Thread: Steel benchtop?

A friend of mine had a bench like that and he did pretty much what you're suggesting.
He did some extensive welding on it and came back an hour or so later to find a lot of smoke coming out from under the table.
He was lucky he didn't burn his shed down.

It's probably safer to weld on top of an exposed timber bench (I did this for many years) where at least you can see if you've started a fire, but if you do a lot of welding you're better off making an all steel bench

Rip the top, ends and rails off. Replace the rails with 100 mm C section and use similar to join them. Then drop a 4mm sheet of mild steel over the top. Your castors should still move after that...they won't with 10mm!

Originally Posted by BobL

He did some extensive welding on it and came back an hour or so later to find a lot of smoke coming out from under the table.
He was lucky he didn't burn his shed down.

Blimey, good point....thank you!

I'm with BobL. The risk of an unseen burn is a problem. Have you given serious consideration to a mini weld bench? My daughter refers to mine as "The Lazy Susan." It consists of a piece of 12mm plate 800 x 500 mounted on a 50 x 50 x 4 steel angle frame supported on four 50mm braked castors.
It stands 750mm high making it the perfect height to sit at and weld. The top overhangs the frame by 150mm all round. This allows the user to be able to breast the bench without getting a lap full of spatter. The bottom angle frame extends beyond the legs by 150mm to compensate for the top overhang. Top is fastened to the frame by 4 countersunk M6 bolts with wingnuts underneath for quick removal of the top so it"s not too heavy for one person to carry.
I have built tractor grapples, FEL buckets, stock feeders, rippers and carried out all sorts of welding repairs on it and have seldom been handicapped by the small size.
The biggest advantage of all is the ability to be able to rotate the whole thing (table and the welding job on it) with the flick of the wrist and weld the other side, without having to leave the chair or drag hoses.

Originally Posted by rustynail

Have you given serious consideration to a mini weld bench?

No, not at all. That is very interesting and could work nicely. But I do find myself working on longer pieces....and I only really have space for one bench. That other one just gets used as a dumping ground.

I really like what you're saying though. I'll think about it

Originally Posted by Elill

No, not at all. That is very interesting and could work nicely. But I do find myself working on longer pieces....and I only really have space for one bench. That other one just gets used as a dumping ground.

I really like what you're saying though. I'll think about it

For long pieces I just use a roller stand.

Based on your situation, I would try and sell that bench and make steel bench for your metalwork. If you want to do some woodwork you can throw a piece of ply or mdf on the steel top temporarily. That is what I am currently doing until I get the opportunity to build a dedicated wooden bench.

Cheers Andrew

Originally Posted by AJ.

Based on your situation, I would try and sell that bench and make steel bench for your metalwork. If you want to do some woodwork you can throw a piece of ply or mdf on the steel top temporarily.

Ideally that's what I'd do. One thought I did just have was to take the top off and turn the base into a dual miter saw stand. Miter saw at one end and my cold saw at the other.

Then buy a steel bench