McMiRA Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 If you are wanting a welding table I would suggest 1/2" or thicker plate steel for the top. 1/4" doesn't hold up and if you are tacking to it to keep parts square or true 1/4" can actually move with the heat. Bolt a vice on the corner and you are in business. Or put it on some square tubing and make a receiver in one of the corners. Throw some Mdf over the top and you have a sacrificial clean surface for woodwork. If you want to get really fancy you can frame out a wood frame that overlays the entire table for the wood top and put eyelets on the corners so you can suspend it from the ceiling when not needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 I see welding tables on Craigslist all of the time. I figure start with one of those if it is built well and a good deal. Then exactly as you say, a sheet on top or something movable to do my cutting (like 1.5" thick strips of material). In the end, the saw that Carl bought is probably the way to go for straight precision cuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted January 6, 2014 Moderators Share Posted January 6, 2014 Just be prepared for how to move it, a 1/2" thick plate 4x8 is over 650 pounds by itself, may be easier to build where you want it with strong wheels, or buy one someone can deliver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McMiRA Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 A method that will also help is build the frame of the table just below the height of a truck tailgate. This is a pretty good work height. It will help with unloading/ loading materials AND while building the table. Just have the metal house load the plate on top of tubing in the bed and it will be a lot easier to slide out and on to the table frame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 A method that will also help is build the frame of the table just below the height of a truck tailgate. This is a pretty good work height. It will help with unloading/ loading materials AND while building the table. Just have the metal house load the plate on top of tubing in the bed and it will be a lot easier to slide out and on to the table frame This works very well. Just make sure you got that steel plate tied down good or your tail gate and front of the bed may never be the same. side note You can also use plywood on rollers for hauling brush. Just attach rope at tailgate end of plywood that is a little shorter then plywood. When you get to dump site, lower, or better yet remove tailgate. attach rope to trailer ball, back up at 10 - 20 mph and slam on the brakes. Pull forward to pull plywood out from under the brush, push plywood back into truck and close or reattach tailgate and off you go. I Used this method to unload about 50 pickup loads of poison oak and blackberry vines. Long time to load and stomp down to cab high. 5 minutes to unload. Best to have spotter to keep idiots from walking behind you. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Talking about how heavy welding tables can get. This table has two parts and total weight is 7000lbs. I've had it in my shop for many years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted January 7, 2014 Moderators Share Posted January 7, 2014 Talking about how heavy welding tables can get. This table has two parts and total weight is 7000lbs. I've had it in my shop for many years. WOW i would love to have a space like that, is it business or fun ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Just a fun place. I've built all kinds of things on that table from a hand forged king sized bed frame, to fireplace screens. Table top is 4.5" thick. I even straightened a 4K lb trailer axle on it once. The table is a type of acorn platen that was once the floor in a barge building shop on the tennessee river early 1900s and maybe even earlier. I found about a doz. of these sections at a scrap yard and paid $500.00 for the two you see. That was back when scrap iron was still cheap. Hate to guess the price of new if even available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted January 7, 2014 Moderators Share Posted January 7, 2014 When I see it I thought of the old burning tables we used in the ship yards many year ago, most were not as solid (more open). You were lucky to find some like that, it would last alot longer than the newer designs. I need to build a workshop, my wife's stepfather was in the business of scrapping commercial buildings, he gave me some I beams and some misc angle and C channel. He lived about 6 hours North of us which mad it harder to haul much more back. He didn't care about the iron it was so cheap at the time he was really interested in the copper and aluminium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Now THAT's a work bench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) These are quite a bit different from dedicated burning tables though. These tables have square holes for tool holding. This smaller example is on Ebay right now. Back left corner are "gooseneck" clamps. Towards the front are tools for bending I suspect. Christmas tree looking "spikes" are used for burning on these tables to prevent damage to top. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Acorn-Welding-Platen-Layout-Table-60-x-30-Custom-Stand-/181289938136?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a35b8ecd8 Edited January 7, 2014 by JL Sargent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 I need to build a workshop, I bought my house with some land with the intent of building a shop, then the economy tanked. Comming up on ten years, real estate is booming again but no time for projects because I have to keep up with my business. Catch 22. I am getting close to 50, I need to have all of this done by then. I have a lot of garage space, but I need a dedicated shop that can have sawdust and metal shavings (the two ingredients to my hapiness ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted January 7, 2014 Moderators Share Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) I need to build a workshop, I bought my house with some land with the intent of building a shop, then the economy tanked. Comming up on ten years, real estate is booming again but no time for projects because I have to keep up with my business. Catch 22. I am getting close to 50, I need to have all of this done by then. I have a lot of garage space, but I need a dedicated shop that can have sawdust and metal shavings (the two ingredients to my hapiness ). My neighbor says it's time or money. I know exactly how you feel, I had an ok workspace 15x27, my wife's sewing/embroidery buisness started taking off