A good first project, weld up your own welding bench!
05 Flame Red TJ Build
- Thread starter JMT
- Start date
OP
I’m re-working the garage next year. I’m going to go ahead and re-work one surface, buy some sheet steel and plate the top of that section for welding so it will be part of one continuous section. I might leave the section underneath open so I can store the welder and cart underneath. I don’t have much space in the garage!
If you're going to just place it over the top of the existing surface, personally i would go with something thicker than sheet metal. it doesn't entirely mitigate heat transfer, but it certainly would slow it considerably, and as an added perk, depending on your setup you can potentially ground to it for small objects, and bang on it without damaging the subsurface
https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=welding table
Here it is. Watch for it to go on sale. It's $59.95 then.
Here it is. Watch for it to go on sale. It's $59.95 then.
No, just safety glasses under the hood for the splatter that inevitably finds it's way around the hood
Ah, I've never found that to be a problem.
I would suggest however, that those thin TIG welding gloves may not provide as much heat protection as you might need for wire feed welding.
OP
I’ll probably put 3/4” MDF or a birch ply underneath to bridge the section, and depending how wide reinforce at the wall (certainly with a ledge along the wall and both sides of the regular cabinet, then mount 1/8-3-16” steel on top (not sure how thick I need the steel flush with the surface on each side. How does that sound? Something like this.
Last edited:
OP
My plan is to get the whole wall with benchtop since I also do woodworking. With the vice strategically placed, welding area, cabinets and tool storage underneath and shelves above I‘m hoping to eliminate the need to move to a bigger place. LOL. The garage is just your typical neighborhood garage. I can’t remember the exact dimensions right now, but it’s really difficult to get the Yukon SLT in the garage. Fortunately the Jeep is so short it works with the extra Freezer and Refrigerator on my side. I’m thinking about extending the garage on one side 10ft wide and 8-10 feet back into the backyard. That would give me a bit more space. Just not sure it would be worth the $$$. It would be a DIY and includes the attic and roofline. Not too big a deal, but materials are still $$$$.
as long as they fit under the hood. they supply us with cheapo plastic glasses, and i got 50 pair layin everywhere.
handy to have a few tips around and a spare nozzle, once the ends hot dip the end of the gun into that nozzle gel and that'll help keep junk from stickin, 1 jar should last you forever. if your gettin alot of debris inside the nozzle your either runnin to much wire or your to tight on it and it's spatter has no exit.
regular C clamps work, those vice claps are great, they make a 12" deep throat too, i'll get a pic of all the clamps i use most often tomrw and my corner squares for y'all.
those welpers are the ticket they have a hole that fits your tip your cutter and they can be jammed in the nozzle to clean it. be sure the cutter works well it'll drive you insane if you have to wiggle off every cut, and get used to cutting that slag ball off every time so you get a clean arc start.
i have developed a habit of smackin the nozzle when i pull off a weld to knock the crap out, but that habit should depend on how sturdy the equipment is.
OP
OP
Great tips! Sounds like I’m pretty clamped up since I’ve got several C Clamps and four smaller 90* clamps. I did notice one clamp at HF that had an 11” throat. The two I got may be good enough for what I’m up to, but I’m sure I’ll find out as I make stuff. I still have to order some nozzle gel.
3/16 but 1/4's better you want something sturdy you can tack stuff to if needed. then stuff like spatter is gonna stick to it.
it's likely gonna need to get flat ground now and again to keep a clean surface.
3/16" minimum 1/4's better.
Most of the time I weld inside because of the wind at my house. Plus I don't have a paved driveway to roll the welder out onto.
But there might be times you might need to do something outside. You don't have to buy the table I'm just throwing it out there as a option.
OP
Oh, I know, and I appreciate the ideas. I really don’t know what kind of setup will work for me. I don’t know what I don’t know, but you guys know a lot so I’m listening.