Any cool additions to make a welding table more handy?

Just made a small 4 foot weld table/cart for tools out of box tubing. Anybody got any cool tool holders on there cart that would make life easier?

 

Clamps, magnets, straight edges, squares, weights, torch holders, rod holders, grinder/sander shelf, power strip, water bucket, fire extinguisher, br*** backers, wire cutters, spare sharpened tungstens and gas cups. For starters.

 

what he said, and a whole lot of drawers to hold it all

 

a small vise

 

All of that and a bright light!

 

Mine is a bit larger (5'x6'), and thus quite stationery. I have a pipe rack under one edge that holds most of my vise grips, c-clamps, and a few crowbars, a 3-tiered shelf under another edge that holds stuff like my O/A tips, snips, a few hammers, chalks, all my files (on a wooden-lined shelf), corner posts hold the grinders & sanders on their own hooks, lots of magnets are stuck under there, vise on one corner, 36" brake along one short side (which will shortly be movable to it's own rack under that edge of the table) a goose-necked lamp that I can plug into one of several 1/2" holes I have drilled around the table, and a 3-outlet extension cord that hangs about 2' above the top of the table.

I keep all my rod on a rack over the welders, all the MIG and TIG tips & other consumables in a small two-drawer tool box that rides on top of my MIG (the TIG is stationery). All that stuff is just to the side of the table.

Still find stuff to add, change, etc. -- it's more-or-less an evolutionary process! Heck, that table sat in the same position for 13 yrs (when I built this particular shop), and I just rotated it 90 degrees last month, 'cause it give me a work-around space that I need more than I did before. (Keep all sorts of s**** steel on a heavy-duty shelf under the table -- the little stuff that's too small to go back on the steel rack -- so that was almost a two hour proposition!!!)

 

Sweet ideas! I wish I made it earlier. Lots of good stuff I can use.thanks guys. I really want to make some drawers.dont the shelves get in the way if u have a long piece? Anybody have any pics?im lovin all these ideas. Sounds like a Swiss army table.

 

Now you said "cart" which to me means rollable / portable. Get some flexible cable so you can plug it into the 110/220 and add outlets under the perimeter.

 

a piece of 2" angle welded on the side of the table to hold pens and stuff ....... weld it so its like a "v" with the top of the v welded to the table v-

 

A trailer hitch reciever to hold various things (like a vise) that you have attached the other end to.

 

Thanks mikes iron!!!

 

Definitely a cart. Got tired of moving the ****** around with a dolly.

 

Good idea!

 

I did this to my stationary bench and love it. I have a vise, small drill press, and bench grinder that I can swap out. In keeping with the reciever tubing, I also put a chunk in my cement floor at the front of the shop to use for a vise, grider etc, plus a winch to pull stuff into the shop.

 

versatility -- cools the angst in the best of us!!!!!

 

Some ideas here. Last link was due to peer pressure..... it never ends!

Made the cart with 3-6ft long bedrails, like holds the mattress up on your bed.



http://s1028.photobucket.com/albums/y342/goofuslives/welding cart/


http://s1028.photobucket.com/albums/y342/goofuslives/welding cart updates/


http://s1028.photobucket.com/albums/y342/goofuslives/welding cart finished/


http://s1028.photobucket.com/albums/y342/goofuslives/extras/


Have a 3 piece set of 4" long vise grips in the 2 end pouches, also a 4" long piece of 1.5" X 1.5" copper angle, and a 4" long piece of 2" wide copper strap. Keep a 15" long piece of 1/8" wall 1.5 " diameter copper pipe on the bottom shelf.

Recently added 2-5# speaker magnets and a double handful of small round magnets (about the size of quarters/50 cent pieces) to the bottom shelf and stuck to the sides of the cart for holding sheetmetal in place while tacking it. Speaker magnets work GREAT, and are free!!

 

beer fridge!!

 

I had one at my work before I retired , 4'x4' x 3/4" top with 3/8" and 1/2 holes drilled and tapped USS for cheapie mill table holdowns, was really handy for jigging and bending stuff.

 

keep that in the corner of the shop, dude, for later in the day -- no need to be slurpin' on the suds when you're doing somethin' as technically demanding as welding.

~ got a beer fridge of my own, to be sure!

 

Hella good idea on the hitch reciever. I keep a vise on one for service calls (mounted on truck) and a winch that slips into a reciever mounted on the front of my carhauler .....

 

Spark catcher for grinding. Detachable is best on a small table.
Reciever hitch is almost a must. Holds anything you can figure out how to mount.

 

That's for sure on any setup -- sparks are NOT cool in our environment!!

 

What's a spark catcher?

 

a shield -- of any sort, really -- to keep the sparks generated from the grinding process from hitting stuff that may ignite

 

Picture a "J" made out of sheet metal, 4" down, 4" over, 12 +/- up. Got the j shape?

Mount the shortest end at the edge of the table, tip.the long side at 45* or so over the top of the table . Aim grindings into that opening.

That is one way out of a million others

 

i guess once you get used to it , it would be a nice way to keep the area clean.thanks for the tip

 

Cool! Got it! Thanks!

 

In school, long ago, all the tables had a vise and the table itself was all steel with a metal tab to hook the ground clamp to so you could just clamp something in the vise and have at it.

 

a thread this good needs a few pics
here is a pinch clamp for my plaz tracer

welding positioner

more tools that are mounted w/reciever tube

hammer cart

grinder hangers ....used flat bar as round was too fat

 

more



railroad anvil.

another shot of the welding positioner , it slides in and out of the receiver tube and has a million different angles