Strategies For Generating A Welding Table
Every shop should have a solid workstation or a welding desk. When planning the design of a fab table, determining the activities you'll perform on it, the space you have in your shop and the amount of money you're willing to invest are all important factors to consider. Bigger is not always the best. After a lot of consideration and consideration, we settled on a table that has a max size of 4x6 feet would be ideal for our shop.
We've seen hundreds of benches with 1/4-inch thick steel tops. They're always wavy or dented because of the warp in welding. Top plates for tops, bigger is better. Our minimum thickness was 3/8 inches when we first started looking around the scrap yards, and we found a 3x5 piece of 1/2-inch plate. We've found that the 3 foot dimension is a comfortable working width. There's plenty of room to spread out, but all of it is in reach. We'd never go less than 5 feet in length, while 6 feet would be more appropriate. But the price was right and we'd searched for months before finding our 1/2-inch thick bargain. ,Get more info.
The final dimension is height and it is probably the most important. Some of the best advice we ever got was from Ron Covell when he told that it is important to be relaxed when working, as "it allows you to be a bit naughty about the work you do". If you're not suffering discomfort from hunching over, you won't be rushing your work.
We measured the height of kitchen counters, tables, and also the blacksmiths of the past put their work surfaces on the anvil so that holding the hammer with their hands and putting the head on the anvil their elbows was bent at a 90-degree angle, giving them the best position for work and not straining their neck, arm, as well as back muscles. We'll be sitting and standing at the table and our stools for the shop' height was also considered. After all was said and done, our work space is 36 inches high and is quite comfy for our 6-foot 1 inch height. It's also the height of our kitchen counters. We wouldn't go any lower but one or two inches higher isn't too bad, and could be adjusted on the leveling feet if we wish (more about those in the future). Another thing to consider is a bench-style vise and the height of its work surface the vise's jaws that are chest-high isn't practical. We have a massive vintage Reed Mfg. vise, however it was way too high and took up too much real estate at our table. So we came up with other plans.
Larger is better for the frame and legs. It is not just required to be strong enough to support the tabletop but it also has to be able to hold anything you place on it. "Mass" is the theme for the day. We used 3x2x1/4 C-channel, with 2x3x 0.250-wall upright legs, on 2-1/2x3-1/3x0.3125-wall box tubing feet. The 2-1/2x3-1/4 tubing we found at the scrapyard with our tabletop. We purchased the 2x3-inch box as well as C-channel from a supplier.
It is impossible to begin a shop equipment build without drawing a scale on graph paper. This sketch shows the side, top and front elevations. We can then figure out the amount of steel needed and what we can do with it and then how to get it to our homes. Steel is generally sold in 20-foot long sticks and most suppliers give one free cut per stick. With the help of a scale drawing, you may see that the combination of your pieces will add up to an 8-foot length and a 12-foot length--a big deal if simply cutting it into two 10-footers results in shorter pieces that are not usable. ,Website.
The table weighs over 560 pounds without the mounting framework and vise. It is solid and sturdy and that is what is a good worktable. It is able to stand up to any type of impact or drop and should last longer than us.