Need ideas for welding table

[FABRAT]

hello, I am a new member and after reading the project board for about the last week to get ideas on my new table i thought i would join and ask for some.

I am building a 36"x27"x3/8" welding table with a fold up 12" extention on one end and 12" fold up cutting grate on the other (i have limited space so i want it to be somewhat colapsable.) it will also have a craftsman intermediate style tool chest mounted under the table top for storing tools and i was also considering a reciever style setup to accept a vice/bender or other misc. attachments that could be mounted to a plate and then slid in and removed to acomidate the job i would happen to be doing. (i got the reciever idea off of the message board) any sort of ideas or advice would be apreciated and i will try to get some pics posted of what i have so far.

thanks, Nick

[MMW]

Height is personal preference. My table is 32" from floor to top. For most things it works well for me. Did a tig job the other day & I wished it was a little taller. Mine is 1" thick 48 x 96 top with 4 ship channel frame & legs. 6" hd casters for mobility. Make sure you leave a lip of a couple inches all around so it is easy to clamp stuff to.---MMW---

[burninbriar]

My table is also about 32" . This seems to be a good all a round hight. I have worked on 36" tables and found them to be uncomfortable , especially on large projects. Then again, I'm a short person so it all comes down to personal preferance. I drilled and threaded holes for my vice and other equipment so it can be unbolted easily without haveing to hold a nut on the other side.

[WeldTeach]

I've found 32-33" to be a pretty common height for tables. We just built a couple 4'x8' tables for our school shop out of 1/4" top plate, 4" channel (1/4" wall) for the frame/crossbraces and 4" x 4" (10 gauge) for the legs, plus 1/4" plate for gussets on the legs. We also welded on HD braking casters so we can move them around the shop. Seem to work well and heavy enough for our use. May someday through another 1/4" plate on top...but not anytime soon...I'll see if I can dig out the digital camera and snap some pics soon..

[silverbackman]

32" is pretty much the standard height, but if you're taller than average, go a little higher, your back will love you. I'm 6'3 and my table is 34". It keeps me from hunching over that little bit. Anyone who's tall will know what I'm talking about. I end up getting a sore back just doing the dishes, but with just a couple of extra inches on my table, I can weld all day. I even custom built my own desk for my office that sits 1" taller than standard. It forces me to sit up proper in my chair, so I don't hunch over my keyboard.
That's what's great about us fabricators, if it don't work right for us, we can make it!

[Richard]

I think the reciver idea will be a plus you could mount a female pice in the up-right position and the weld a mail piece on a plate then bolt your vise to the plate. just drop you vise in the reciver and their you have a vise on the edge or side of your table
this way you can move it if you need to.
also you can get 4 big nuts and bolts, like inch and a half bolts and nuts
weld the nut to a plat and screw the bolt into the nut, mount the plate on the botom of your leg of your table and then if the floor in your shop,work area is uneaven you can turn the bolts to eather raise or lower the table to compinsate for the floor and then your table will be level (note table will be sitting on bolt heads) and you can level it where ever you put it.
if you were to mount your table on casters you could make it where your bolts could be screwed down low enuff to rase it to level it.
I hope all these ideas help you to make a great table
have fun

[FABRAT]

Thanks everyone for the info so far. I think that 32" sounds like a good hight i am a pretty short fella so that should work out for me. i am also planning on mounting casters to the legs and having screw down feet to lift it off the casters and make it stationary and level. my next challenge will be designing the mechanism to hold the folding ends up. i will try and take some pics and post them tomorrow (2-9-06) to explain what i am up to here.

i am also considering a HF compact bender which is on sale for $49.99 on the net right now and adding the scroller attachment...i know that the scroller takes a little work to get opperable but the SO one is out of my range for now but i was wondering if anyone had anything to say about the HF compact bender (pos or neg) any coments would be appreciated.

Thanks again and weld on ! Nick

[Firey]

I have 7 welding tables in my shop all are 4'x8'x36" tall it seems to work well for all my weldors one of my weldors is 5'-4" and the other is a whopping
7'-1" man.Now the cairs are adjustable hope this can help.and "good luck"

[Sundown]

I built mine at 35-1/2" tall, I am 5'10-1/2" tall and it seems to be just right for me when I am standing. I did need to add an extension to my stool as it was a bit short, that made the foot remote just reachable. I thought about a reciever and I have one that came off my truck, but I decided aginst it as my bench bender is mounted on a 3" thick maple block workbench that is 15' long and lagged to the floor and the wall. I havn't done any threaded holes yet as I have not used the table enough to know where they should be drilled. I have 5" casters bolted to plates that are welded to the bottom of the legs that are drilled to lock in all four directions, as I won't be putting any sideways tourque on it, and the weight of 300 lbs, that seems enough so far. After I use it more I may want to add some drop down bolts for more stability.

[lgjhn]

I built mine at 35-1/2" tall, I am 5'10-1/2" tall and it seems to be just right for me when I am standing. I did need to add an extension to my stool as it was a bit short, that made the foot remote just reachable. I thought about a reciever and I have one that came off my truck, but I decided aginst it as my bench bender is mounted on a 3" thick maple block workbench that is 15' long and lagged to the floor and the wall. I havn't done any threaded holes yet as I have not used the table enough to know where they should be drilled. I have 5" casters bolted to plates that are welded to the bottom of the legs that are drilled to lock in all four directions, as I won't be putting any sideways tourque on it, and the weight of 300 lbs, that seems enough so far. After I use it more I may want to add some drop down bolts for more stability.

George,
That 35-1/2" height is from the floor and not the castor plates, right?
Thanks,
LJ