Modular Welding Tables on eBay

[Alx]

Hello,

I'm after a welding table with holes. Around 2x1m. Nothing super accurate but reasonably precise and square. I've seen a few of these modular tables on ebay over the years delivered flat packed for IKEA style assembly/welding. They seem to be 6mm thick.

I suppose the question I want to ask is how good are they in real world? Worth their money?

Is there anything else out there that fits in between those and say, Siegmund?

Sort of not the cheapest & flimsiest with a runout in centimeters and not mega expensive that only factories can afford to buy. For up to £1.5-2k with general tooling.

Thanks.

 

[James1979]

What about getting the dxf files and sending them to be laser / plasma cut and build your own?

That's what I'm doing in this shutdown, I need a better welding table and although I've a cnc plasma, it's doing nothing to earn its money at the moment.

Files were free from plasmaspider with a few tooling files too, and I reckon I'll be into it for less than £200 in materials once it's done.

Just an idea.

 

[hotponyshoes]

I have seen the siegmund in person, the surface coating on them is the best thing about them (the rest of the table seems pretty good) I dont know what they use but it looks a bit like a non stick frying pan. Seems to hold up pretty well against weld splatter and surface scratching.

I have not seen anything like this on any of the kit style tables.

If it's a modular table you plan to extend at a later date check the ebay seller does all the add-ons you want.

The only ones I have seen have all been laser cut so the cutting itself should be pretty good.
Once you get it you can check it's all going to fit properly and has been cut to the correct dimensions and check the sheets are flat enough.
After that you will be on your own.
How accurate it ends up will depend on how accurately you can check the parts in the first place (youncould always return it at this stage if it's out of spec) then how well you can put it togeather.
You will need a decent square to check it against and it's not going to end up any more accurate than whatever you have to check it with.

Some of the designs (certiflat etc) should be bang on providing you get all the tabs/slots set properly but even then there must be some sort of compounding error over something 2m long!

Weld distortion will be an issue as well, a starting point on choosing a kit would be to look for one that includes instructions/weld sequence. Brazing might be an option to reduce distortion? I dont know if anybody offers a bolt-togeather version that's supplied with a packet of shims?

 

[James1979]

The ones I was looking at have a set of down plates and bits of thread bar to tighten it all down firm and square for welding.

I think certiflat may use this system?

 

[hotponyshoes]

What about getting the dxf files and sending them to be laser / plasma cut and build your own?

That's what I'm doing in this shutdown, I need a better welding table and although I've a cnc plasma, it's doing nothing to earn its money at the moment.

Files were free from plasmaspider with a few tooling files too, and I reckon I'll be into it for less than £200 in materials once it's done.

Just an idea.

This is on my list of things to do....
I did start drawing one up but then there are plenty of free/cheap plans out there so I have never got that far.
I did even think about getting one of the guys to do it and making up a load of kits but the drawings I started were based on what castors I had, what clamps I had and so on so not the best way to do it really.

If you do find a design and work out a price I would certainly be interested in looking at it if you wanted to make more than one. Might be a good use for an otherwise idle machine at the moment!

 

[daleyd]

Don’t know if this helps, there were a few ideas in here...

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/welding-table-to-buy-in-the-uk.69991/

7050ps do laser cut welding table tops, if you could knock together your own frame. They also do complete tables I think.

 

[James1979]

This is on my list of things to do....
I did start drawing one up but then there are plenty of free/cheap plans out there so I have never got that far.
I did even think about getting one of the guys to do it and making up a load of kits but the drawings I started were based on what castors I had, what clamps I had and so on so not the best way to do it really.

If you do find a design and work out a price I would certainly be interested in looking at it if you wanted to make more than one. Might be a good use for an otherwise idle machine at the moment!

I'll send you the designs in going to use and see what you think. Hoping to get some of it cut today or tomorrow all being well so I'll have some pics but I've been asked to do a few so I'm happy to do one extra for you

I'm have a better idea of cost once it's all cut.

 

[Alx]

I wanted to avoid DIYing another table as the last one I made ended up with a bowed steel sheet as that's how it came from my supplier. It's acceptably flat for general metal work, tear downs and grinding but for welding longer material (tubing in my case) I wanted something ready made, surface ground and verified. Just don't want to to end up with an expensive "kit" that's not good for fairly accurate work.

James, you should start a group buy. How thick can you cut 'em?

 

[hotponyshoes]

On something like the certiflat design you should be able to remove any warping in the sheets when you clamp it all togeather before welding.

If getting it from a supplier I would ask them to specify how flat they will supply the sheet.
Once you have this information you can decide if that will be close enough to pull flat.
If it turns up out of the spec they have quoted then you can just get them to send another bit.

If the design relies on the flatness of the top to build the rest around I would probably look at something else unless I had the equipment and ability to work with that design and the cost saving was worth the time

 

[James1979]

Not my picture but this fixture clamp is what I was talking about for welding the table out. There’s one on each intersection to get it all nice and solid.

I’m cutting mine from 4.5mm as that’s what the files call for. It’s converted from imperial as a American drew it up. Kind of easy enough to make it suit a thicker steel with a bit of fettling in CAD. I’m going to see how it turns out in this thickness first.

