Welding Tips and Tricks

Quick question, is it safe to hook a ground clamp from two different machines to the same table? Only one machine is running at a time but both clamps hooked up. is it safe or is it a bad idea?

Perfectly fine, even if both machines ARE used together.

On a factory floor, it's common to have many machines of different processes grounded to the same table, floor, or rails.

Steve S

Well that is what I thought, I just have one good place to ground to on the table so I constantly switch out clamps but I was just wondering if I could leave them both hooked up.

I have considered brazing or bolting on a copper or brass bar to a welding table to clamp my grounds on. This way I would always have a good ground and have a dedicated place for grounds to stay.
-Jonathan

Strangely copper / brass are lousy grounding points - I had one on a table but they oxidize so quickly & require cleaning - I now have an off cut of about 1" stainless steel round bar around 8" long welded to one table leg with all the machine earths on - works like a charm & never needs cleaning.

44 years has provided me with a chance to observe the condition of underground connections on driven ground rods, the clamps available are always bronze. rods are of steel coated with either hot dipped galvanized or copper plating at near double the cost. Consistently galvanized rod connections are lower in resistance than copper.
So the moral of my story is buy galvanized ground rods, they cost less, and work better.

On all connections whether auto. battery, aluminum heavy connections or permanent ground connections to a welding table, a liberal coating of NOALOX from IDEAL makes a connection virtually permanent. A permanent welding table is well served by a ground cable run from the welder, to the table routed on the wall or ceiling out of the way. Table terminals can be made or bought from K copper tubing, soldered and bolted to the table. Polish all surfaces and coat with Noalox, (available at Home Depot, Lowes, or any electrical supply. A second ground cable from the table terminal with spring clamp for middle of the floor projects, can be coiled and hung under the table when not in use.

We used a bar attached to our table and ran it off to the wall with a bend in it sticking up about a foot so we could ground everything remotely where all the wires would be out of the way behind the machines. Everything was always grounded that way. And if you needed something grounded off the table, just clamp a spare ground cable to the table, then to the part or run a piece of scrap between them. Easy business.