Thread: Steel plate for welding table

Gee, 1000 X 1000 X 12 plate couldn't really be called scrap.
I reckon you may nearly need to approach a steel retailer or fabricator and get a piece ripped off a plate, possibly even a 500 X 1800 or 500 X 2400 piece that you then turn into a 900 X 1000 or 1000 X 1200 piece.

Originally Posted by Karl Robbers

Gee, 1000 X 1000 X 12 plate couldn't really be called scrap.

Since I retired last year I have done a scrap steel "milk run" around a few salvage yards and steel suppliers about every month. The biggest piece of scrap 12mm plate I have found has been some circular pates about 450 mm in diameter. I did find a 2400 x 1200 piece of 3/4" thick plate that was advertised on gumtree for $150 and thought that would make a great bench top until I found out it was used as construction road way plate so it was buckled well beyond that sort of use.

Originally Posted by BobL

Since I retired last year I have done a scrap steel "milk run" around a few salvage yards and steel suppliers about every month. The biggest piece of scrap 12mm plate I have found has been some circular pates about 450 mm in diameter. I did find a 2400 x 1200 piece of 3/4" thick plate that was advertised on gumtree for $150 and thought that would make a great bench top until I found out it was used as construction road way plate so it was buckled well beyond that sort of use.

Wow 3/4" ! How did you plan to transport that monster? And then make a bench out of it?

I used to get all my steel from Sims in Spearwood before I moved east in 2006. They had loads of second hand steel and plate of pretty well any size you wanted. Good prices also.

Originally Posted by Marc

Wow 3/4" ! How did you plan to transport that monster? And then make a bench out of it?

The plan was to borrow a tree lopper mates Hiab and bring the plate back to his yard and break it up with an oxy.
I only wanted a piece that was 600 x 900 (80kg) as the top for my bench and I was going to leave the remainder at the tree loppers.

I made my welding table with two parallel flanges C channel 380x100x900, well over 100K
I bolted them together with 19mm bolts and tack weld them from below and to the steel frame. Way over engineered but at the time ... 25 years ago, I worked with BHP in their wiremill and scrap steel was plentiful...
Jeee, 25 years ago ... remind me of that line at the end of the expendables when Silvester Stllone gets his Grumman Albatross back. -"That belongs in a museum" ... and the reply: -We all do!
ha ha