My plasma will do 16mm on a 4x4 table but for an 8x4 I can slide the sheet through. I’ve no intention of making a 16mm one before anyone asks!!! it’s not the cutting that’s an issue it’s piercing that thick is consumable-heavy as it’s on the limits of the machine.

 

[James1979]

Ps


“If the design relies on the flatness of the top to build the rest around I would probably look at something else unless I had the equipment and ability to work with that design and the cost saving was worth the time”

this doesn’t. The “top” is a self contained unit which you could put on whatever. I’m considering a small one for site work to sit on trestles

 

[hotponyshoes]

Not my picture but this fixture clamp is what I was talking about for welding the table out. There’s one on each intersection to get it all nice and solid.

I’m cutting mine from 4.5mm as that’s what the files call for. It’s converted from imperial as a American drew it up. Kind of easy enough to make it suit a thicker steel with a bit of fettling in CAD. I’m going to see how it turns out in this thickness first.

My plasma will do 16mm on a 4x4 table but for an 8x4 I can slide the sheet through. I’ve no intention of making a 16mm one before anyone asks!!! it’s not the cutting that’s an issue it’s piercing that thick is consumable-heavy as it’s on the limits of the machine.

If drawing out those tabs it would be nice if they could be designed so they could be made into something useful afterwards.
At the least make the holes the same size and spacing as the ones on the table top and then the plates and all the bolts could be used for fixings after the table is welded

Might be possible to cut some of them so the holes could align with the table top at 45deg or even a selection of common angles

 

[James1979]

If drawing out those tabs it would be nice if they could be designed so they could be made into something useful afterwards.
At the least make the holes the same size and spacing as the ones on the table top and then the plates and all the bolts could be used for fixings after the table is welded

Might be possible to cut some of them so the holes could align with the table top at 45deg or even a selection of common angles

I like that idea. I’ll have a think. The ones I’ve got files for are as you see but I can always do others.

 

[hotponyshoes]

I like that idea. I’ll have a think. The ones I’ve got files for are as you see but I can always do others.

I suppose if you were to do a group buy or sell kits you could just get one set of the plates and bolts and pass them around for people to assemble the kits with but I can see that causing a load of hassle.

Even if they just had the correct holes then they could have mole grips or g clamps welded to them afterwards and use the set up bolts to fit them to the table top as required.
Or go a bit fancy and add slots/tabs to them as well so they could be turned into angle plates or end stops etc

 

[Alx]

I like the idea of the 16mm thick top, James.

Good thinking on making tabs reusable.

Say, what's the current leadtime?

 

[hotponyshoes]

I can see the advantages of a thicker top, my first drawings started at 20mm but aside from the price the weight would be an issue. Not only for moving it around but if you wanted to get more than one table that could be bolted together something that heavy could be a nightmare to try and align up unless you have a floor that is as flat as the tables!

If the cutting could be done accurate enough it might be possible to have an 8mm top and just cut 2 if you wanted a 16mm top?
Maybe a set of extra holes away from the regular grid that could be used to bolt or plug weld 2 sheets togeather

Another option would be something like a 8mm top with an identical maybe 6mm top mounted 100mm below it. That way things like clamp arms or rods would proform much the same as being sat in a 100mm thick top.

I suppose the thickness depends on what you want to use it for. The fancy cam-lock pegs will probably need something like 12mm+ to work properly but a peg with a thread and shoulder that drops through the holes would be square enough with a wing nut on the underside

 

[James1979]

I’ve done some test pieces to see how the slot and tab translates and play with the kerf etc, and it’s dialled in pretty well. It was drawn in 3/16 and I’ve got metric steel so it needed a bit of fettling.

will try and have something meaningful cut out today.

as far as thick tops go, I had a 7/8 top in last workshop just because I got a chunk of it cheap and it was a pain in the @rse. Needed to borrow my neighbours forks every time I had to move the damn thing! That’s why I’ve decided to go light this time.

 

[steviec_lj]

I have one of the 2x1 matrix tables, from eBay I believe, bought from @pressbrake1 in kit form.

No fettling needed for assembly, just a pair of trestles.

Build it upside down, so put the centres on first, tacking them near the ends to hold them in place, then put the perimeter pieces on and tack those to the centres. Don’t forget to weld in the corner plates for the legs, there are 6 of these, but I didn’t add the middle ones, and so far I’ve had 700kg point loaded in the middle of the table and it didn’t deflect so they aren’t needed.

Plus, levelling 4 legs is easier than 6!

Flip the whole lot over and weld the tab and slot, a bit of 40x10 flat with a pair of holes for M12 bolts helps pull everything together tight.

Legs, I initially opted for 60x60x5, but FH Brundle went 50x50x5 and I only realised after making the first cut, so they sent out 60x60x3 which they had in stock for half price. Weld the “foot” on, and the top plate too, then bolt that to the corner plates with 4no M12 bolts.

Lift each end separately and remove your trestles.

Stand back and admire your work!

I’ll add a picture of the completed table later if you want?

 

[R-D-R]

I built my own with holes sent a file to the local laser cutter Might be worth considering then you get exactly what you want.

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/built-a-new-welding-table.72815/

 

[James1979]

Reading your other thread, that’s a really good price. Steels gone up a bit since then mind.

also in your other thread, why do festool use 96mm centres or am I being thick and missing something obvious!!