Five-inch diameter industrial...
Five-inch diameter industrial machine feet with a rubber pad level the table, protecting the concrete floor against transferred blows from the table through the legs. The levelers came from eBay.
A stout workbench or welding table is an essential part of every shop. When planning the construction of a fab table, determining what you’ll be doing on it, how much space you have in your shop, and how much money you can spend all come into play—bigger is not always better. After a lot of thought, we decided something with a max size of 4x6 feet would suit our shop.
We’ve seen a hundred benches made with 1/4-inch-thick steel tops, and they’re always dented or wavy from welding warp. When it comes to the top plate, bigger is always better. Our minimum thickness was 3/8 inch when we started hunting the scrap yards, where we found a 3x5 piece of 1/2-inch plate. We’ve come to find that the 3-foot dimension is a very comfortable working width—plenty of space to spread out, but everything is still within arm’s reach. We wouldn’t go smaller than 5 feet long, and 6 feet would have been better. But the price was right, and we’d hunted for months before finding our 1/2-inch-thick bargain.
The feet were scraps of 2-1/2x3-1/2-inch...
The feet were scraps of 2-1/2x3-1/2-inch heavy wall box tubing, with the ends slash-cut for access to the leveling pad’s adjusting rods.
The final dimension is height—and is perhaps the most critical. Some of the best advice we ever got was from Ron Covell when he told us to always be comfortable while working because “it allows you to be fussy with your work”. If you’re not fighting back pain from hunching over, you won’t be rushing your work.
We measured kitchen counter heights, tables, and also remembered blacksmiths of old set their anvil’s work surface so that holding a hammer in their hand and putting the head on the anvil, their elbow would be bent at a 90-degree angle, giving them the best position for work and not tire their arm, neck, and back muscles. We’ll be standing and sitting at the table, so our shop stools’ height was also taken into consideration. When all was said and done, our work surface is 36 inches high, which is pretty comfortable for our 6-foot, 1-inch stature—it’s also the height of our kitchen counters. We wouldn’t go any lower, but an inch or two higher wouldn’t hurt, which we can dial in on the leveling feet if we choose (more on those later). Another consideration is a bench vise, and its work-surface height: a vise with its jaws chest-high is impractical. We have a monster vintage Reed Mfg. vise, but it was too high, and took up too much real estate on our table, so we made other plans.
When cutting the legs, some...
When cutting the legs, some may be a little shorter than others. Pair them up as close as possible to keep the leg assemblies as square as possible.
For the legs and frame, big is absolutely better. Not only does it need to solidly support the tabletop, it needs to support anything you set on it. “Mass” is the order of the day. We used 3x2x1/4 C-channel, with 2x3x 0.250-wall upright legs, on 2-1/2x3-1/3x0.3125-wall box tubing feet. We found the 2-1/2x3-1/2 tubing at the scrap yard with our tabletop, and bought the C-channel and 2x3-inch box from a supplier.
We never start a shop equipment build without a scale drawing done on graph paper, showing the top, side, and front elevations. This way we can figure how much steel to buy, how to cut to minimize waste, and how to get it home. Steel is generally sold in 20-foot sticks, and most suppliers give one free cut per stick: with a scale drawing you might find your combination of pieces will add up to one 12-foot and another 8-foot length—a big deal if simply cutting it into two 10-footers leaves you with unusable short pieces.
Our finished table weighs over 550 pounds, not counting the vise and its mounting framework. It’s rock solid and stable, which is what a good worktable is supposed to be, should handle anything we ever throw or drop on it, and will unquestionably outlive us.
We constructed our table upside-down,...
We constructed our table upside-down, as it’s much easier than building the frame and lifting the top in place and welding it. Wood blocks keep it off the floor.
A C-channel frame is set back...
A C-channel frame is set back 3 inches from the edge all the way around, so we can clamp work to the tabletop. (Dimensions shown are based off leg location.)
Any time you weld steel plate,...
Any time you weld steel plate, you’ll need to first grind through the mill scale surface coating to get good penetration on your welds.
If your plate is bowed, a...
If your plate is bowed, a large clamp can draw it down to the frame member. We’ve heard of people parking forklifts on the plate to take a bow out.
There’s no need to fully weld...
There’s no need to fully weld the perimeter. We alternated inboard and outboard of the frame: if a weld cracks, the crack won’t run across the whole bead.
We painted the bottom of the...
We painted the bottom of the legs because once the table is right side up, we won’t be able to paint their underside. Everything is painted to keep rust at bay.
We used C-channel to tie the...
We used C-channel to tie the left and right legs together, rather than building a shelf under the table—shelves become messy catchalls.
The crossmember is offset...
The crossmember is offset rather than centered, so it can be a footrest for one side, and store bulky items on the other. Flat black Rust-Oleum resists wear.
We rented a magnetic drill...
We rented a magnetic drill press to bore 27/64 holes for 1/2-13 threaded bolts every 6 inches the full way around the perimeter, to attach fixtures in the future.
It turns out our plate is...
It turns out our plate is “wear plate:” it won’t drill or tap. We would have tapped it and installed 1/2-inch setscrews to protect the threads from weld spatter.
This is a woodworker’s bench...
This is a woodworker’s bench hold-down from Highland Woodworking (www.highlandwoodworking.com): Drill a hole through the table, weld in a 2-inch-long pipe with 3/4-inch ID, drop the tail into the hole with the head on the work piece, whack the head, the tail cocks in the hole, and the piece is held to the surface with hundreds of pounds of pressure.
“Holsters” for our MIG gun...
“Holsters” for our MIG gun and ground lugs on all four legs keeps the tabletop clear of cables while we’re working.
The exhaust tubing holsters...
The exhaust tubing holsters have a bell-mouth flare on one end. We ground a 45-degree bevel around a piece of solid stock, and formed the bell-mouth with the hydraulic press.
Carriage bolts were screwed...
Carriage bolts were screwed into tapped holes, then welded. Plain bolts would leave only the edge of threads for clamp contact. Plated shafts ensure a superior ground.
Our big, conventional vise...
Our big, conventional vise overpowered the tabletop and took up too much space, so we mounted this old Studebaker hydraulic vise on the end. It’s unusual, but should be useful.
With the feet adjusted, the...
With the feet adjusted, the table is dead level, and has enough mass that we can jump on it and a marble won’t roll away.