My Welding Table (s)

[wroughtn_harv]

This is the one I use the most often these days. Here it's got a two by attached with a router for milling tenons on cedar rails for fence.

It's a piece of quarter wall 2 X 2 tubing with two stubs welded to it. I can clamp just about anything to it and with the truck as the anchor I can put all the pressure I want in about any direction.

Most of my work these days is portable so a portable welding table is as handy as it gets.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

This one is my big anvil you might say. It started out as the guide plate for a five ton capacity pallet jack kind of thing used to move large reels of telephone cable. It's two feet by four feet with a milled smooth surface that's one and a half inches thick. Under that is ribbing one by two bar stock going both directions. It weighs over eight hundred pounds. When I need it there's nothing else that can do what it does.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

This is another one that isn't used very often but when it's needed it's the cat's meow. It's close to the ground and spins free and easy. Nothing can come to touching it when you need to weld up something of size and you don't want to have to walk up and down and around it.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

This one also spins easy. It's not as high as a regular welding table because I made it for cutting so I want to bend over to do so. It also is great for welding up stuff when you don't want to have to walk around something to weld and would rather spin the work to the worker.

I use this one a lot.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

This is the one I use around the shop the most often. It's movable and can have jigs welded to it for fabricating small gates etc. Keep im mind that I don't do much production stuff, almost everything is one off. With this table I can whip out a jig on the fly and when I'm done remove it.

It's also like my wife's exercise equipment. It's a great place to stack stuff.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

This is my latest. In fact I assembled it just this evening.

Check out the trick feet with their neato socks and cool slippers.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

The business end is just as trick. I used one like this in the Welding Show Down and fell in love with it. The clamping combinations are unlimited. This is the one I won as a finalist. It's the three eighths inch top plate model. I can't wait to make it all ugly. Ugly works just fine thank you.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

The latest one is the Miller Arc Station. I know that in most welding circles part of the welding thing to do is build your own welding table. I've found there is no such thing as the perfect welding table unless you're basically doing the same thing over and over.


That's why I have so many. Everything's custom. I also have another one that is two 8 inch H beams three feet apart and eighteen feet long. They're parallel and square and level. I use them for making big gates and other things of size.

I really like the Arc Station. I already have a passel of ideas for improving it for what I do. I want to add a bender that will attach to the X grooves. My big problem at the Challenge was the table wasn't secured to the floor so I couldn't get any leverage. I've designed the bender to be a vertical one. That means I can add angle legs that will change the fulcrum caused by the lifting or pushing on the table. That will eliminate the movement that caused me so much heartache at the Miller factory.

I would also like to make the top plate quick attach so I could take it with me on the truck. That way I could mount it on the truck when needed and take advantage of the plate and clamping system.

If your space is limited and you're not really into making your own table right now I believe the Arc station is a good investment. If I was in that situation I think I would make some slippers for those trick feet. The slippers would fit over the half inch threaded rod and be able slip over the feet. That way four female anchors in the concrete floor would tie it down when it needed to be anchored tight as a work bench. Then the bolts could be pulled out of the anchors and it would once again be able to be moved over out of the way.

 

[jayste]

Harvey, thanks for sharing. I agree, there's no perfect table that fits everyone's needs. I only have the one and have thought about making another one but haven't gotten around to it yet. I too have considered the table with a hub of sorts to make it rotate. I've worked with positioners before and they are real handy as well if you have the money or know how to make one.
Congratulations on the work station table. That's a nice addition to what you have. I can see where the slots/clamps and etc. can be limitless. This gives me a new idea to file away and possibly use later. I work in a machine shop and have already thought about which machine I could use to machine the top. I also agree that some tables need the capability to be attached to the floor or something solid. Your idea of slipping those "fancy feet" into would be great.:thumbsup:

 

[_RaT_]

What about a computer table Harv complete with a place for a mouse, CPU and of course keyboard and screen or maybe a concrete bucket that you attach to the loader of a tractor, ever thought about building one of those items? :thumbsup: I'll bet you could build something like that and even enter them in a contest....

This is the one I use the most often these days. Here it's got a two by attached with a router for milling tenons on cedar rails for fence.

It's a piece of quarter wall 2 X 2 tubing with two stubs welded to it. I can clamp just about anything to it and with the truck as the anchor I can put all the pressure I want in about any direction.

Most of my work these days is portable so a portable welding table is as handy as it gets.