My new welding table

[Stelth]

It came in kit form.

Guy on craigslist had some steel tubing for sale, so I went to get some, and I asked him if he had any sheet metal. He says, "Well, I've got this big 'ol plate over here that used to be under a fireplace. Kinda heavy."

No kidding. He had a 43 1/4" square piece of 1/4" plate. Probably about 200 lbs. I asked him how much, and he said $5.00. I also bought about 20' of 3/4" square tubing, about 20' of 1/2" square tubing, and some really big rectangular tubing that I haven't measured. $25.00 out the door.

I wanted to make a welding table, so I cut the plate 24 1/2" wide. I'll use the other piece for a "backsplash". I don't have a plasma cutter, so I cut it with a carborundum blade on a circular saw, which took quite a while, and wasn't all that pretty.

I've begun welding the 1/2" tubing along the front and back edges. Here's one of my better welds.

I realize it's ugly, but considering that I've been arc welding for about a month, I hope you'll cut me some slack. I used some ancient 6010 rod that I got for free. 75 amps, IIRC. In any case, I should soon have a very heavy table. I'll use the 3/4" tubing for the legs, and weld 1/2" nuts to the bottom of them so I can level it.

 

[oilboy123]

Weld does not look half bad actually. Good deal on the metal. I think it would go for more just for scrap. Well maybe not....

 

[Donald]

Getting a deal like that should have been reason enough to buy a plasma cutter!

 

[toneydoc]

Looks [censored] good to me great buy and happy working on it

 

[Stelth]

Originally Posted By: Donald
Getting a deal like that should have been reason enough to buy a plasma cutter!


Great idea!

 

[GMBoy]

That's a nice score and what better way to hone in your welding skills than to make something like that table. It's going to be a nice piece when you're done and something to be proud of.

Do keep us updated on your progress!

 

[Stelth]

OK, here are the results so far:

At the left side, you can see my attempt to convert my Milwaukee hand-held band saw into a table-mounted band saw. I would call it semi-successful, as it works, but it also shows me the need for something better for the type of fab work I'm trying to do. The back of the table isn't bent - the top cut is somewhat curved. When I welded tubing to the bottom of the table, the heat curved it, which is why you see some 3/4" tubing tacked to the front. Using a come-along and a pipe wrench, I was able to pull the surface relatively flat, and then I tacked that tubing on to hold it. It's pretty flat now.

 

[Donald]

Its outside. Where is the snow and the -2F temp.

 

[Stelth]

Originally Posted By: Donald
Its outside. Where is the snow and the -2F temp.


No snow, but it's raining like mad today.