How to Build a Welding Table

UPDATE FROM JOHN P!: As you’ll see below, building your own welding table is a lot of work! So I’m now offering pre-built welding tables for less than you can even buy an unassembled kit!  There are multiple sizes available including:
– 40″ x 40″
– 50″ x 50″
– 40″ x 80″
– 50″ x 100″

Check ’em out!

Today we’ve got an unusual look at a super sweet piece of LOW tech gear that requires a little “how to” knowledge to assemble. Namely, a brand new welding table from the guys over at WeldTables.com. If you follow my How to Weld video that should be about all you need to know in order to pick up one of these kits and build your own cool table so you can offer your very own welding services!

How to Build a Welding Table – the Video

Tips and Techniques

• Remember, the most important thing – don’t OVER weld this table. There are so many weld points that it doesn’t need more than a small bead in each tab and slot. And welding too much will cause movement and warping of your super flat surface.
• Along the same lines, keep your welds short and cool. Move around the table as you weld to let the heat dissipate and try and keep everything even to prevent warping.
• This table is quite heavy, so be prepared with a buddy, or some sort of tool to help with the lifting. Take extra precautions because dropping this thing on yourself could be catastrophic.

Accessories For Your New Table

Some tools that work well with this type of surface (not included with table purchase):

• Inserta Clamp, Ratchet Action, 8-1/2 x 4, StrongHand (UERN5200)
• BuildPro Table Mount Clamp, 6-1/8 x 4-3/4 inch (PTT956K)

Precision Welding On Your New Table

Its one thing to have a super flat table, and being able to clamp to it is fantastic, but sometimes you also need the ability to square things up with jigs and fixtures. So here are a few of my favorites. You can find the complete list here.

Welder’s Angle Jigs

The clamps listed above are useful for highly mobile situations, but for heavier duty use or higher precision situations its a better idea to invest in welding jigs which will speed up the workflow and last much, much longer.

Northern Industrial Welders 90 degree Welding Angle Clamp – $55 on Amazon

This Northern Industrial 90 degree angle clamp is made of cast steel with slotted base mounting holes and copper plated screws to help withstand weld spatter.

The jig should hold materials up to 2 3/8 inches. One of the disadvantages of a basic jig like this one is that it lacks a quick adjust mechanism for rapidly clamping the material, such as those found on the Strong Hands jig listed later.

Bessey WSM-9 7-Inch 90 Degree Welder’s Angle Clamp – $116 on Amazon

This Bessey jig has a cast iron base, a copper clad forcing screw which resists getting fouled by slag and spatter, and built in oiling ports for the swivel points and screw.

It’s a one-handed, self-centering jig and fixture clamp capable of holding 2.5″ material for “T” joints, and 3.5″ miter joints. Generally, the oiling ports and precision construction make this a superior clamp, but not everyone is going to be willing to pay more than for the Northern Tool variant.

Bessey WSM-12 9-1/2-Inch Welders Angle Clamp – $150 on Amazon

The Bessey WSM-12 is the bigger brother to the WSM-9 with a larger material capacity that will take up to 4″ material for “T” joints, and 4.75″ miter joints on each side.

This clamp is worth the month if for no reason other than simply the larger capacity. In the long run, you want to purchase a few tools as possible to do as many jobs as possible.

Multi-Axis Welder’s Angle Jigs

Strong Hand Tools Multi-Axis Welder’s Angle Clamp with Fixture Vise – 3 Axis, Model# WAC35-SW – $223 on Amazon

This is my personal tool of choice, but it’s useful to see all the options in a wide range of prices. Personally, I purchased 4 of the Strong Hand Multi Axis Welder claps. These jigs will accommodate up to 3.75 inch square or round material at 90 degrees for secure fixturing during welding.

These are heavy duty jigs that will last a lifetime (and then some). Precision milled surfaces on the cast steel platform make for extremely even and repeatable joints, and the quick adjust buttons on the clamps allow you to very rapidly mount and clamp material without having to thread the screws in and out the entire length of the screw.

These clamps can be used for simple 90 degree two way welds, or to create an entire 90 degree corner. And I’ve used mine many, many times. They take all the worry out of building something with perfect angles. I know they are an investment, but a set of these will replace every single other clamp on this list. And frankly if you can narrow it down to just one set of tools for every possible job that is worth paying the extra money to me.

Ok, so that’s it! If you have any questions or comments drop them below or Tweet me @JohnPoz and I’ll get right on it.