Welding Top

[gorillamotor]

I have a 1/2" thick 30" x 48" steel welding top. I am looking at drilling holes that are 4" on center that are either left as holes or are tapped 1/2x13 or 5/8x11 or maybe no holes at all. What are your suggestions: holes, no holes, or tapped holes?

[christian]

Gee,

If it were me, I'd probably put untapped holes at each 8", as fixture-style clamps can usually swing about 4", so two of them will meet each other well enough (although, maybe not at the diagonal points, depending on what clamp you use, or how you layout your metal).

And that would mean half as many holes to drill. I mean, a mag drill would undoubtedly be helpful, and you could always add more holes later, as needed.

I built a very small welding table that I integrated a small metal brake into. I just put four holes near the center of it, which I use for some fixture-style ViseGrip clamps to pin small or simple stuff down for welding, and the four holes allow me to do most of what I want them to in my modest setup.