welding tables..

[God mode restorations]

Morning all.
Have been contemplating on building my self a new welding table..my trusty old wooden bench ain't the best to weld on...I can't afford to go out and buy one.even thoe there are some nice ones available. And it's better to build ya own one...my question is the top of my table needs to have all the holes like in the picture below..is metal available to buy in sheet form with the holes ...not sure on size or thickness yet..cheers...

 

[Maker]

I think you'd need to contact a laser/plasma/waterjet company for that. What are you going to put in the holes?

 

[God mode restorations]

I was thinking it would be a better way to hold things and clamp work pieces to ect..

 

[HughF]

Nope, you'll need to get that cut, then surface mill the sheets.

Or buy an old bed off a horizontal borer with t slots and use t nuts to clamp stuff down.

 

[skotl]

Cheaper to buy lots of clamps

These things are great;



Just be aware that there are smaller versions available, too (these ones are 10cm on their long edges), which are not so useful.

 

[God mode restorations]

Nope, you'll need to get that cut, then surface mill the sheets.

Or buy an old bed off a horizontal borer with t slots and use t nuts to clamp stuff down.

I did see one on eBay. .with tee slots..that is another idear.

 

[God mode restorations]

Cheaper to buy lots of clamps

These things are great;



Just be aware that there are smaller versions available, too (these ones are 10cm on their long edges), which are not so useful.

I do have a few sets of these..they are OK to a point..only snag with em is they don't like being welded close too.

 

[God mode restorations]

This will do..bit on the heavy side

 

[skotl]

I do have a few sets of these..they are OK to a point..only snag with em is they don't like being welded close too.

That's true. And the also (unsurprisingly) pick up all the metal fur when you drop them on the ground

But they are handy, and cheap!

 

[wheresmejumper]

You could mark out the holes,punch the centres,and mag drill.time consuming but an easy job

 

[HughF]

Something like this:

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/...ine-bed-very-heavy-duty-with-tee-slots.54848/

 

[God mode restorations]

Something like this:

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/...ine-bed-very-heavy-duty-with-tee-slots.54848/

That's a tidy peice. There is on for sale on the bay...nice thoe.

 

[hotrodder]

Personally i like old surface tables as all i want is a nice flat, solid surface. There's several decent sized ones for a small welding table (4' x 2', 4' square) on the bay at the moment although with a bit of patience and/or luck they can be picked up for less money than the cost of the raw materials to make a 1/2" thick table and even a gnarly example is waaaaaay flater/straighter, stiffer and nicer than some hot rolled plate

Downsides of a CI welding welding table is that you can't tack the work to it which comes in handy for some jobs (gates/railings for example) but as my world is mostly stainless and non ferrous i'm more likely to use a sheet ally cover on it to prevent cross contamination and/or reduce the chances of scratching the work. I haven't got the room for more work surfaces but if i did i'd rather have more 4' x 2' or 4 x 3' tables over one larger table... a set of braked levelling castors on the frame and the tables can moved about to make one larger one of various dimensions when needed

 

[ukracer]

It's simple to make 4 x 2 welding tables at reasonable cost that could be used in a row or square if you had 4.

For a hobbiest they are more than adequate. ..

 

[sardine]

My table is a large piece of galvanised steel grating, which is as flat as i need it to be. In effect its 25 mm thick and can take a lot of weight, but is still mobile. All the spatter and grinding dust falls through the holes, and I can clamp through anywhere I like with modified clamps with a tee end that fits the holes. The drawback is you need to keep small tools in a tray or they fall through . If you wanted to go super flat then drop a 4 mm sheet on top, and fettle it until it lays dead flat. Then MAG drill some holes in it. I'm not doing nuclear reactors so its fine as it is, my straight edge says its flat.

This is the stuff, expensive new, but not from the scrappy.

 

[sardine]

Nope, I don't tack to it. Or burn it.

 

[wheresmejumper]

I think you'd need to contact a laser/plasma/waterjet company for that. What are you going to put in the holes?

There are a range of fixtures and clamps that fit those (20mm?) holes.stronghand are one of the brands.most are one handed installation

 

[Maker]

There are a range of fixtures and clamps that fit those (20mm?) holes.stronghand are one of the brands.most are one handed installation

I know they exist, but they seem to be very hard to come by in the UK and very expensive.

 

[wheresmejumper]

Why else would he put holes in them

 

[mr migwire]

these guys do tables, clamps and anything else you might need mate.

http://weldingtables.co.uk/strong-hand-welding-clamps.html