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Re: [Shop-talk] Welding table

To: shop-talk@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Welding table
From: Scott <scott.hall.personal@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:05:57 -0500
On 1/3/2012 3:02 PM, David Hillman wrote:
>    That's a relatively unique design.  How stable is it?

I stood on one of the 'long' ends and bounced up and down on the balls 
of my feet. It didn't move. That design is one of the things I like 
about it--plenty of room for me to clamp stuff to the edges, and get in 
close to it without bumping into the legs.  For slow TIG welding, I 
could even get a stool right up the edge and sit on it with my legs 
under the table.  I'm still pretty wretched at TIG welding, so being 
able to sit and brace myself without having to hover with my weight over 
the work will be a help, I think.

The foot is maybe three feet on a side, also half-inch steel. It's a bit 
like the old Mustangs--it's got plenty of 'road-hugging weight' keeping 
it steady. :-)

>    No, you aren't crazy, it just won't be easy and probably not cheap. 
> Flip it over onto two large, true I beams, clamp down each corner, and 
> then weld some heavy tube or angle underneath along the 5 foot sides, 
> leaving a few inches of overhang.

That's sort of what I had in mind.  I just need to find two large, true 
I-beams and some really big clamps.  How much overhang should I leave?  
I want more than I think I'll ever need, but I want to support the top 
enough not to sag again.  The existing supports run diagonally from the 
column towards each corner, and they probably stop about two feet from 
the corners.  I would have thought that would have been enough, and it 
makes me want to go almost all the way to the edges...but I never want 
to bump into a support with a clamp on the edge.

>    .2833 pounds per cubic inch for steel.  Adds up quick.  My top is 
> about 700 pounds, and the frame around 250.

I'd like to weigh mine.  Putting together a shop involves a lot of 
creative, third-century B.C.-esque moving techniques.  For the TIG 
welder, I had to put the engine crane in the bed of truck, lower it onto 
the ground, tilt it until I got pipes under it, then roll it over the 
pipes until I got it where I wanted it in the garage.  This table is 
going to be like that.
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