andrewmacc
Canadian Wonderboy
I have had the privilege of using my girlfriend's father's very large and very well stocked shop (but unfortunately not a very tidy one) for the past year and a half. I've been able to use it to work on my trucks past and present, and to perform a custom V8 motor swap into my Jeep..
but now it's time to move everything back home for now.
One thing I've learned from work is that there is nothing more conducive to good work than three things:
- good tools
- a good concrete floor
- and a good table
Everything else can be managed one way or another.
Back at my parent's home, I have no good table to use (I also suffer from what's called starving student syndrome, so unfortunately I can't buy a place of my own yet!). There is a wooden bench made of plywood and some 2x4s and it can move about three inches from side to side when you push on it.
(Also the garage is a total disaster, so I spurred my retired father onto tackling this spring cleaning project with me, so the following pictures are a tornado of junk and scrap and hopefully when the dust settles, the garage will be spick and span!)
My table is made from scrap metal that I hauled away from the scrap yard.. incidentally, I was there to drop off scrap metal, and in fact I picked up even more. 650lbs of it, in fact.
Frame: 3"x3" by 1/4" thick tubing
Top: 7'x3'-ish 3/8" plate, used
38" tall, with a "corner table", 3" overhang for clamping on the front, 1.5" on the right, none on the left and rear (shoves into the corner of the garage).
At first I just wanted to trim it down so I could transport it with the tailgate up.
Couldn't think of a minimal effort way to get the plate out of the truck, so I folded a thick washer in half and made a lifting lug. For some reason my welding cart is in Cloverdale and the MIG welder is in Maple Ridge, and I didn't feel like hauling the dead weight around the shop so I just boogered it on with the stick welder.
I got lucky and I had already decided that the current top side was becoming the bottom, so I don't mind actually leaving the lug there. Never know.
Like a charm.
Just generally hit the plate with a wire wheel, nothing fancy. This is a bare bones table.
Lined up some tube for a straight edge and fired up the plasma to lop that chunk off.
And oops! Cranked the plasma cutter to 40 amps, pulled the trigger and POP, she died in a small puff of flame.
So I fired up the oxy/acetylene with the tanks running on a whisper of pressure left and got it off. Been a while since I used a torch, and I'm used to the bigger torches. Just needs a little cleaning up.
No miter joints on this table, just not necessary for a bare bones working table.
Got the legs cut out too, not seen. The little pile on the left is all the leftover tube.
I actually wish I hadn't beveled the tube for welding, I made the landing too thin and had to work a little bit not to blow through. I'm really not a big fan of 6013 rod, Idunno why, I would have liked some 7014 but it was late and the stores were closed for the stat. But it worked although I'm a little rusty.
I want to cap the bottom of the legs, run a middle brace, and think about tying all the legs together.
More posts coming in a sec.
but now it's time to move everything back home for now.
One thing I've learned from work is that there is nothing more conducive to good work than three things:
- good tools
- a good concrete floor
- and a good table
Everything else can be managed one way or another.
Back at my parent's home, I have no good table to use (I also suffer from what's called starving student syndrome, so unfortunately I can't buy a place of my own yet!). There is a wooden bench made of plywood and some 2x4s and it can move about three inches from side to side when you push on it.
(Also the garage is a total disaster, so I spurred my retired father onto tackling this spring cleaning project with me, so the following pictures are a tornado of junk and scrap and hopefully when the dust settles, the garage will be spick and span!)
My table is made from scrap metal that I hauled away from the scrap yard.. incidentally, I was there to drop off scrap metal, and in fact I picked up even more. 650lbs of it, in fact.
Frame: 3"x3" by 1/4" thick tubing
Top: 7'x3'-ish 3/8" plate, used
38" tall, with a "corner table", 3" overhang for clamping on the front, 1.5" on the right, none on the left and rear (shoves into the corner of the garage).
At first I just wanted to trim it down so I could transport it with the tailgate up.
Couldn't think of a minimal effort way to get the plate out of the truck, so I folded a thick washer in half and made a lifting lug. For some reason my welding cart is in Cloverdale and the MIG welder is in Maple Ridge, and I didn't feel like hauling the dead weight around the shop so I just boogered it on with the stick welder.
I got lucky and I had already decided that the current top side was becoming the bottom, so I don't mind actually leaving the lug there. Never know.
Like a charm.
Just generally hit the plate with a wire wheel, nothing fancy. This is a bare bones table.
Lined up some tube for a straight edge and fired up the plasma to lop that chunk off.
And oops! Cranked the plasma cutter to 40 amps, pulled the trigger and POP, she died in a small puff of flame.
So I fired up the oxy/acetylene with the tanks running on a whisper of pressure left and got it off. Been a while since I used a torch, and I'm used to the bigger torches. Just needs a little cleaning up.
No miter joints on this table, just not necessary for a bare bones working table.
Got the legs cut out too, not seen. The little pile on the left is all the leftover tube.
I actually wish I hadn't beveled the tube for welding, I made the landing too thin and had to work a little bit not to blow through. I'm really not a big fan of 6013 rod, Idunno why, I would have liked some 7014 but it was late and the stores were closed for the stat. But it worked although I'm a little rusty.
I want to cap the bottom of the legs, run a middle brace, and think about tying all the legs together.
More posts coming in a sec.
