Welding table construction advice needed

[gtotto]

Hey guys,

I need some advice on a welding table design. I have 4 large metal storage cabinets that I plan to attach to one another and create the "base" of the table. The cabinets are 38 inches tall and are not strong enough to support a heavy table top or handle significant abuse. My plan is to build a frame around the cabinets out of square 1/8 thick tubing and mount the cabinets inside the table frame. Being that the cabinets are 38 inches tall, the addtion of 2x2 square tubing would bring the height of the frame to 42 inches (not including the top). My issue then is the casters. I need the table to move around freely and need to add wheels. Any load appropriate casters I have seen would add a minimum of 3 inches to the overall height of the table, bringing it to approximately 45 inches tall. Now I would prefer a higher work surface but is 45" too high? I thought of switching out the 2x2 tubing for 1.5 x 3 which would save me an inch in height. Would it be wise to mount caster mounting brackets "outboard" of the table frame instead of underneath? The table would be used for many purposes in my home garage/shop but would not be subjected to crazy industrial loads. I would probably plan on using a 3/8 to 1/2 thick table top. Any suggestions would be very helpful.

Thanks
Ken

[astroracer]

Hey Ken,
Could you use angle iron instead of tubing for the frames? Use the angle to clove over the cabinets. That would gain some "working" height for your casters. Of course you will have to make sure you can open the doors AND get the cabinets into the frame after it's assembled. Build the lower frame "closed" so the cabinets will sit inside it and the upper "open" so they will slide down inside. The open upper frame will also give you a nice lip for bolting or welding on the top.
Putting the casters on the ends of the table would make the locks easier to access as compared to setting (or hiding) them under the table.
To make the cabinet easy to roll I would suggest at least a 5" caster and as wide as you can afford.

[exwestracer]

"Correct" height would largely depend on what you plan on welding on top of it. 45" seems kind of high, but would be pretty comfortable to stand at and weld smaller projects. Any large structures would have you reaching up in a hurry.

Don't see where you said how big the top area would be, but a 1/2" plate top will overload most 3" casters before your table gets very big...

[gtotto]

Hey Ken,
Could you use angle iron instead of tubing for the frames? Use the angle to clove over the cabinets. That would gain some "working" height for your casters. Of course you will have to make sure you can open the doors AND get the cabinets into the frame after it's assembled. Build the lower frame "closed" so the cabinets will sit inside it and the upper "open" so they will slide down inside. The open upper frame will also give you a nice lip for bolting or welding on the top.
Putting the casters on the ends of the table would make the locks easier to access as compared to setting (or hiding) them under the table.
To make the cabinet easy to roll I would suggest at least a 5" caster and as wide as you can afford.

I was thinking of a way to use angle iron as well. The cabinet fronts only have about 1" of exposed face frame and the rest is all door so I dont think that allows my much wiggle room. My original plan was to build 2 identical rectangles out of tubing (both with cross bracing) and slide the cabinets inside. The "rectangles" would be separated by vertical tube legs cut to the same height of the cabinets (plus a 1/4" or so just in case). The lower structure would have cross bracing to support the cabinets and the top structure would have cross bracing to support the top plate. The overall top plate, with overhang etc would be a little larger than 3x6. I think maybe I could add some angle iron to the sides of the structure as a mounting location for casters. I could possibly weld the angle iron high enough off the floor to only allow 1' or so of the caster wheel to protrude from the bottom of the overall structure. That way any size caster would add only a little height. The iron would obviously have to be wide enough to allow the casters to rotate 360 degrees.

[gtotto]

"Correct" height would largely depend on what you plan on welding on top of it. 45" seems kind of high, but would be pretty comfortable to stand at and weld smaller projects. Any large structures would have you reaching up in a hurry.

Don't see where you said how big the top area would be, but a 1/2" plate top will overload most 3" casters before your table gets very big...

I figured that it would be a comfortable height for small parts and anything larger would have to be done on the floor. I would really like to incorporate the cabinets into the plan as they can hold a lot of the mess I currently have strewn around the garage. Unfortunately I cannot do much to change the height of the cabinets themselves. The plate would be a little larger than 3x6. I have found some 3 inch casters that are rated to 300lbs. I "assume" that would mean a total of 1200lbs?? The top could possibly be 3/8 or whatever since it will be used for a general "lighter" duty.

[gtotto]

I think I may have found a solution It could be moved around easily when needed. Maybe the best solution since this method won't effect my height issues.

[raustinss]

Make the casters mount to "s" shaped flat bar out the ends...set the height to whatever is comfortable for you...not what others suggest...remember it really does depend on your height a 6'6" guy would work much higher the a 5'6" guy. The bigger the caster the easier it will roll...weigh the cabinets...use angle iron..weigh it and whatever is going in the cabinets. I bet you'd be surprised as to how much it all weighs. Keep in mind the top can be wood and covered with anything from 10ga. To 3/8"....good luck ryan

[Coburn_Performance]

Looks great. I've got a couple of tables that I use for fab work out in the garage (just putting this here for those that might search). The main table is an old drafting motorized bench. It has ball screw driven racks and can lift 1000 lbs. I've put 10 ga pans on the top with 1" tube frames underneath. With the torch holders and grinder rack it's awesome for major work but takes up a lot of space as the top is 32" X 60" (it also does duty as an assembly bench and out feed table for my table saw).

Here it is.





My other table is two cheap metal saw horses topped by a 1" tube frame with 3/4 plywood top and a 16 ga metal surface. I love it as I can just fold it all up and hide it in the corner. The top is 24" X 48".

[exwestracer]

Looks great. I've got a couple of tables that I use for fab work out in the garage (just putting this here for those that might search). The main table is an old drafting motorized bench. It has ball screw driven racks and can lift 1000 lbs. I've put 10 ga pans on the top with 1" tube frames underneath. With the torch holders and grinder rack it's awesome for major work but takes up a lot of space as the top is 32" X 60" (it also does duty as an assembly bench and out feed table for my table saw).

Here it is.

That's pretty trick!

[69stang]

Pics of the cabinets? Can you integrate the framing for the table inside the cabinets using tubing or angle? Just a thought.