Posted by Chris Ray on October 27, 1997 at 12:41:57:

In Reply to: STRAIGHTENING A WELDING TABLE TOP posted by Chris Ray on October 24, 1997 at 11:40:29:

In a message dated 97-10-27 11:11:32 EST, HeathSatow@aol.com writes:

> 3/8"?), and ... um, whazzit called... that stuff you use for a plasma or

> flame cutting table, >">

You might be thinking of a grate or grating Heath, sounds like it. Well here is my take on using a thinner plate combined with other members etc for a WELDING table. A torsion box would work well as a layout table but I sort of touched on the problem of using this as a welding table before and here is my reasoning for NOT using this surface for that purpose.

I frankly think that if you can get a 3/4" or better yet a 1" steel plate for a welding table then you're much better off. New from the mill, they might be pretty flat, at least until you drop this thing on the floor as it slips off your fork lift or something. A 1" welding plate does not need a torsion box support, it is redundent considering the strength of the single plate itself and the work it's asked to do. Straight runners are all that's required if spanning too great a distance between the floor supports (channel, square tubing, "I" beams or whatever).

The problem with using a torsion box for a welding surface is this, I think. First off we are assuming that a lightweight plate such as 3/8" will be the top surface. Well think about what will happen when you might be doing heavy welding or heating over one of the spots on the plate that lies between the supporting members underneath. I think that that spot would then begin to cup from the heat locally, since there may not be enough mass to distribute the heat. Over time you will have a number of dimples rising from the surface. Keep in mind that sometimes we weld a holding device directly onto a steel welding table for clamping etc. You can do that with a heavy plate and not have a problem but not always with a lighter plate.

A torsion box will keep your table flat all the way around, that won't change, but you'll have a flat plane with uneven surfaces if there is too much heat transferred to the top. Depending on how one uses a layout table, it could serve a dual purpose if your technique doesn't include using a rosebud or anything like that. However the reason for directly welding clamping supports etc. on a welding table is because one usually doesn't have anywhere to secure a clamp, unless you might want to drill spaced holes throughout the table and then it might be feasible. That's a lot of work though and it's cheaper in terms of time etc. to purchase a heavier plate to start with if it's feasible.

Now for some of us, this isn't an easy matter. For instance, I can't get a tractor/trailer into my studio area and am limited by straight trucks with a bed no longer than 24 ft. Some mills only deliver this kind of stock on their trailers. Also there are the material handling capabilities available. There's no way I could get anything as heavy or bulky as a proper sized welding surface whether it's a plate or an acorn table. I would love to have either one to use but can't off load and place such pieces without incurring the expense of a rigger.

What to do? Well it doesn't help to sit down and moan about the situation so you adapt instead. I have a few smaller welding tables around the studio where I can aways weld up smaller components. No problem with that generally. When I have to fabricate a gate frame however, then plan B is brought into play. Check out the Flying Bridge Extension concept in the Artisan's Journal for the solution I have found. It's by no means ideal but it does have one advantage to offset the disadvantages. I can clamp my work anywhere within a gate frame. If I need to have an actual layout surface underneath the work, then a sheet of masonite does the job and I can simply cut out the openings wherever I need for the clamps. Discard the sheet later if it becomes too mangey for reuse.

I'm sure others have found suitable alternatives to this problem of not having the right kind of welding surface and would like to hear about them. It wasn't Columbus who first discovered that the world wasn't flat, it was the welders with skinney welding tables instead. What's the correlation here? Well there isn't any, just dumb stuff for the hell of it.

Chris Ray

Follow Ups:

• Re: STRAIGHTENING A WELDING TABLE TOP Chris Ray 10/28/97 (0)

3/8"?), and ... um, whazzit called... that stuff you use for a plasma or : > flame cutting table, >> : You might be thinking of a grate or grating Heath, sounds like it. Well here is my take on using a thinner plate combined with other members etc for a WELDING table. A torsion box would work well as a layout table but I sort of touched on the problem of using this as a welding table before and here is my reasoning for NOT using this surface for that purpose. : I frankly think that if you can get a 3/4" or better yet a 1" steel plate for a welding table then you're much better off. New from the mill, they might be pretty flat, at least until you drop this thing on the floor as it slips off your fork lift or something. A 1" welding plate does not need a torsion box support, it is redundent considering the strength of the single plate itself and the work it's asked to do. Straight runners are all that's required if spanning too great a distance between the floor supports (channel, square tubing, "I" beams or whatever). : The problem with using a torsion box for a welding surface is this, I think. First off we are assuming that a lightweight plate such as 3/8" will be the top surface. Well think about what will happen when you might be doing heavy welding or heating over one of the spots on the plate that lies between the supporting members underneath. I think that that spot would then begin to cup from the heat locally, since there may not be enough mass to distribute the heat. Over time you will have a number of dimples rising from the surface. Keep in mind that sometimes we weld a holding device directly onto a steel welding table for clamping etc. You can do that with a heavy plate and not have a problem but not always with a lighter plate. : A torsion box will keep your table flat all the way around, that won't change, but you'll have a flat plane with uneven surfaces if there is too much heat transferred to the top. Depending on how one uses a layout table, it could serve a dual purpose if your technique doesn't include using a rosebud or anything like that. However the reason for directly welding clamping supports etc. on a welding table is because one usually doesn't have anywhere to secure a clamp, unless you might want to drill spaced holes throughout the table and then it might be feasible. That's a lot of work though and it's cheaper in terms of time etc. to purchase a heavier plate to start with if it's feasible. : Now for some of us, this isn't an easy matter. For instance, I can't get a tractor/trailer into my studio area and am limited by straight trucks with a bed no longer than 24 ft. Some mills only deliver this kind of stock on their trailers. Also there are the material handling capabilities available. There's no way I could get anything as heavy or bulky as a proper sized welding surface whether it's a plate or an acorn table. I would love to have either one to use but can't off load and place such pieces without incurring the expense of a rigger. : What to do? Well it doesn't help to sit down and moan about the situation so you adapt instead. I have a few smaller welding tables around the studio where I can aways weld up smaller components. No problem with that generally. When I have to fabricate a gate frame however, then plan B is brought into play. Check out the Flying Bridge Extension concept in the Artisan's Journal for the solution I have found. It's by no means ideal but it does have one advantage to offset the disadvantages. I can clamp my work anywhere within a gate frame. If I need to have an actual layout surface underneath the work, then a sheet of masonite does the job and I can simply cut out the openings wherever I need for the clamps. Discard the sheet later if it becomes too mangey for reuse. : I'm sure others have found suitable alternatives to this problem of not having the right kind of welding surface and would like to hear about them. It wasn't Columbus who first discovered that the world wasn't flat, it was the welders with skinney welding tables instead. What's the correlation here? Well there isn't any, just dumb stuff for the hell of it. : Chris Ray " />