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Materials Suggestion for Economical Welding Table

09/08/2023 11:40 AM

Calling all welders! What's the least expensive way to go about building a functional 4' x 8' welding table? Would 2x2 square, and 1/4" plate work? I've got a low budget, and purchasing a ready-built welding table is out of the question.

Would anybody care to sketch up a design, or describe it, that my welder can make for himself? I'm thinking 6 legs with adjustable leveling feet. A 4'x8' frame on top. Some 45 degree braces for the legs. With a 1/4" plate surface. Is that the minimum material I could use? What about wall thickness of legs?

Perhaps wheels instead of round feet?

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#1

Re: MATERIALS SUGGESTION FOR ECONOMICAL WELDING TABLE

09/08/2023 12:23 PM

Or maybe 3x3 angle to frame the top?

3' x 6' is another possibility. That way I could only use 4 legs.

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#2

Re: MATERIALS SUGGESTION FOR ECONOMICAL WELDING TABLE

09/08/2023 6:11 PM

I guess it depends on what the table is going to be used for primarily, and how many jigs and features you desire...

$169. not bad....buy two

https://www.northerntool.com/products/klutch-steel-welding-table-with-tool-kit-36in-l-x-24in-w-x-33-1-4in-h

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#3
In reply to #2

Re: MATERIALS SUGGESTION FOR ECONOMICAL WELDING TABLE

09/08/2023 6:30 PM

Oh, no... much more hefty than that. I'd risk putting a belt sander on that wobbly table. And my lunchbox.

No features needed. just legs and a flat top. Don't know for sure what all will be made on it. But would like to be able to handle whatever comes along.

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#5
In reply to #3

Re: MATERIALS SUGGESTION FOR ECONOMICAL WELDING TABLE

09/08/2023 8:49 PM
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#9
In reply to #2

Re: MATERIALS SUGGESTION FOR ECONOMICAL WELDING TABLE

09/11/2023 11:21 AM

Oh, no... much more hefty than that. I'd risk putting a belt sander on that wobbly table. And my lunchbox.

No features needed. just legs and a flat top. Don't know for sure what all will be made on it. But would like to be able to handle whatever comes along.

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#4

Re: MATERIALS SUGGESTION FOR ECONOMICAL WELDING TABLE

09/08/2023 7:44 PM

Oh, boy, where to start.

Some general observations first.

Wheels is probably a bad idea.

4’ X 8’ table size - I would consider, in general, 4’ wide too big for a general purpose fab table. 30”, maybe 36” should be considered. 8’ long is good, it will be useful to make it as long as you have reasonable room for. Restated, a fab table can be too wide, but (almost) cannot be too long.

Plate top 1/4” will be flat (ish) for three, maybe four days of moderate use.

I understand the desire to go cheap, I really do. If this will only see 8 pound fabrication pieces formed with 8 oz hammers, then 2X2 .120” tube will probably be okay. If you build your table for the inevitable truck transmission rebuild, the boat trailer axle straighten job, hammering in bearings... if it needs to have a long life with hard use... there is no substitute for mass. 8” X 8” X .250” is a place to start for legs - 4 would be sufficient, don’t do 6 legs.

I haven’t checked, but the inter web yootoob videos on this subject are likely numerous.

I have built many, many steel items off of steel sawhorses.

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#6
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Re: MATERIALS SUGGESTION FOR ECONOMICAL WELDING TABLE

09/08/2023 9:55 PM

Good stuff Doorman, thanx!

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#7
In reply to #4

Re: MATERIALS SUGGESTION FOR ECONOMICAL WELDING TABLE

09/10/2023 12:57 AM

Good stuff Doorman, thanx!

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#8

Re: MATERIALS SUGGESTION FOR ECONOMICAL WELDING TABLE

09/11/2023 7:41 AM

How often you use it and what you are doing are important. I tend to have about one project every 2 years. I usually lay an old sheet of plywood on the patio and position everything on the plywood. I obviously can't put a ground clamp on the table, and I usually start about a dozen small fires. But, I tack on plywood, wire brush off any smoke stains and final weld "in mid air". Not acceptable for about 98% of welders, but it works well for me.

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#10
In reply to #8

Re: MATERIALS SUGGESTION FOR ECONOMICAL WELDING TABLE

09/11/2023 11:43 AM

Yeah, I'm probably wanting to go just a little more hi-tech than that. Actually, I was given $19k to fill out a shop, for a contract I'm working for a University that gave us a grant. So I'm penny pinching and shopping around for used, refurbished, or re-po'd machines, and various other supplies, trying to get the biggest bang for my buck.

My welder has a $3000 welding table on his wish list, but that ain't gonna happen, so I was looking into having him build his own. But we might delay the table altogether for now, since I need a lot of other stuff too. Trying to decide between a CNC Bridgeport and a DRO Bridgeport today, from a machine re-seller. Still looking for a bargain on a metal band saw. Got a great deal on a $750 pallet jack for $200 yesterday. Got a $9000 soft-material CNC machining center for $4000 last week. It was a re-po. Trying to stay away from China brands and get quality stuff. Also working on getting a 1977 South Bend lathe that looks like a great deal.

It's kinda fun, spending other peoples' $!

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#11
In reply to #10

Re: MATERIALS SUGGESTION FOR ECONOMICAL WELDING TABLE

09/11/2023 1:39 PM

I know a guy...

... that has a beam saw to sell. Very large machine. Prolly could be had cheap, because in the structural steel fabricaction world this is a dinosaur - a large dinosaur. (Band saw)

... that has a Piranha Steelworker to sell. Cuts and trims angle iron and flat bar, punch and nibbler. Has (had, anyway) numerous dies and goodies for it.

Send me a PM if you wish me to investigate, perhaps hook you guys up.

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#12
In reply to #11

Re: MATERIALS SUGGESTION FOR ECONOMICAL WELDING TABLE

09/11/2023 2:05 PM

Thanx, but no... those are probably too big for our needs. We are developing and prototyping smallish electronic devices and their enclosures and accessories of various kinds. Much plastic tubing, occasionally some aluminum, a SS piece here and there. Some injection molding.

These are for wildlife monitoring. Collars, cameras, LiDAR, etc. for jungles and forests, or underwater to monitor fish. That kind of thing.

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#13

Re: Materials Suggestion for Economical Welding Table

09/13/2023 7:34 AM

<...least expensive...>

In what currency? CR4 doesn't really do money.

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#14

Re: Materials Suggestion for Economical Welding Table

09/25/2023 9:47 PM

Ours at work is "home made". It is a 4' x 8' sheet of carbon steel with a thickness of 3/8". A simplistic set of legs made from 3" x 3" x 1/4" carbon steel holds the top up. The legs have side-to-side cross members and a long tube down the center.

Welding the legs to the top warped the top a bit. Another limitation is the complete lack of any holes or slots. It is far from perfect, but our people use it a couple of dozen times a year and it works well for us.

I haven't filled out a purchase request for steel or aluminum in several years. I'll wild guess that what I described is between US1.5K$ and US2.5K$ from Alro, but that is just a guess. Everything has gone up in the last 3 years. If your needs are smaller then the price should scale down about as quickly as the table.

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