I don't do a whole lot of mig welding unless its repair work and normally doesn't fit on a table. This table will be used almost entirely for TIG welding. Luckily for me, we average about 5% humidity around here year round, so surface rust isn't a huge concern for me, even if I left it outside uncovered. As far as using scraps, why waste metal if you don't have to? I could have made a much nicer looking holder for the rod, but it would have cost a few bucks in steel to do it. As long as its functional, I don't really care about how good it looks.