Welding without a welding table is a very hazardous job to do. It is an essential material in every welding shop or workplace. If you are a DIY lover, inevitably, welding attracts you to do that job. And making your table for another welding job is very interesting yet important to do. Being a welder makes your life easy because you do not have to hire professionals, and also it saves you money.
You cannot deny the importance of the table because a wooden table is not perfect or suitable for welding. The table must be strong enough to tolerate vibration and comfortable to work. Before starting any welding, it will be wise to make a welding table because it is simple to make, and after that, you will be comfortable welding any other materials. This article will show you how you can make a table quickly.
To make a welding table, we should clear out some important factors like cost, materials, and sizes.
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Welding Table?
A heavy-duty welding table would cost you more than 800 dollars on amazon. But you are going to make it on your own so that it will cost a lot less. A metal table would about 160 to 300 to buy the materials. It depends on the size of the machine.
In this project, we have an estimated costing of 215 dollars for the material. For a smaller size folding table, the cost would not be more than 150$.
Of course, if you do not have the machines that require making it, your budget will have to include the cost of those tools and machines too.
What is a Good Size for a Welding Table?
Depending on the shop size, the right size and weight can change. For me, the good size of a welding machine will be around 32 x 55″ to 40 x 70″. If you have enough space in your garage or the working area, then you can choose a more significant tabletop design.
You will find many suitable tables designs of different sizes in forums and blogs. Check your workshop or garage are the size and then look of some welding table design to know which is the right size foot you.
How to Make Welding Table (In Regular Size)
Making a welders table is quite simple if you make the plan and execute it with the right items properly. Here is the step by step process for building a robust, well workable table.
1. Preparation of the Process
Before start, you should select a perfect workplace for this job. If you already have a working space, then check the ventilation system of that place because welding creates a lot of fumes and gases, and it will affect your health and lungs.
Also, check the space if there are any short circuits and liquid on the floor. Clean the area and removes any dirt and debris so that you can work without getting any disturbance. After that, gather all kinds of safety equipment.
You should sketch your table and decide the right measurement for you. You do not need to do any design you can make a simple table but keep in mind that the table must be sturdy and flat. Also, hang a “Do not enter” sign because it is hazardous work, and children should stay away from this place.
2. What Should a Welding Table Be Made Of?
As we have discussed earlier, you need steel tubing, plate steel top, coupler nuts, washer, and angle irons to make a welding table. Building a DIY welding table is quite simple if you understand the process and know about the materials well enough.
Rearrange all the materials in a place where you will be working and also wear safety equipment correctly. Your tabletop and tubes should be adequately measured. You can collect these tubes from any chemical company. You can read the reference chart so that you may understand the right settings and cut in the right measure.
Essential Tools You Will Need
- A MiG welder
- Shielding gas
- Tape measure
- Wirecutter
- Square and speed square
- C clamp
- Bench grinder
- Cutting torch
Materials You Will Need
- 8 inch 2*2 steel tubing
- Half inch plate steel top
- casters with shafts and matching nuts
- coupler nuts
- lock washers
- 1/8″ steel angle iron
- One steel tubing 3″ in length
Safety Equipment
- Welding gloves
- Safety glasses
- Welding shield
- Head cap
- Long cotton shirt and pant
- Fire extinguisher
Step for Building the Table
3. Start Cutting to Build a Welding Table
Layout the tabletop on the ground and marked the four edges where the legs are going to set. The marking area should be a minimum of 7 inches off the ends and 3/5 inches away from the side. Now cut the legs in proper size.
The cutting should be reliable because a wrong cut will make your table weaker.
Cut four legs and extra four pieces that are going to connect two legs. The additional piece is smaller than the lower standing part size. Place the two-leg piece in parallel position and two extra pieces in the middle of them.
After that, you have to attach two casters on the bottom to support the table properly.
4. Welding the Frames
An important tip is always to clean your metals before welding. A clean metal can help you to cut and weld exactly the line. Place the two frames, and extra pieces in the right position, attaching it with clamps, then start welding. Weld every corner properly as they are rectangular shapes, so weld every hole and area properly.
One tip is that, do not welding for a long time, take a break after a couple of seconds as the metal gets heated, so wearing hand gloves is a must thing.
Weld the four areas properly so that you will get a quadrilateral shape of the frame. Make this frame in two-piece so that you can make one piece used for attaching/contacting your tabletop, and two frames are used as a table leg.
5. The Legs of the Table and Top
Lay down your tabletop and place two quadrilateral frame at the end of the top straightly. You should leave some width at the edge where you are placing your table leg.
After that, measure the distance of two below stands on both sides and take two tubes for cutting. Now attach the two extra tubes in a parallel position where the two legs are connected with it correctly.
Weld, the four corners of the frame, properly as they look like already an inverted table.
6. Make the Complete Frame
Now that you already made three pieces of the outer body and attaching them, it is time to make the upper part. It is the same as making the lower part. Just cut the right size of two-piece of tubes and place them in parallel position on the frame.
Weld it properly, and you will get a square-shaped board. Remember, the measurement should be right because it is the only way to make your table strong.
7. The Final Part of Making the Welders Table
Put your frame on the tabletop where you marked 4 areas. You can make 4 pieces of small rectangles shaped thin plate so that you can use those plates attaching with the outer body and tabletop.
Just put the plates on the marked area and put your frame on it. So, the thing is tabletop on the ground, thin plates on it, and then the frame is on thin plates.
After you have attached those three sections, weld id properly so that there won’t be any hole in those parts, you can also attach four wheels of the four legs so that you can move your table quickly when needed.
8. Attach Gun Holder, Caster Coupler Nuts and Casters
Also, you can attach nuts on each leg with a caster stem for the building project. The lock washer is also essential to connect to the table so that you can use a variety of materials on your table when needed.
In one corner of the table, attach a gun holder with a clamp. Also, attach wheels for the table if you want to move the welding table.
If you are right-handed, you should add it to the left side. With those features, welding any other things on your table will be easy. After your job is done, you can paint your table surface or leave it raw.
It will be better if you not paint on the tabletop. You can paint only the lower parts. Because for the reason of using this table, paint on the top is not necessary and also the paint will not stay long.
Small Welding Table Plan and Projects
If you are planning to make a “not so big” welding table for your compact garage, then here is our little suggestion that might come handy. Usually, the plan is as simple as we have discussed earlier the standard DIY tables. Just it will be in a smaller size with the material in a smaller size.
The process of making a small welding table for sturdy and robust welding contact, we have used the most robust (the best) metal. You can use a cheaper one to try your new table.
Size of the Small Welding Table
You will need two sheets for making the small table for welding.
– The tabletop will be 62″ x 38″ in size with 1/8″ rolled mild steel.
– The self will be 60″ x 36″ in size made with flat expanded metal.
There will be two types of self-frame: 4 long frames and eight short frames.
– The longer four pieces self-frame will be 56″ x 2″ x 2″ made with .188″ square tube.
– The sorter eight pieces of the frame will be 56″ x 2″ x 2″ made with 188″ square tubing.
You will need four legs made with the same .188″ square tube. We saw it balances the table pretty well.
– The sizes of the four legs are 42″ x 2″ x 2″.
The Process
The process is straightforward; however, you can follow this free instruction made by the Red Wind Steel Works company.
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