Welding Tips and Tricks

Wow thanks for all the info dudes. I was planning on an overhang but I hadn’t thought about wheeling it around for bigger projects maybe I’ll do leveling casters as well! I was planning on making the frame first then buying the top bc I hadn’t considered the importance of a level table. Dumb I know. I think I’ll buy the steel and build the frame on the floor of my garage and then flip it. I like the idea of using larger legs mostly for asthetics. I thing I calculated about the same weight.

Any other tips are more than appreciated. I’ll be sure to share pics but won’t be until after the first of the year. Waiting on s few more tools from Santa. Cut off saw, gas cylinder etc

Grab a nice thick piece of stainless rod, about 2-3” long and 1.5” in diameter. Weld it to the base of a leg and use it as a ground clamp for your welding. Doesn’t rust, out of the way, and solid ground every time.

Tell Santa you want a dry cut saw In my opinion it's more important to have a flat plane than having the table horizontaly level unless you want to set up projects with a level instead of square and angle finder. Leveling casters are good if your floor isn't fairly flat, or for a table that doesn't move around much. In my smaller shop tables are frequently moved around to fit the job, the floors pretty decent and I never notice it if it's not sitting perfect.

Just wanted to give you guys an update. Finished my table. Used 1/4 for the top. I framed it in 6” from the edge and wish I had only done 2”. It went ok being my first project and all. Thanks for the help.

Glad you got it done. I notice a couple of safety issues in your picture:

Rug/carpet at your feet- that's pretty flammable if you are welding with MIG or Stick. The sparks will catch that on fire, especially if there's any chemicals embedded. Swap that for a thick piece of open core rubber matt.

Drywall untreated is not the best surface as it too can catch fire. Grab a thin piece of sheet steel, screw it to the drywall/studs to cover your immediate work area. 22 Gauge is plenty. Might cover the peg board area too as a precaution.

Your gas cylinder on the floor, while "trapped" behind that rolling shelf, wants a strap around it to prevent it from tipping over, especially with your regulator installed. It won't explode, but if it does tip and knock your regulator off, your tank will become a missile and do severe damage. Trust me, the frequency of this is much higher than you realize. A simple chain with carabiners hooked to an I bolt screwed into the wall is enough.

Regarding the thickness of your table, since you dropped to 1/4", you can still weld small extensions from your top frame, outward to create more support under the surface overhang. 1/4" unsupported is a bit "droopy". Just grab some square tubing (2"x2"x1/8") and weld the end to the frame. Then a couple of small tacks to the top and you're in business.

These are mostly things on my list to do. I’m fixing to make a welding cart, mostly for more practice but that’ll take care of my bottle. I’m not so concerned about the drywall as it is inherently Fire resistive but I hadn’t thought about the peg board. I could see fire getting behind there and running into my attic.

I’ve got leftover 2x2 and am going to try to brace it out like you suggested

I also have a 3x6 welding table, with 1/2" plate top, i clamped and stitch welded every 6", once the top was in place, leveled and shimmed where needed,welded angle iron brackets to the feet and bolted down, table sits dead straight and level in all 4 directions

The way I welded my top to the table frame was to cut small wedges that I would insert in any gaps between the top and frame. Right next to the wedge I would put a tack. The wedge vastly minimizes tack shrinkage as well as the tack itself is so small that its pulling power is not much. I would work my way around the frame about every 12" or so. I then went back and put a 1" stitch next to every other tack. Result; table is as flat as when I put it on and securely in place. You can use this method help straighten a top also by tacking at the high parts and driving a wedge to lift the low sections. But, it's best to buy as flat as you can get and need. JMHO YMMV