Welding Tables

I was wondering what type of welding tables everyone uses? If you made it or bought it? I made mine out of aluminum to be light so if I had to move it would be easy. I made it so beefy out of 1/4" 2" x 4" aluminum the beast weights about 80 pounds so it defeated the purpose. The top is removable I just lay it on top. I have different tops I use. The most common is a 1/8" sheet of 6061 aluminum with a copper sheet to absorb heat and protect to table. I tell you this table is the best ground you could hope for. I have never had arc marks on anything I have welded. If I want to hammer or cut something I put a 1/8 steel sheet on top of the aluminum sheet.

I just a borring person I guess my posts are lame and don't interest anyone. Oh well I won't start anymore threads.

At the moment this is what I use until I come up with something better, I don't like this table that much because it is hard to clamp work to. I would like to see pics of your table. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Champ-Foldab...item20c031a09c

Just about anything that will get you up out of that monkey squat position will do as a welding table, one of the best is an old sheet of ply wood sitting atop a couple of 2 x4's on sawhorses, need a grounding surface lay a sheet of some knid of metal on it....it is cheap and can be taken down and stored out of the way. One advantage of a wooden table is you reduce the possiblity of a zap when you rest on the wood surface another is,,,being able to screw down pieces of wood to help jig up or frame up the metal you are welding,,,,when you finish just unscrew the wood strips from the plywood,,,it's just an old piece of scrap plywood so you don't worry about making holes in it.

I have other tables,like an all steel one 2' x 3' with a 1/4 inch top on wheels with shelves and a vise mounted on it, but it is heavy loaded with all the junk a fellow puts on them....

The sawhorses and old plywood works pretty good,,my latest efforts are a couple of pieces of 5/8 inch plywood 33" x 40" with a couple of those folding sawhorses bolted to it,,,,it is cheap ,,folds up out of the way,,,but even so each one still weighs 30 pounds...

Bottom line: what ever gets you up out of that monkey squat position and sitting in a chair is a welding table to me.

That champ table is nifty idea, but I would not pay that much money for one! It would be good for taking on jobs, but it would not be so good if you needed to do some clamping.

The nice thing is I left to ends open and you can see in the one pic I use it for storing my tig rods. Also I use the ground clamp to hold the torch. I know I have to clean I'm a slob.
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Mine's just a cheap thin gauge tool cart that I got because I had to get welding. It has two really nice features for welding though: it's supported on a central pedestal and it's got a series of holes drilled along the edge of it's top. The central pedestal lets you spin the table & work around and you can get a clamp anywhere near an edge. The holes fit the torch's cup letting you set it down anywhere.

Tough it is not, and I suspect the paint fumes are going to end up killing me. Also the cross beam that goes to the pedestal is forever in the way of the foot pedal or the foot operating it.

Glad to see this topic getting some action. I didn't want to start with my lame excuse for a welding table...

I really like that rod storage. Need to do something like that.

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Originally Posted by Paul Moir

Mine's just a cheap thin gauge tool cart that I got because I had to get welding. It has two really nice features for welding though: it's supported on a central pedestal and it's got a series of holes drilled along the edge of it's top. The central pedestal lets you spin the table & work around and you can get a clamp anywhere near an edge. The holes fit the torch's cup letting you set it down anywhere.

Tough it is not, and I suspect the paint fumes are going to end up killing me. Also the cross beam that goes to the pedestal is forever in the way of the foot pedal or the foot operating it.

Glad to see this topic getting some action. I didn't want to start with my lame excuse for a welding table...

I really like that rod storage. Need to do something like that.

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I wouldn't call that LAME, I say that is practical and having wheels on it makes it better than most, looks good.

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Originally Posted by Cippee

I just a borring person I guess my posts are lame and don't interest anyone. Oh well I won't start anymore threads.

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Not at all dude it's an interesting thread.. I'm always interested in other guy's idea's about stuff like this... I have the hots right now to build a new welding table using 1" plate as a top... I want it Blanchard Ground though and I'm having some issues finding a machine that will grind a 4x8 sheet of 1"...

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Originally Posted by GUNNER

Not at all dude it's an interesting thread.. I'm always interested in other guy's idea's about stuff like this... I have the hots right now to build a new welding table using 1" plate as a top... I want it Blanchard Ground though and I'm having some issues finding a machine that will grind a 4x8 sheet of 1"...

