Miller table arrived!

[Trip59]

So I decided to spend the extra $$ and get the Miller 30FX instead of the Nomad. It actually hadn't occurred to me to look for a folding table until I saw the review on tips and tricks.com of the Nomad.

Ultimately, it came down to the top, I decided a reversible, replaceable, 3/16 thick top would serve me better in the long run than the 14ga on the Nomad. Overall, I am impressed.

As it arrived, packed nice and secure, heavy styro so I kept it for re-use later.



Unfolded and set up





30x30" top, very substantial feeling overall. It's about 75lbs and is sturdy to work on, but flips easily to fold up. Wheels could be further out, you have to keep a low angle to move it around, around 45-50* from the ground, I'd like to stand it up taller and still roll it.



Not sure how well the included, removable torch holder will work, but I'll give it a shot tomorrow as well as more feedback on how it performs in actual use.



The plan is to use the hell out of it, weld pieces to the top to make fixtures for projects, knock them off, grind them down and flip the top when I need it nice and smooth, replace it when it gets trashed. $235 isn't cheap, but I hate seeing pickups with shiny beds too. Use the hell out of it and see what life it gets, fix it or replace it when you need. Thus, the 3/16 replaceable top sold me on it, as I didn't want to play that game with a single-sided, non-replaceable top on the Nomad. The only thing I'll miss is the side plates you could slide up for a 90* clamping surface.

[posixPilot]

Trip,

Did you buy, or do you intend to buy the hold-downs clamps that they sell for the X slot on this table? I'm really interested to know if they are worth the price or not. Like you, I am looking at the Nomad as well, but this table just looks so much more substantial.

Thanks
Mike

[Trip59]

I did not, I have an old pair of Jorgensen bench clamps like these

I'm going to use for now with a nut and bolt and washers. That and my collection of vice-grips around the perimeter. I'll probably buy the ones they sell with it in a few months, and possibly a second table, but I'm tapped out for now. I just picked up a mill (will post another thread) that sucked up all my budget for the rest of the year. TIG has to wait till January now too, I just couldn't pass up the mill...

[Trip59]

Ok, so I now have a day's use on it and some feedback to offer.

Overall, it's well built. the X and handle are cut out clean, the edges are straight and the top is relatively flat. I say relatively, as all of the tapped holes stand proud, as do the corners. 10 minutes with a 40 grit roloc and they were flush to the finger test, but I'll lay a nice straight edge on it eventually. I had no threat of it tipping even with pieces extending off 3' with vise-grips out on the ends.

30x30 is a lot smaller than it seems, I'm probably going to pick up another one of these but will have to figure out how to level them, perhaps some 1" square clamped to the long edges...

Great for work here and there, fairly easy to move, but I still want a Build-Pro and fixture set... need to wait for a storage building first so I have room.

The included torch holder was awesome, position it on any side, fits the MIG great and kept it right at hand without using up surface space like my magnet stand.

The tracks that the leg top slides in got in the way a few times when I was clamping on the edges, but that was more an unfamiliarity than anything, I'm sure I'll get used to them.

Only got about 4 hours in, ran out of c75/25 and have to swap the bottle tomorrow.