So here is what I have been up to in my spare time for about the last month. My buddy scored me this welding table for next to nothing. Its 4'4" x 3'2" x 3/4 plate top and main legs are 5x5x3/8 angle so it is pretty stout. The big issue was its height at only 29" tall it was fine for a sit down welding table except the rail at the bottom didnt exactly cooperate with that either and I really wanted a table that would double as a work table to use around my mill and lathe.
So first order of business was extending the legs to get things at the height I wanted. Luckily the top was only held on by 8 bolts so I was able to remove it with the help of a hydraulic lift table I have and my friends help.
So next thing I really wanted was the table to be moveable as I really dont want it setting smack in the middle of the shop all the time where it is most useful when machining but I also want to mount a large vise on it and dont want it on wheels all the time. Since it will weight around 1000lbs when I am done it should be plenty heavy to anchor a large vise in place.
So after a few different thoughts I took a coworkers idea and ordered a set of cheapish air bags.
I then started designing the lift mechanism, luckily this is the kind of stuff I do for a living. So solids modeling it is.
After scrounging up some material that i needed and finding yet another use for an old roadsign post I have had for 15+ years i started machining the parts. A couple of evenings later I had everything all tacked in place
So I took it back apart and stripped all the paint I could before giving it some fresh rustoleum paint. