Where do you do your welding?

[jmk89]

At the moment, I stick weld outside on a paved area and use the Hibachi BBQ as a work support. But I would like to be able to do some work at night and indoors.

So what sort of welding station do you use?

I am thinking of making a booth out of aluminium checker plate which would sit on a few hardwood strips on top of my assembly bench, so that it can be removed when I want to use the bench for that purpose... Should this work? How thick should I make it (3mm/5mm/6mm)?

PS If I get a chance, I will draw something later and add it to this post later today.

[glock40sw]

G'day.

I use an old hospital bed.
It has a foot operated hydraulic pump lifter.
It works on the scissor lift principal so is height adjustable.
Cut off all the usless bits with the angle grinder.
Weld a 1.8m x0.9mx 3mm steel plate on top.
Best outdoor bench going.
It even has castors with brakes on each corner.
Is great for working on the push mower or anything else that you would normaly have to sit or squat down to do.

I also have made ramps so that I can drive the ride-on mower onto the table for blade changes etc etc.

When welding on it, I have some hooks welded on the sides for hanging grinders and things off of, so you haven't got them in the way.
A piece of 38mm pipe is welded on one corner at an angle for the MIG gun to rest in when not in use.

There are 2 small metal draws down each side under the table for chalk, grinding wheels, tips, etc etc.

I'm currenty looking for another bed to convert. But this one will be an electric one.:2tsup:

[Grahame Collins]

Hi JMK 89

Similiar to Trevor's bench, mine is basically a frame on castors.Fixed benches are a pain the bum and at some point get in the way. At least two of the castors need brakes.

I have had a couple and what seems to work best for me has a light top. A 6mm top plate is fine with uprights tacked on for screwed boards to attaching racks for tools. Working holding tools and fixtures such as a light vice and a home made welding positioner are attachments and are removable when I need more room.

I have a new bench on the back burner based on a old office table to utilise the drawers accessible storage.

Getting the height adjusted for your working comfort is important too.

Grahame

[jmk89]

Thanks for the responses Trevor and Grahame. At the moment the stuff I am making doesn't need anything large, but I get the points you make, I think. When I get around to making larger items a moveable bench would be a great thing.

Should I make my welding station from steel plate or aluminium or something else?

How much spatter protection do you think you need? If you have your bench up against a wall, should the spatter protection be part of the bench or attached to the wall? What should you use for spatter protection?

So many questions...

BTW I have read this thread: http://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=47613

Maybe what I need is a piece of steel plate welded to a frame and dynabolted to the wall that hinges down onto the assembly table and stands on short legs with some CFC (compressed fibre cement) on the wall behind to deal with spatter issues.

[glock40sw]

I wouldn't use Ali for a welding bench.
Steel is good. As for spatter, I use Mig with Gas so there isn't much spatter.
I do most of my welding outside under the carport attached to my shed.
When welding Aluminium, Ali spatter is a real problem. It goes everywhere.

[DavidG]

Outside on the thing I broke.

[joe greiner]

I wouldn't use Ali for a welding bench.
Steel is good.

A steel top also enables use of magnetic work holders. Such as these: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47075

Joe

[BobL]

I have 600 x 600 mm bench made from an old bed frame fitted with a 4" engineers vice that I do metal work on. The top is made from 50 x 150 mm thick jarrah and when I weld I cover the timber with a piece of 3 mm thick steel plate. I usually use the vice as part of the clamping system to hold the bits together.

My wood lathe is only about 600 mm away from that vice so when I weld I cover it with a piece of lino. However I rarely weld any big stuff at home - if I need to use rods any bigger than 2.5 mm I do that at work where there is a big welding table.

I always hang around after I have welded to check nothing is burning

[Gra]

on the floor on top of two bricks......

Dont think I am joking either. I have the pants with a burnt crotch to prove it, not recomended. I have an old desk frame, made from square steel tube, that I am at the moment turning into a welding bench, hopefully that will work better than the current set up. not sure what sort of top to put on it though, still under consideration (It has a square reo top at the moment)

[Andy Mac]

Small stuff gets welded in my pokey little bay, pictured below. It has a steel bench section, some fire bricks, a removable clamping thingo and a cutting bin, surrounded by fibro. Longer work could get poked through the hydraulic press on the right, I have used it to clamp things too, and I can lift out the LH panel of fibro which has a steel frame. Otherwise, larger stuff I do directly on the concrete floor, which I like doing and always have...more room without falling off benches or moving horses; flat etc and I use chalk for laying out.

Cheers,

[BobL]

Small stuff gets welded in my pokey little bay, pictured below

I dream of having a set up like that in my shed!

[jmk89]

larger stuff I do directly on the concrete floor, which I like doing and always have...more room without falling off benches or moving horses; flat etc and I use chalk for laying out.

Cheers,

Andy

I wondered whether I could do that..It seems like a good solution until I get round to getting a sheet of 6mm steel to make into a bench. What do you use for knee protection (which has always been my objection to wortking on the ground)?

[Andy Mac]

Andy

I wondered whether I could do that..It seems like a good solution until I get round to getting a sheet of 6mm steel to make into a bench. What do you use for knee protection (which has always been my objection to wortking on the ground)?

I never bothered with anything when I was younger, then (with self-preservation is setting in:p) I used little scraps of carpet, but now I use offcuts of woollen felt which doesn't ignite and smoulder! I can get heaps of it, some to 10mm thick, from etching press blankets. If I was more of a consumer (not a scrounger:-), I guess I could buy those knee guards for gardening or skateboarding, just make sure no sparks get trapped between trousers and pad!

Cheers,

[malb]

Fibro for the enclosing walls seems to be a good idea, hot stuff wont burn into it.

Welders that I used to work with liked leather chaps and leg protectors, but maybe a leather blacksmith/polishers apron would be usefull personal protection as well.

[Grahame Collins]

I always hang around after I have welded to check nothing is burning

A very good point Bob.
Its one which I don't talk about enough. As one who has had it happen,
I can tell you about a fire caused by welding operations.
( sparks from a grinder in my case ) There is nothing more scary to flip up your visor and see a wall of flame.

I had let the sparks go over a solid flash shield and set an oxy cart on fire.

Have you ever seen one of the old CIG Monitor gauges melted down the side of a cylinder. I have.

Grahame

[Grahame Collins]

I have a couple of benches but made to the same height. I spread em out for the bigger jobs.

Another handy thing to have on or near your bench is a fire blanket.
I have a couple made from what I think is Kevlar.


Grahame

[journeyman Mick]

......... There is nothing more scary to flip up your visor and see a wall of flame.............


I was welding up the handrails on a set of stairs one afternoon, thinking that it was getting really hot with the western exposure. Flipped up my visor to find that all the dry mulch in the garden bed I was standing in was well alight and that my jeans were starting to smoulder.:o:doh::B

Mick the flammable