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ginding something that big can be a challenge, have you thought about laying another 1' sheet atop with grinding compound sandwiched in between and have the top sheet oribt like a big sander, they do granite surface blocks in a similar manner. Something to think about anyhow..

Thanks Gunner. A 1" 4 x 8 sheet would be one solid table. I got all my metal from the junk yard. I know the guy who owns it so he takes care of me. I told him I wanted a thick piece of alum. for the top. He told me to look around the side they have a piece. It was 1" thick about 3' x 5' of aluminum. I tried to move it and it was so heavy I said heck with it. At the time I was going for a light weight table. If I knew the table was going to be 80 lb I would have used that piece. After looking at the table posted with wheels on it I want to build one like that so I can move it around. As for the rod storage I didn't even realize or intend for that. One day I was going to close them off and realized the rods would fit in there.

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Originally Posted by geezer

ginding something that big can be a challenge, have you thought about laying another 1' sheet atop with grinding compound sandwiched in between and have the top sheet oribt like a big sander, they do granite surface blocks in a similar manner. Something to think about anyhow..

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Place I use to work OakRidge Tool and engineering had a Blanchard twice big enough to grind it but they moved to a new building and I'm not sure that went with them.. I need to make a call or two..

Nice table cippee, never thought of making a welding table in alluminum, i`m just about done my table hopefully i`ll be able to post pics next week.

I started to build one a few years back, but when I went to the scrap iron yard to get the angle iron to do it with, I found a beat up old table already there. I picked it up for $20.

Took the table home, welded on 1 new cross beam, rewelded a few welds that had broken over the years, hit it with a wire wheel to remove all the rust and flaking paint,

http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...s/PICT0010.jpg

http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...s/PICT0009.jpg

then colored her RED.

http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...s/PICT0024.jpg

Reduce

Reuse

Recycle

Cippee. That's a nice stout little table. Is the 80lbs the frame or the frame with the top? Was the tubing rems, I see that the some are welded together to make longer pieces?

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... OakRidge Tool and engineering had a Blanchard twice big enough to grind it...

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Yeah, I'll bet if you were looking for something like that, it would be somewhere around Oak Ridge!

Kinda reminds me of New Yankee Workshop. On refinishing a door, Norm: "You can use an orbital sander or stripper to remove the old finish, but I prefer to use my 48" thickness planer." "BWAAAAAAAAMP". Click. :)

Thanks. It just about 80 without to top. I stand in the middle and lift it when I have to move it. Since I got the parts from the scrap yard the pieces had little pieces welded on them. Instead of cutting them off I decided to just use it as they were since they were perfect 90 deg angles already. To cut the aluminum I used the diablo non-ferrous 12' blade on a sliding miter saw. It cut the 1/4" pieces like butter. You can see in the pic where I'm holding the piece what I nice polished cut it leaves. The only thing is the sawdust so to say is tiny sharp pieces of metal biting you all over. After the first cut I wore a face shield. Latter when I took of my jacket there was a piece of aluminum in it and cut my down my whole arm. I used the spool gun to weld the table together. I have to say I love using a spool gun. Once they are dialed in they are fun. I always set it on a piece of scrap of the same thickness as what I am going to weld because sometimes they can suck to set. I'm lucky the tips mine uses are notched so if the wire does burn back it doesn't scrap the tip.

Yea I did notice how smooth and shiny that cut looked. Some how metal shavings like to work their way onto my socks and make their selfs known at in opportune times. Like either when I'm driving or carrying something heavy.
`I like using my spool gun, though it makes lots of gray white smoke, you can make nice looking beads. I use it on the big fuel tankers you see going down the road. I cant weld on the actual tank, but can on all the frames and support structures, and piping. I'm working on getting an "R" stamp so I can though.

If someone is close, this wodul make a decent table:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NICE-STEEL-W...item3a646e30c5


We have Acorn Platens with stands at work. They are very nice and very pricey $$$$$$$ Probably have 6 of them 5' X 10' and 4 of them 4' X 4'.

Yeah they make alot of smoke. I have a theory that some of the wire is vaporized in the process of the arc. The wire speeds are so insanely fast that there is no way that all that metal is making its way into the joint. Look at how much wire it takes tig welding compared to mig welding. I even use my spool gun for stainless sometimes. I don't like welding stainless with mig though often. I think it is harder than aluminum. You have to cook and book with stainless mig. If the voltage is to low it sounds like a drive by and looks like crap. It may just be the inductance of my machine that it is odd with stainless.