Technical Fabrication Table Ideas

i had a very ugly table that a friend picked up at a going out of business sale. I used the top off of it and some free bank teller cabinets that another friend gave me. The only money I have in it is for the steel frame and some swap meet caster wheels. I have my helmets and all grinders and supplies. I also added outlets on each corner, 6 recievers and a lower section on one end for my cut off saw that the bed lines up with the table to make cutting easier

 

https://weldtables.com/



I have no affiliation but desire to have my workplace buy one when the accountants loosen their grip on the dollars!! They have table-tops , frames legs, clamps, fixtures etc. Check them out, very interesting tooling for fabrication.

 

There is device that is available to fix the sloppy receiver hitch. Can't think of the name but I did find it on Amazon. It is a U-bolt and strap affair that wedges everything tight.

 

Damn It Teddy quit giving away my trade secrets!

Built with channel I found scrapping, 4"X4" by 1/4 steel tube from the dumpster at work, and wheels are from one of the Powder Coating carts that was being scrapped. I did buy the 1/2" X 4" I used for the bottom cross member.

I took a cue from oval track tour cars and welded a jack stub to the crossmember opposite of the wheels, so I can move it around the shop.

I ran out of blue paint.

 

If you want to put casters on it, put 2 straight casters on one end and 2 swivel on the other end, it makes it easy for one person to move it around by pushing on the swivel caster end to where ever you want it.

 

All kinds of good ideas in this thread.
I made a welding table that surrounds a Millermatic 250 about 25 yrs ago. Keeps the cables and welder protected.
Also takes up a lot less room that way. It has a kick-up shelf on one end so that the argon bottle valve is accessible underneath it. The top of the shelf serves as a place for the Ryobi belt sander.

@Robert J. Palmer
Those pads on the bottom don't look like they'll come off anytime soon...lol
Heavy duty, man.

 

if you’re out near UT
$32 a sq ft for 1” plate
https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/52264971

 

After you watch it
all your questions are answered In the comments
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=35VPGz2Ge00

 

I painted mine blue also....but I had enough paint.

 

here is one of the other welding/fabrication tables I have. this one is used as a mount for tools. I have the shrinker and stretcher, the vise, the beverly shear, my anvil, the small bead roller, bar shear ,hammer rack, clamp rack and a manual hole punch. it also is storage for scrap metal and with the 3/8" top and all that iron it doesn't move around when wrestling with something in the vise.

 

this one is my "main" bench, it is used for everything from fabrication to mechanical repairs and even lunch. 1/2" top, six legs and stout wheels and a bunch of different size holes make this a handy piece, I don't ever want to be without this table.

 

for extra dusty work or for just enjoying good weather I have this table outside all year round. I made this from pieces of a factory cart I bought at auction. $20. I mounted the vises. it also came with a couple handy holes for driving parts through.

 

this is a table I picked up a couple years ago, it came from the welding company that was rebuilding the tower memorial . I used wheels from scaffolding so this can wheel out side when not needed. light duty but a great table for large or multiple items.
Auburn front fender and running board could be "fit" on this table.

 

One fabrication table at the Waterford 111 nuclear plant we built on site is 20'x10'x2'' built from a single steel plate. With the substructure it weighs just over 13,000 lbs. It is great to work with. Often there will be a few various projects working at the same time with several craftsman working at once on the table.
When people fist see this table it amazes them. It really
is an impressive piece. We built the table upside down
of course. Then turned it up with a crane and a large
fork lift. It was moved to the new shop a few years
ago, again with a massive fork lift. I really enjoyed
working on it and with it over the years. I have no
photos as they are not allowed to be taken at the plant.

 

Having access to all sides or at least 3 sides of a work
table is much better than one and an end. I need to
rethink the positioning of mine.

 

I've talked about building one for years, still want one. I'm thinking 3'x3' because it seems anything flat in my shop ends up becoming more like shelving, crap stacked on everything.

Boss has one thats 4'x8'. Love its size but it eats alot of floor space. Almost had him talked into cutting his down to 4x5 and selling me the remaining 4x3 but he decided against it.

My plans are making it storable by mounting casters on one side where I can roll the table on its side onto the casters and then pull pins and fold legs making it about 16" thick. Also plan on adjustable feet on the table to adjust height and level.

 

And That’s why you haven’t done it for years.

My buddies dad had a round plate, it was 30” circle with anothe small 4” hole cut in it 1/2” thick.
He’d use the smaller hole for all sorts of crap, clamping thru the hole and lifting it. When he wasn’t using it he would roll anyplace he wanted all by himself. Took up 1/2” of space in storage.

 

I have a 6 x 8 foot table on one end of my shop pushed up against the wall. Big enough to any kind of job and enough room to spread things out. 80% of it gets cleaned off after every job is completed. No where else to perform bench work in my smaller sized shop. Waist high. It`s the first thing I go to when entering the shop and the last thing I ponder at when leaving the shop. A bare minimum of 40 hours a week for the last 20 years. 65 % of the work I do is performed on this table.

 

I fall into all the above. Too small of shop, need to add on , need a fab table etc. etc.

 

My home shop is over 1800 sq ft. Got a 10" thick main concrete floor. Its still not big enough.

Between 2 different projects in pieces. Tools, misc car parts, some other family member crap it seems about half sized.

 

Damn, and I thought my used 3/4” plywood kitchen table was nice. My grinder sits on one end, my fan on the other, and the rest is covered up with junk. Gonna clean it off........one of these days.....

 

Grampa said
"Marry a small woman, they tend to get large, Build the biggest garage you can afford, they tend to get smaller"

AND ALWAYS MARRY A GIRL WITH SMALL HANDS. !!!!

 

That’s my grandpa !!

 

I bought my old used table from a welding shop. Best $50 I ever spent. It's around 4' X 4' and the top is made from 1/2" plate. It's thick enough that I can use it as a weld jig base. It has wheels so I can roll it around the shop. The top is set at the same height as my workbench.

I have a vise on one end and clamp the Beverly shear to the table when needed.

 

I bought a couple sheets of used plywood out of the bottom of shipping containers from a local who builds tiny-houses out of them. This stuff is not quit 4x8 but it's solid, 21 ply and weighs about 150 lbs a sheet. I made a work bench out of it for general work, not flat enough for precision work, but hell bent for strong. It was cheap, $20 a sheet. Look around if you need plywood, this stuff is strong!

 

I built the largest sized shop I could on my property. I could move but it would cost me the price of my current (paid for) home plus another 100 thousand. Plus the time lost in moving and remodeling. It`s not the size of a shop, but the it is the amount of work that gets done in the space you have to work in. Trust me, I utilize all the space I have. And still have room to work.

 

No room to expand. This is my backyard. A customers Fiberglass fenderless 32 in the garage and a couple longtime customers stopping by to chat. You be thankful with what you have and you just make it work.

 

Clean and simple, I like it!


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

I like it too, it’s interesting and inspiring to look at - more like furniture.

Simple????
Miters multiple like rabbits,
22 of them that I can count

 

Ya, you`re right. And I`m wrong. Guess I need to watch some motivational speakers on U Tube after I put in another long day of work in my shop on Saturday. Don`t judge me until you have walked a mile in my shoes.