so I gave her most of that space and jammed all my tools in a 10x15 space. The tools fit but with no room to use them. I do tend to shoot myself in the foot, like this....I'm planing a workshop while redoing our garden area in front of the house.......A neighbor gave me some used telephone poles.... so as I usually do I create more work for myself by adding a 16'x 24' covered area in the garden for parties and just hanging out (in the shade). The idea tiki bar pops up and this thing has taken off, it is far from done but there has been a few parties out there which made me want to do more with it, everyone loves it. It now has a bar, bar stools, sink, pond, now plans for two more tables with stools and much more. I always do this to myself, create never ending projects.......... but i have to admit, i do like laying in the hammock out there. I will positively die with a really long list of things left to build, but at 56 the hammocks and parties are fine also, no use in saving myself for when I'm old, I'm there. Edited January 7, 2014 by dtel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 I am the same way. Love projects. I became an engineer because I love to design and build things, but got out of the business to pursue other things. I am really happy after working on a project all aweekend. I am very fortunate that my wife is the same way. Speaking of power tools, I bought her a Janome DC2013 sewing machine. What a fine piece of machinery. Quiet and smooth. She altered a welding jacket for me and it worked so well on the leather. I love tools, so I bought her Kai scissors too. They are really nice, they fell like what Snap On would make it they made scissors. She loves the stuff, but I do not think that she really realizes how nice the stuff is because she has not used bad tools before (she didn't use anything before). I want to spend my retirement piddling around in the shop and riding motorcycles (soemthing else she likes). Nice work on yoru stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McMiRA Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 She loves the stuff, but I do not think that she really realizes how nice the stuff is because she has not used bad tools before (she didn't use anything before). You never know how bad a tool is until you buy a good one. I have had a lot of people over the years make comments about all the expensive stuff I've bought and how unnessisary that spending that much on a tool was they just don't understand until they have had the chance to use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted January 7, 2014 Moderators Share Posted January 7, 2014 Also by the time you replace the junk tools a few times when they wear out you could have bought the better one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted January 7, 2014 Moderators Share Posted January 7, 2014 Speaking of power tools, I bought her a Janome DC2013 sewing machine. What a fine piece of machinery. About all I know about what she does is her tools cost more than mine, the embroidery machine alone cost more than all my tools, but she does use it almost everyday and it is pretty amazing what it can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 My wife's machine is nothing like that. Just a really solid well made machine with some bells and whistles. The embroidery machines get really expensive in a hurry. My other sister in law gave my wife a Kenmore machine that she bought in the 1980s. It "only" had a 25 year warranty, so it is out of warranty and still working. I found out that Janome, a Japanese company, made th emachine so I found one of their machines that was really well reviewed. Remember when "Made in Japan" meant cheap? Now it means top quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I am the same way. Love projects. I became an engineer because I love to design and build things, but got out of the business to pursue other things. I am really happy after working on a project all aweekend. I am very fortunate that my wife is the same way. Speaking of power tools, I bought her a Janome DC2013 sewing machine. What a fine piece of machinery. Quiet and smooth. She altered a welding jacket for me and it worked so well on the leather. I love tools, so I bought her Kai scissors too. They are really nice, they fell like what Snap On would make it they made scissors. She loves the stuff, but I do not think that she really realizes how nice the stuff is because she has not used bad tools before (she didn't use anything before). I want to spend my retirement piddling around in the shop and riding motorcycles (soemthing else she likes). Nice work on yoru stuff. Somethings wrong with us we went from power tools, to sewing machines. I know in a way sewing machines are power tools. My wife is currently looking at a new sewing machine. She found a computerized one she thought she my like, my aunt advised against it. Said they get costly to fix, so I think she is going with a well built one that has a few bells and whistles. My 2 channel room became her craft room, which wasn't suppose to happen until after I finished the theater room, ha. But at least she has learned to use the gear up there and enjoy her hobby more and more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 (edited) Sewing machines are good power tools. If your wife spends 14 hours straight working on a dress she cannot complain when you work 14 hours in the shop Check out the Janome DC 2013. I did not want a computerized machine but this thing is great. Quiet, smooth and strong. Everone who has one raves about it. The speed adjustment is really nice and changing it over for different stitches is by buttons. The Janome DC 2010, 2011 and 2012 are the exact same machine. Plus she can stop the needle in the up or down position by the flick of a stitch. This was a surprise for my wife and I read like crazy, watched videos on youtube, etc. I even called a lady in California that had one that had already sold on Craigslist. She was not selling anymore as it had sold and she told me that my wife would love the machine. Here are some reviews for the 2012: http://www.amazon.com/Janome-DC2012-Computerized-Built-In-Stitches/product-reviews/B007JBQYQM/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1 I bought from Mr. and Mrs. Vac and Sew in New Jersey (I think). They throw in an accessory pack and he even gave me an extra 10 bobbins on top of that. Oh yea, 25 year warranty on the machine. I wish all my power tools worked as smooth as this machine. It is that nice. Edited January 8, 2014 by tigerwoodKhorns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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