Welding Table Complete!

I just put the (as far as I can tell) finishing touches on my welding table today.

Yesterday, I added two handles, to make it easier to move around.  Here is the best weld from them:

Still a lot of room to improve.  But I feel pretty good about it as the handle is a much thinner metal than the leg that it is welded onto.


I then tilted the table 90 degrees, and welded the bottom part of the handles.  So, this is a vertical weld, where gravity really comes into play.  After botching the first handle by going bottom to top, I tried this one going from top to bottom.  A welding manual said that it's easier but that there isn't as much penetration.  Since the other handle got eaten up by the weld, i figured I should just keep all the settings the same & it would work out OK.


Here's the results:

Not too bad.  I started & stopped several times to 'freeze' the weld puddle to avoid too much heat like the previous error.

Today, I cut a sheet of aluminum (with a 150+ tooth circular saw blade that said "do not use on metal"... maybe I should have read the fine print before buying it)  and fit it into the bottom.  Now I've got a nice shelf for all my welding stuff.  And yes, I do remove the cardboard boxes before welding. I also I move the whole table outside a bit before starting.  Thus the handles & the casters on the other side.  Also note the fire extinguisher on the left.

The next project is going to be to make supports for the fire resistant cloth that I bought as a welding screen, to keep the arc's view out of neighbors' eyes.   It should also work well as a wind breaker, and help me make better welds with my MIG.

Project: Welding Table Complete!

Usually when you look back on a project years later, you see the flaws.  Not so with my welding table.  I could see the flaws *as I was creating it*.  I'm still very proud of it.  I learned a whole lot about my Lincoln MIG welder, as well as constructing a table.

As you can see in this image, the table is desperately needed, to make room for a lot of equipment in an already over-filled garage.

I put casters on one side.  These were the only casters at Pacific Industrial Supply that I could find with a locking mechanism on them.    The narrowest part of the base was 2 1/2 inches.  So, without really thinking (they were getting ready to close) I picked up 2 1/2 inch angle bar for the bottom.  It was very thick, 3/16" (looks more like 1.4").  I could have bolted the casters on, but as I was in a rush, I just welded them on.

Remember that phrase "Measure twice, cut once"? Here's why:

I cut the angle bar in the wrong spot for one of the legs.  Fortunately, I had more, and tacked on a little at the end.  On the plus side, the error that I made, actually made it possible for me to have the table 2" higher, putting it at 3'2", an ideal height for me to work on most projects.  Now, if I had just planned that from the beginning.... This shot also highlights one of my worst welds ever made with my MIG.  Besides the fact that I should have cleaned the metal a LOT more before welding as I'm using gas shielding and not flux-core, the biggest reason I saw bubbles in my welds was due to the fact that it was really windy out.  Even after I increased the gas flow, I still got a few bad welds.  Oh yea, I think this image also showcases a really bad vertical weld.

Just to prove I'm not a total fuck-up, here's a shot of one of the better welds on the table (the one in front).  I'm willing to bet that a pro weldor (i.e. my Dad) would point out some of it's flaws, but it had good penetration, and no bubbles (the two spots are from the wire feed coating that were not brushed off yet)

The one thing I learned during this project was this:  Kerf & metal thickness NEED TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN YOU FABRICATE!!!

Basic stuff for the experienced weldor, I'm sure.  The good news was that the table-top was a bit longer than I measured during my rush at Pacific Industrial Supply  (yup, that mistake again).  The metal thicknesses and some other creative tricks actually made it possible for me to complete the project without having to go back to pick up more material.

At least it's (mostly) level.  Hopefully my projects made on it will turn out better than it did itself. :)

My cross to bear

At the last minute, I decided to spruce up our house for Halloween. The lasagna gardening patch that Alyssa is working on reminded me of freshly buried bodies, so why not a cemetery? I then waited a few days, as I was feeling pretty sick (still am today, but better), and went out on the town to buy some fake gravestones. I got the last one at Target on the 30th ($5), and then headed over to Display & Costume to pick up a few more. Talk about busy!! They had a parking attendant directing traffic! Their styrofoam gravestones were $20, so I opted for two of their $3.75 ones (pictured below)



As we were still short on graves, I made some iron crosses to practice my welds. Best weld is pictured below. If I didn't botch the end with the extra MIG wire it would have been darn near perfect.



I then hid some LED lights behind bricks & aimed them at the crosses.

Alyssa had just bought an LED candle holder, which I placed in front of her creepy painting. The height was perfect for the lamp!

We closed the curtains, and back lit them with 25 watt florescent lights that I put in the flood lamps I usually use to take Art From Scratch pictures with. I covered them with red gel filters.

At night, it actually looked somewhat impressive! The way the colors came out on this photo remind me of Tim Burton's style :)

Yes, I did some Photoshop work, but not too much. I used a tripod & shot 3 images at different exposure settings, then blended them together for the best lighting. Otherwise, the door & windows would have been blown out. I also gave it a slight vignette at the edges to highlight the center more. Click on all images for enlargements!

1st Weld!

I bought a used MIG welder from my friend over the weekend & finally had the time to try it out. This is the first weld that I tried on it, trying to set the wire speed, etc... Not too bad considering it's been at least 5 years since I've used a MIG, the metal was really dirty, and my clamp wasn't the right one for the job.


It'll make a nice logo change above :)

Weld Rainbow Makes For Neat Logo

I haven't done any metal work for quite some time. One of the big reasons is that I've been waiting to get some of my welding gear back from a friend who lost it in his overcrowded basement. (Yes, I'd still like it back, thanks)

I finally gave up and bought a new pair of oxy welding goggles. I took a close up of the metal's discoloration after I made a really large weld.

The bar was salvaged from the Freemont transfer station, languished in my garage for a few years, then had it's nasty rust knocked off with a grinder about a week ago. I then welded a bunch of stuff to it (The weld was about 2 inches from the discoloration). I absolutely love weld discoloration. It's like God's extra rainbows of love for people forced to breathe metal fumes all day.

Below is the unedited photo: