Started my plasma table today.

I was inspired by this plasma table on Pirate4x4:
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/9104/img0205r.jpg

His appears to be about 5 x 2, I want something a little bigger.

Mine will be 6 x 4 when finished. Here is the basic frame:
Attachment 1275
Attachment 1276

I built a spot for my cold cut saw to sit in the middle. Now, all the chips will fall down into the catch pail.
Attachment 1274
I recessed the saw so that the top of the saw base will be even/ flush with the the top of the slats on the table. That will support the 20' pieces as I cut them into workable lengths.

Attachment 1309
Attachment 1308

Made a little progress today. Got half of the slats cut and in place.

Its good that it appears you have the slats replaceable. I still hate to cut on them...messing up the hard work.

Looks very nice! What process did you use to weld it together??

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Originally Posted by performance

Its good that it appears you have the slats replaceable. I still hate to cut on them...messing up the hard work.

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I copied my friend's commercial table and set them in an "S" shape. That keep them firm and stable, but they tap out with a hammer. The "S" shape prevents burning an entire slat if the cut happens to be right above the slat and it also provides better support for cutting thin wide pieces.

are the waves is the slats functional or just a nice touch?

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Originally Posted by Oxide00

Looks very nice! What process did you use to weld it together??

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Just a lowly Mig.

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Originally Posted by dgarnier

are the waves is the slats functional or just a nice touch?

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The "S" shape (wave shape) prevents burning an entire slat if the cut happens to be right above the slat and it also provides better support for cutting thin wide pieces.
I copied that feature from a friend's commercial CNC plasma table.
He has a sheet metal shop and is cutting my chute and catch pan, so I should be able to finish the table this weekend.

Very nice table. Not only the S curves will help, but look like they are concaved or curved horizontally as well from the first picture, will help keep the flame away from them on larger jobs if so. What did you use for the bends, they are very clean and aligned, nice clone for sure.

The slats are 1/8" x 1.5" bar x 46" long.
I used 5 pieces of 1.25 x 1.25 x 1/8" angle x 28" long to support the slats. I cut 3/16" wide notches every 1.75 inches to align and support the slats.
The 1st, 3rd, and 5th supports have the notches cut in the same locations. The 2nd and 4th supports have the notches cut 7/8" offset from the odd supports.
The distance of the right side of the table worked out to have a "half" number of slats, so those 2 pieces are welded in the right corners; top and bottom in the pic. The left half of the table worked out to have a full number of slats.
In total, I used less than 7 pieces of the 1.5" bar stock at $12 each.
The angle was salvage from some A/C stands. In retrospect, I should have just bought the 2 sticks of angle at $20 each because the clean up of the used angle was more hassle than the $40 saved.
The 2 x 2 legs cost me < $20 total.
The 1.5 x 2.5 cross members Cost < $40 total.

The cut saw in the middle is working out great. Most of the chips are falling straight down, so when the chute is in place, I won't have any mess to clean. The back shield on the saw does a great job directing the chips downward. No chips are flying past the back of the saw. This is working better than I thought. I'm really glad that I incorporated the cold saw into the design.

My friend called me too late today to tell me that my chute and catch pan were ready. So, I'll have to wait until Monday to pick it up. Then maybe by Wed I will have time to finish it.

If anyone wants to copy this, I can have my friend print out the cut sheets for the chute.

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Originally Posted by A/C Guy

I copied my friend's commercial table and set them in an "S" shape. That keep them firm and stable, but they tap out with a hammer. The "S" shape prevents burning an entire slat if the cut happens to be right above the slat and it also provides better support for cutting thin wide pieces.

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That's a really good idea. I was thinking about building a plasma table after I finish my CNC mill. I also thought about adapting the CNC to also run plasma but not sure I want to go that route. I will have to remember about the S curves for sure.

Attachment 1575
Putting the dry cut saw in the middle really makes the table much more versatile. Now when I cut tubing all the chips go straight down the chute. No more sweeping them off the floor! After cutting the tubing, I have enough room to set the pieces in front or beside the saw and then I can grind / prep them for welding. All the grinding debris slide down the chute into the can. Much less dust and dirt on the floor!
Attachment 1580
I fabricated a 48 x 16 x 15 trash collection box to collect the debri as it slides down the chute.
Attachment 1576
Lots of storage on each side of the trash can. Saws and grinder on the right.
Attachment 1578
Welding helmet, ear muffs, safety goggles, gloves on the left.

looks good i've been considering doing something similiar but i just don't have the space yet. for now i use 4x4 blocks or 5 gallon buckets to cut on

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Originally Posted by shawn

looks good i've been considering doing something similiar but i just don't have the space yet. for now i use 4x4 blocks or 5 gallon buckets to cut on

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Funny thing about "space". No matter how much you have, you always need more. My shop is a 40 x 60 steel building. I built it last year. I ran out of room in less than 6 months. So last week, I built a 10' wide storage loft along the back 40' wall 8' AFF. That helped alleviate a lot of the over crowding. Next week I am building 2 more storage areas 4' wide by about 34' long, also 8' AFF. Then stage 3 will be two triangular storage lofts measuring 20' x 14' x 23.5' in the front of the shop on both sides of the roll up door. That will finally resolve all my storage problems; at least until I find a need tool or hobby that I can't live without.

Awesome table. I like the idea of collecting all the debris in the middle like that, leaves you some shelf space on either side. And I need shelfspace!