a line of holes, spaced evenly, to use as hold down points. That way I can hold a piece down away from the edge, which I can now do with clamps, c-clamps. I will make some clamps of 1/4" plate, with bolts to thread into the holes in the table top.

ken

[undercut]

Don't have a welder, yet. Thinking about getting my feet wet with a stick welder as that would probably the only thing my current budget will allow. Would this type of project be outside the realm of stick welding?

[Rodsmachineshop]

to me you can do about everything with a ac dc stick welder , I am not stepping on everlast welders but for a first stick welder since i don't think everlast makes a ac dc stick welder all i see is dc sticks in everlast . i would recommend a Lincoln ac dc stick welder you can get anew one at home depot for 387 dollars . that what i started with and still use it . reason ac and dc stick then you can use aluminum stick rods and other rods that need to be used on ac just like some rods like dc also http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...5X-_-100053881

[undercut]

to me you can do about everything with a ac dc stick welder , I am not stepping on everlast welders but for a first stick welder since i don't think everlast makes a ac dc stick welder all i see is dc sticks in everlast . i would recommend a Lincoln ac dc stick welder you can get anew one at home depot for 387 dollars . that what i started with and still use it . reason ac and dc stick then you can use aluminum stick rods and other rods that need to be used on ac just like some rods like dc also http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...5X-_-100053881

Ahhh, that's the tombstone I keep reading about? I've tried to do a bit of reading about stick welding aluminum but I keep reading conflicting reports. Don't want to hijack Ken's thread as he's got a great project here so I'll create a new thread about stick welding aluminum.

[KSmith]

Don't have a welder, yet. Thinking about getting my feet wet with a stick welder as that would probably the only thing my current budget will allow. Would this type of project be outside the realm of stick welding?

In my opinion, this project could be built with a stick welder, since it is all fairly thick material. The only problem with stick is when you get into thin gauge steel.

[KSmith]

You notice, I added a light duty sheet metal brake to the long side, 36”, made of 2”x1/4” angle. Made hinges from tube, and using ½” bolts. 1” square tube handle, with adjusting stop for leveling of the brake with table top. I can use an angle to check bending angle that way. The method of holding down the 2”x1/4” brake die is so-so, but for now it works.

The 2”x1/4” angle brake die edge which meets the metal was flattened with an angle grinder to give a sharper bend radius. The metal in these pictures is 18gauge, about .047”.



The brake doesn't get in the way, has a solid support, and comes in handy when I need it. I've used it with up to 16 gauge steel with no problems so far.

ken

[67cudafb]

I was trying to figure out how the brake worked, now I see you use the angle clamped down to hold the sheet metal. Smart. Table just the right size to wheel around as needed.

[KSmith]

I was trying to figure out how the brake worked, now I see you use the angle clamped down to hold the sheet metal. Smart. Table just the right size to wheel around as needed.

Right Bill. Like I mentioned, the angle comes with a rounded radius on the edges. To get the bend to be a bit more square, I ran the angle grinder down the angle to get a defined edge that meets the metal where the radius will form. Does a pretty good job.

ken

[KSmith]

I got around to drilling and tapping the holes in my welding needed for two clamps. They are these funky but useful clamps I got at HF. Now I can just screw them into the table to hold pieces in place for plasma cutting or just general support.

I drilled a 1/4" pilot hole first, and then a .404" hole before tapping M12 x 1.75.



ken

[NRM]

Ken nice table, thats how I would like to make mine. How did you line up the pivot points for the brake? I have read that is the most difficult part of building a brake like that.

[Rambozo]

I used to work at a place that had an angle iron brake almost just like that. I even remember the name, and sure enough 20 years later they are still making the same thing.
http://www.lowbucktools.com/brakes.html
You might even want to look at the tension brace on the upper clamp, to keep it from lifting in the middle.

[KSmith]

Ken nice table, thats how I would like to make mine. How did you line up the pivot points for the brake? I have read that is the most difficult part of building a brake like that.

Thank you. I will go out in a bit and photograph the hinge. The key is centerline. I think a picture will help clarify.

ken

[KSmith]

I used to work at a place that had an angle iron brake almost just like that. I even remember the name, and sure enough 20 years later they are still making the same thing.
http://www.lowbucktools.com/brakes.html
You might even want to look at the tension brace on the upper clamp, to keep it from lifting in the middle.

A weak point in my brake is the top brace. It is very stiff at 1/4" and doesn't seem to bow. But using clamps each and every time I change stock to bend is a chore.

ken

[Rambozo]

A weak point in my brake is the top brace. It is very stiff at 1/4" and doesn't seem to bow. But using clamps each and every time I change stock to bend is a chore.

ken

How about drilling and tapping another couple of holes to replace the clamps? You could screw in some threaded rod and weld some tubes in your top piece. Then just run down some wing nuts. You could even put a couple of springs under it to lift it when you back off the nuts. When you remove the rods, nothing would stick up on your table. Just an idea.

I really like your idea of having the brake built right in to the table. Looks really neat.

[Rodsmachineshop]

A break has to have trusses to work rite here a video to show the truss setup on a real break it has cams that lock the upper piece tight instead of bolts like in this video

[Rodsmachineshop]

What i want is a pan brake

[KSmith]

Brake hinge alignment. You can see from the bolt head side, the horizontal center of the bolt is level with the flat of the table/brake surfaces.

If you can imagine a line going down the table side brake surface, that line goes down thru the axial center of the bolt. I put my tension bar over the metal I am bending, right along that table side of the gap in the brake. So when I lift the brake to bend, the bend will start at the tension bar, at axial centerline to the bolt, the brake bending the metal in a radius up and over that tension bar edge. That is my centerline, and so the centerline of the hinge bolt.

When I welded my hinges, I cut a tube with the inner diameter being my bolt size, into three even lengths. I stacked these on the bolt. I cut into the table top and brake side a notch large enough to position the bolt/tube stack at the centerline (above). Clamped into place, all lined up, in all axis on that centerline. I then tacked the hinge tubes to table and brake surfaces.

Ideally, one could have a rod the size of the bolts and tube inner diameter, and use that as a alignment rod to position both hinges at once in mutual alignment. I did not have a rod at the time, and so did it one bolt/tube assembly at a time. Small tacks, tried the brake to make sure it was how I wanted it. I might have had to use a hammer for fine tuning a bit, but I can't recall. Difficult part was to weld the thin tube to the thick table top and 1/4" brake side angle, which was done with 1/16" stick electrode. I did not want to burn a hole in the thin hinge tube, so I was welding hinge to the bolt.



The gap between table and brake angle surface is minimal, as narrow as can be, because that will determine in large part, the size of the bend radius. Just enough to provide clearance, for the least bend radius. It is difficult to photograph the centerline, from above centerline, using a 20mm wide angle lense. Paralax makes things look off. I hope I was being clear.
ken