Welding Tips and Tricks

So I screwed up making my welding bench last year, 1/8 wall tubing and 3/16” top, about 4’ square. Well problem is I didn’t pay attention when welding the frame to the top and it pulled the edges down so the tops not flat. I’ve finally had enough of the top not flat. So is my best bet to cut the welds and remove the old top? If I set a new plate on top then I’m gonna have to find a way to anchor it without making it bow too. Was thinking of going with 1/4 this time.

3/16" for a top is way too thin anyways. 3/8" is what I would do if I needed to, maybe 1/2" if I could score a good deal on it. As for securing it, use counter-sunk bolts so that way there is nothing protruding on the top, and you don't have to weld the top to anything.

Cut the welds you have now. You don't want a warped metal surface as the base for anything. If you lay another piece of 1/4" on top and secure it to the bottom plate, you will have a surface that is neither solid, nor flat unless you screw the two together across the field of the table every 12" or so. Even then, you can warp the two when welding them at the corners.

Your corner welds don't need to be substantial; just a 1/2" stitch on 2 sides of each leg would do.

Oscar wrote:3/16" for a top is way too thin anyways. 3/8" is what I would do if I needed to, maybe 1/2" if I could score a good deal on it. As for securing it, use counter-sunk bolts so that way there is nothing protruding on the top, and you don't have to weld the top to anything.

+1 on counter sunk bolts. The nice thing about this approach is #1 you can use shims as necessary to get your top flatter than you can with just welding. #2 You can flip the top over in couple of years once one side gets messed up beyond repair