Welding Tips and Tricks

I have a quick question. My Garage is a little tight for space, and I don't have a welding table. I was thinking I could build a welding table top, and pull it out and put it on my wood bench top when needed.

While trying to put the above top together, I am trying to work on my wood bench, but pretty much anything hot is either scorching the wood, or simply lighting it on fire. Last time I was working I had a bright idea and before I do it I wanted to see what y'all thing.

For an upcoming project I needed some stainless steel sheets. I found some 20ga 304 sheets for sale on Craigslist, and they were pretty cheap in comparison to the retail prices I was getting locally so I bought 5 sheets (48"x120"). I only need one sheet for my project and I figured in time I would use the remaining.

I got the idea that I could cut one of the sheets to fit the top of my wooden bench. For wood working it would be a little better than the plywood top for me, and should last a pretty long time.

What do you think about it also doubling as a surface for a welding table? I know stainless warps if it gets too much heat, but honestly I don't think that anything I did with Tig would transfer enough heat to the stainless to be a problem. My concern is that my welding might transfer enough heat through the stainless to start the wood underneath it on fire.

I have a picture of the bench attached, its hard to see, but it's basically 4x4 treated wood with a 3/4 plywood top. Since the picture was taken I have also added a 2x8 skirt around the top to make the table top wider.

Think of a way to space the weld top maybe a half inch or so up off the wood top.

rhett wrote:Think of a way to space the weld top maybe a half inch or so up off the wood top.

To do that I would need to be able to bend the Stainless to wrap around the edges of the bench so that it would be rigid enough to remain flat instead of sagging. I don't have a metal break that is long enough to work with that length of metal. And spending all day pounding on it with a hammer doesn't interest me much.

I guess I could use this as an opportunity to learn to weld stainless though, I could cut the sheet with maybe a 1/4" of overhang, then cut maybe 2 or 3" strips and weld them around the table to make the surface more rigid. Then all I would need to do is take a few strips of 1x1" angle and lay them across the bench under the stainless to lift it off the wood...

This might work, especially if I can dress the welds so they are rounded, and take any sharp edges off. I was planning to be cutting stainless this weekend, so it won't take that much longer to throw an extra few cuts.

Hi - here's my thoughts on your bench - if your using it for woodwork don't weld , grind or do anything metal related on it - once you do it's no use for wood projects - the metal particles will become embedded in anything you put on the bench & any sharp edged woodwork tools will quickly be ruined - PLUS welding around all that wood is a fire risk - you may think I'm wrong - but even 1 spark can cause an ember that may glow out of sight for hours before catching the place on fire when you've packed up & gone indoors - trust me on that 1 ! I would strongly recommend having an all metal table for welding on - if your stuck for space how about the "Nomad " folding welding table - they are not too expensive - or you could put a metal top on an old Black & Decker " workmate " as this appears the inspiration for it - they fold fairly flat when not in use & at least you can put it out in the open away from fire risks in your garage - failing that if money is tight consider anything with a metal carcass such as an old washing machine / dryer & put a metal top on it - when your not using it just put it outside.
The stainless steel you have can be used as a work surface but I find all manner of spatter & stuff sticks to it so you'll be forever cleaning it off - regular steel sheet with mill scale still on it works fine though cast iron I find is the best as almost nothing sticks to it - i found some large sheets of it with a ground surface in the scrap that came from an old print works ( they used to set "type" on them - these make a fine table top - if a little heavy.
Good luck with your ongoing project.

I definitely understand the risk of fires starting from a tiny ember. And I really wish I had the option of 2 work benches, but space is pretty tight as things sit right now. The best option I have is something that either folds up, or that is just a work surface that I lay onto a bench. As for the constant cleaning of the work surfaces, I kinda have to do that already due to the small work area. The only things that had fixed locations and never move are my Lathe and compressors. The lathe is too heavy to roll around, and the compressors are plumed into ceiling air drops around the garage.

Even my 800 pound Mill is on wheels, but I rarely use it so its pretty stationary where its at.

I don't like the idea of it folding up. I built the current bench a few months ago after having a folding workbench collapse with a running saw. Had I been a foot closer I would have been short a foot. After that I swore I would never use another light weight work bench, and I built this one the next day. Built two others, one for my Mill, and the other for my compound miter saw.

And anything outside is out of the question, if the SS troops from the home owners assoc. don't find it, the cities troops will. The HOA already watches everything I do like a hawk because they some how think that I am going to bring the neighborhood down.... I am the only one in the HOA that has a hobby that is any more strenuous than sitting around eating Bon Bons and wondering around measuring blades of grass.

Its so bad that if I park my new dually with as little as an inch of the tire off the cement I get notices from the city stuck to my windows. And so far the fastest that the notice has appeared was under 2 hours, and I am not exaggerating. I come home one day and the pool service was parked in my driveway so I parked my Jeep in the grass, come inside, took a shower ate dinner and walked out go back to my office and the sticker was there.

Get a scrap of industrial floor grating to put between the wood bench and the stainless sheet, and tack them together around the perimeter. (It's usually galvanized, so some prepwork is involved.) If practical, tack at many places in the "field" as well, to maintain flatness.

The floor grating will give you a rigid flat surface and 1" of space with lots of heat-sink between the stainless top and the wood bench, should weigh less than 50 pounds, and can either lay against a wall when not in use, or hinged to the wall above the bench for "quick-change".

For that matter, with folding legs, it could be hinged to the wall anywhere in the shop you can move a few items to let it down, so it can stand alone and stay off the woodwork bench. For that matter, as a hinge-away stand-alone, you don't need a fixed top... Just have some peices of flat stock to set on it when a continuous surface is needed, and work directly on the grating when it's not.

Just some thoughts from a redneck engineer...

Steve S

Michialt, think your on the right track with your idea of cutting then welding all the cross braces, good practice with multiple skills for somthing worthwhile you need. But I'd rethink your current homes location:-P

I'm a big fan of pallet rack workbenches.
They are rock solid and assemble/disassemble in minutes.
I've put my workbench on wheels, so its easy to rearrange the workshop.

Please, store all of your wood somewhere away from your welding projects.
For peace of mind, install a fire suppression system in your garage. It may save your life.