Welding Table

[mjncad]

I have a trailer axle that's half good. Thinking of using it to mount my table on, so it turns.. anybody do that?

You mean like a Lazy Susan to make doing circular welds easier? If so, I don't see why your idea wouldn't work. You could get real fancy and put a variable speed motor on it to control RPM to match table rotation with the diameter of the stuff to be welded. A variable speed foot switch comes to mind for controlling the RPM's.

 

[jake98]

You mean like a Lazy Susan to make doing circular welds easier? If so, I don't see why your idea wouldn't work. You could get real fancy and put a variable speed motor on it to control RPM to match table rotation with the diameter of the stuff to be welded. A variable speed foot switch comes to mind for controlling the RPM's.

That's a little complicated for my pay grade :laughing:, but yeah, I was thinking it would be good for positioning. I'm wondering if it would end up being more of a nuisance, but I guess some kind of a brake on it would solve that. and then there's the wobble factor..

 

[sandman2234]

If you use a spindle from a junk car with the hub, you won't have much for wobble. Bolt the table to the spindle and shorten the lugs, or countersink them. I have a triple reduction gearbox powered by a 1/2 hp motor that was "acquired" by an old boss for exactly that reason. He never got around to it, and when the chance came up, I grabbed it. Slow speed motors aren't that easy to come across.
David from jax

 

[rjmack]

I have a trailer axle that's half good. Thinking of using it to mount my table on, so it turns.. anybody do that?

very much doable. i worked in a fab shop that had one of those using a truck spindle/hub assembly with a round piece of 1 inch plate welded to the top and welded to a pipe 3 or 4 inch (long time ago) that ran down to a big old truck rim.

they used it primarily for building sprockets for deck chains in sawmills (big sprockets). they used .045 hardwire running very hot. they had built literally hundreds of sprockets on that wheel at the time i was there and those bearings were still smooth as silk. they turned the wheel with one hand and welded with the other.:thumbsup:

 

[schmism]

check these out

Metal Fabrication Welding Table - Build Pro Table by StrongHand Tools - YouTube

 

[jake98]

check these out

Metal Fabrication Welding Table - Build Pro Table by StrongHand Tools - YouTube

I bought a few of Jody's tee shirts, good quality. Good videos, he's the man. Can't afford one of those tables tho, besides, that's why I like welding, I'd rather make the stuff.. Subscribe to his weekly email.

ps, had to cut 2 3/8x9 flitch plates with a sawsall today while my new plasma cutter was sitting on the dining room table. ain't that the way it goes.. I brought the cut-offs home to play with.

 

[mjncad]

check these out

Metal Fabrication Welding Table - Build Pro Table by StrongHand Tools - YouTube

That's a slick looking table.

 

[rjmack]

wow! I think one of those 6 1/2' buildpro tables just went on my wish list.:thumbsup:

TM57838 BuildPro Modular Fixturing Welding Tables

I'm having trouble finding prices for the clamps etc though... I bet those attachments could easily add up to buying another table.

 

[jake98]

After grinding today and blowing crap too close to my new equipment, and then making my first bunch of plasma cuts, my table's definitely gonna have some wheels on it so I can roll it out the door.

 

[Short Game]

Why does that table look like one made for someone to do metal fab from their hospital bed?

 

[mjncad]

I'm having trouble finding prices for the clamps etc though... I bet those attachments could easily add up to buying another table.

Yes the tooling can easily equal or exceed the base table cost based on my surfing last night.

 

[Dennis Mickle]

Haywire, I was browsing on the Miller Projects (I think) site last night, and saw a table that a guy made using flat stock - maybe 3" wide - in a "slat" design, rather than a single plate. He had maybe 3/4" gaps between the slats, and liked the convenience of being able to clamp a workpiece at various location across the top. I haven't priced anything but this may be a more economical way to make a top, and may give you more options at the salvage yard. While his slats were uniform in width, they wouldn't have to be.

I had one made like that it was nice, if a slat got damaged it could be replaced.

 

[jake98]

Why does that table look like one made for someone to do metal fab from their hospital bed?

Shush, will ya? I snuck out dressed like a doctor, took the table (and the hand-cuffs) with me.

 

[Short Game]

Shush, will ya? I snuck out dressed like a doctor, took the table (and the hand-cuffs) with me.

:thumbsup:

 

[dstig1]

That's one pricey table, but it sure looks nice. I don't think I could justify that for hobby work, though it would be pretty awesome... Another thought is that you could buy some of their clamps and make some adapters or something to work with whatever table you have. The clamps and fixturing look pretty handy. I had a hard time finding online sources selling it except weldingsupply.com (one of the worst organized online stores I've ever seen). It looks like Northern sells just the smaller table.

 

[jake98]

I don't suppose I'll ever get a good ground out of this plate I was going to use as a top, short of grinding it for hours.
Plasma cutter is mucho entertaining tho, just cut off a cast iron wood stove door.

 

[dstig1]

That's just surface rust on the plate. Looks like you are already halfway done... After the wire brush a sanding flap disc might be all you need to get it happy enough to work.

 

[Short Game]

I like the reading glasses on top of the welding gloves. That's where I keep one of my two shop pairs. I get them for $3 and have pairs of them everywhere.

 

[jake98]

Man, I am lovin this plasma cutter.. Grandpa's shovel got a trim, I forgot to hook up the ground but it cut it anyway, I guess with the pilot-arc ground, probably not good.
The trailer is my excuse for upgrading equip. (and skill level). It's easy to pick up, but I need to flip it over to work on the bottom of the body. It'll fit upside down on the chassis, and I need to be able to move it around, but I'm doing a little head scratching on how to get it there.

 

[Short Game]

Makes me glad they don't salt the roads here.