LET'S SEE your homemade WELDING TABLES!!

My favorite metal yard had a bunch of 30"-dia. x 1/4" circular blanks. I bought some and a piece of scrap 6" pipe for a grand total of $13. (This was some years ago!) Some welding, bolted down a vise, and added three 3/4" bolts to keep the bottom plate off the floor or allow leveling. It puts the work up at a real comfortable height. I'm also going to add some hooks underneath for hanging a torch or electrode holder. Its primary purpose is for assembly of motorcycle engines, tho.

 

i love threads like this. . . its like snoopin around someone elses shop...


i know, i'm retarded

 

got the camera working again, so here's a few pix of mine.

the top is a chunk of steel an inch thick and the legs are schedule 80 pipe. i had a mother of a time turning this thing over and standing it upright after i welded the legs on. the top used to be one of the inspection covers on a 1,000 ton chiller that got demo'd where i work.

the angle iron frame around the bottom was going to be to hold an expanded metal shelf but i started hanging clamps on it and decided it works better for hanging clamps than laying them on a shelf. between the two front legs is a small channel iron that i keep extra tips in and a tip cleaner and a pair of side-cutters. on one of the back legs i made a bracket out of a piece of pipe that holds a tub of the stuff you dip the tip in to prevent sticking. and i welded a bracket underneath that a power strip attaches to, that makes it really easy when grinding or wire brushing stuff.

i first put on the left vice, which has "normal" jaws, with bolts and wing nuts; so i could remove it quickly if/when i needed the entire top clear. i never did take it off, so when i put on the other vise, which has smooth jaws, i just bolted it on. it's really nice to have both vises so i can protect what i'm clamping or just clamp the snot out of it without caring if it gets scratched.

the blue thing at the top of the 2nd pic is a light on one of those moveable arms so i can get good light anywhere on the table.

as you can see, there's a bench grinder next to it, mounted on a wheel, just like most of you have. this grinder has one wire wheel and one stone. there also is a water bucket (the plastic coffee can) attached to the stand so there's never a long reach for cooling water. i have several more bench grinders and need to get them moved closer to the welding table someday.

and there's a few finish nails on the shelf behind the table where i hang wire brushes. the grinders also reside on that shelf, so they're out of the way, but close and handy.

well, my table isn't very pretty, but it's really handy and i like it.

b-t-w; i could have gotten a round piece of steel that was 4 feet in diameter and two inches thick from the same chiller, but had no way to haul or handle anything that heavy.

edit: hey, guys, i just noticed the crapper stored back there. hold the jokes, please. that's slated to go into the bathroom i'm building in the shop. hope to have it finished and insulated/heated before cold weather sets in.

 

Nice, A guy can never have enough clamps hangin around!

 

set up


with t bucket frame

 

While taking some pictures of my latest project, i took a few in the shop also. The big table is 1/2" plate on the top, 3'x5' and the vice is mounted seperate from it on its on pedestal which is also the same height (36") 3 feet away so if when I work with full sheets I can remove the vice and use it to support the full run of metal, or while cutting things in the vise the table supports the heavy end. The other table is 24"x40" 1/4" thick top on wheels to may it more mobile, which I also mounted my bead roller to "flush" with the top, so I can clamp a guide onto the table top to roll things straight. Just a few ideas....

 

those are some huge jack stands

 

one more thing i noticed when this got brought back up and i looked at my pix: i welded a piece of steel rod, about 7/16" diameter & about 3" long to one of the legs. i did that to be a good place to clamp the ground clamp to, but i seldom use it. in these pix there are two clamps hanging on it. it's just not as handy as i thought it would be. it shows up in the 3rd pic on the leg closest to the camera. (response #34 above)

 

OK, you guys got me inspired. Here's what I built today. It even has adjustable legs thanks to 3/4" bolts, nuts and square washers. The top is 36" square and 3/8" thick. DAMN it's heavy!

 

Very nice. Take a grinder to those corners so the little ones don't get a scar...

 

For the frame on the Dodge we are using the car trailer to keep it leval and square. For everyday welding I am stuck using the asphalt in front of the shop and I do have a chunck of unspitable stump that I set a piece of 1/2 inch plate on to do small stuff.

 

That's on the agenda for tomorrow.

 

I know it's a little late and it really doesn't count for being "compact", but it is moveable and has lots of uses.











I beems and half inch plate how can you go wrong??

 

Now that is Heavy. I sure hope you never plan to move and take it with you.

 

Holy mackerel!

Now THAT'S a table.

 

this isn't what you want, but it's my welding bench, made from an old metal cabinet with some 2x2 tube tacked on top, and piece of 1/4" plate tacked on top of that.

For frames I have another setup which I think I took a pic of for another thread a while back on frame jigs.

But usually I just lay big stuff on the floor or sawhorses and weld it

 

Heck, I'd need to take a grinder to the corners so I don't get scars.

Nice looking table, Kirk! Did you pick up the steel from Moose? I love those guys.

 

Nice work, Kirk. Clear photos that really need no explaination. I would suggest some kind of point on the bottom of the leg adjusters so it will take a "set" into the concrete, but it may be heavy enough not to matter.

 

I picked up a table at the auction this weekend. I need to post pics, it's a monster

 

It's pretty darn stable.

I have rounded all corners for my own protection.