Would it work to use a billiards table slate top piece for a welding table surface?

[Arc weld]

Concrete has moisture in it and heat will cause it to basically explode from being heated. The tech school had steel impregnated into the concrete to help eliminate the problem.

 

[ericher69]

Did the dumb ***** have to stop right under an overpass? DUH!

This is VERY common! Had a similar fire 2 yrs ago where a tractor trailer stopped under the overpass after it caught fire closing the road for several weeks while engineers assessed the structural damage. Large chunks of concrete broke off exposing the pre-tension cables causing major structural damage. The term for concrete exploding from heat is spalling.

I would not use the slate or cement board as a welding surface; steel is much better

 

[CNC Dan]

Did the dumb ***** have to stop right under an overpass? DUH!

That's what I was thinking too.
50 ft further or 50 ft sooner would make a big difference.

 

[FredH]

Quote Originally Posted by rlgustafson

Did the dumb ***** have to stop right under an overpass? DUH!

Huh Gentleman , We are talking about Californian's you know . I am down in that whole area every week and some of the S#*T I see , would either scare the S#*T out of most people or make them go " WTF !!! " , Which is Usually my thought .


As Far as the Slate , ??? May get pretty brittle with heat and slagging weld's on it with a hammer may be ??? , As mentioned may try covering it with any other material that would limit heat and shock exposure . I mean you could cover it with a 1/8" or even 1/16" sheet metal , but that is not much for a shock load . I don't have a welding table other than the Dirt I am standing on , all my welding is done outdoors , so if I need a level surface , I usually just throw a piece of scrap plywood on the ground and watch for the occasional flame .

Fred H.

 

[Egon]

Go whole hog and get an acorn table.

 

[yomax4]

Take the free slate and Sell it..

 

[Gary Fowler]

I got a for cheap 2" thick particle board table with Formica covering on all sides for my shop. To protect the Formica, I put on a 1/2" thick piece of plywood. I mounted my vise on one corner but put an extra layer of 1/2" plywood under it. I have been welding and cutting on it for almost 4 years and it has a few burned spots from hot slag and soon I will need to put on a new top piece under the vise where I use my oxyacetylene torch cutting. It has caught fire a few times but I just pat it out with my gloves and remove the slag. Plywood is very hard to keep a sustained burn going. I recently put a piece of old 3/4" plywood on top of a big burn pile and it came thru almost burn free even after the hot blaze and 2 days of the smoldering burn from the brush. I keep saying I am going to put on a steel top, but so far it is working ok as it is. I do have to connect my ground directly to the piece I am welding, but then again, that is the way your are supposed to do it, even with a steel top table.

 

[/pine]

I have a chance to get for free a couple 3' x 4' pcs of 1 inch slate from an old pool table....

I would build a nice oak frame add a pedestal or legs...cover the slate with (one of the new sexy colors) felt and drop it in the frame to make a nice card table...

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

MIght make a great tack/layout table if it's super level. But for welding, the major issue I see is the lack of ability to ground the table with the work clamp. In many cases, it isn't practical to ground to the part you are welding (though you should if you can) and this would just create an issue. There are ways around it of course, but I think if you were MIG or Stick welding, you might end up with it being pock marked pretty badly after just a few projects.

 

[GPintheMitten]

I would use the slate for something else. Like an end table or coffee table. I don't think I would cover it with felt


Or weird as it seems you could build a pool table!
My Dad built on back in the 70s.