warped table frame

[4sfed]

Pre-stress or pre-heat?

If you mean pre-heat I like that! That is thinking about 4 steps ahead of yourself, most weldors can’t think 1 step ahead of them selves unless it’s what they’re going to have for lunch!

You're a cynical old coot . . . man after my own heart . . . and "old" because you're older than me, welding tubing 50+ years ago.

[Daniel]

Pre heat is good.
By pre-stress I mean trying to anticipate the warping of a tube or plates your welding together and tacking them up with a slight bend in to them.
Sometimes I think to much ahead and my head is there before my legs and I end up with my head hitting the ground

[andyman]

well i thought the plates weren't warped all that bad but i'm wrong.

i tried flipping the plate over and bolting it down and then putting a bottle jack under the plate on the angle at the bottom of the frame and pressing it that way but doesn't seem to be doing anything in straightening the plate out. *shown in first picture*

I have one of the propane soldering torch would it be easier to heat the middle up with it to straighten it out? *shown in the 2nd picture*

Andy

[Bodybagger]

You won't get it nearly hot enough with that. Heck, those things barely get hot enough to sweat 3/4" copper.

There are two ways to deal with distortion. You can be proactive or reactive. Since the crooked ship has already set sail, you are relegated to being reactive, unless you decide to scrap it and start again.

Unfortunately, undoing distortion is a lot more difficult than preventing it. Now that everything is welded together, you have a structure that is statically indeterminate to the unteenth degree. As they said with the "every action has a reaction" statement, any load you place at any point in any direction will cause some deflection everywhere. The key to being able to straighten distortion is knowing where to bend so to maximize the desired deflection and cancel unwanted deflection.

It's like chess, or Rubik's cube, or tuning a piano, the first move may make things worse, but it's the sum of all the moves that determines where you end up, and you have to think a half dozen moves ahead.

One option is the use of a porta power. It's a real lifesaver. But in all honesty, it will be much easier for you to start over and be proactive in distortion control than it will be for you to learn frame straightening from scratch.

[Sonora Iron]

I have one of the propane soldering torch would it be easier to heat the middle up with it to straighten it out?

That propane torch is almost useless in the world of welding, except to heat up a cup of coffee!

Seems, as your tool arsenal is a little light, do you have a hacksaw? If so go back to post # 9, see how I said to heat shrink those tubes? Well now take your hacksaw and cut that red area out! Well not that much! But cut a small one-sided wedge out of the tubes and force the middle of the table frame down.

If you can get around someone who has an O/A torch I’ll show you how to straighten that plate, but the propane torch won’t touch it!

[SundownIII]

Andy,

Let this table serve as one of life's lessons regarding welding.

Yea, there are probably a few on here that could "straighten" that table out, but it still isn't going to be right.

You'll find that when a project isn't "started correctly", it seldom comes out well. Plus, you're fighting yourself at every turn. When a phase of a project (say attaching the legs) doesn't go as you expect, STOP, fix the error and then proceed. Framing square, heavy clamps, and lots of good tacks are a welder's best friends.

Don't feel too bad. We've all probably chucked our fair share of "opps" in the dumpster. The longer you stay at it (welding), the fewer trips you'll have to make (dumpster).

[lens42]

Of the dozen or so projects I made in the last year or so since I've started welding, there are only a few that I haven't had to do twice. On about half of them, I buggered them up fairly close to the finish and pushed through thinking that it's good enough. Then, about a month of looking at some cockeyed angle, or misplaced hole drives me nuts and I cut it up and do it again.

[m.k.swelding]

what I normaly do is set the loader bucket down on it.

[kiwi]

Andy,
What was the final outcome? Were you able to fix the table or did you build another?
Nick

[jimmy_pop]

i have an expensive 4x8 11 ga. welding table frame sitting in the corner holding a cold saw because i put too much heat in it when welding and it warped. sucks but i learned a le$$on. getting by on a junker table until i find a good deal on a Acorn or Weldsale table.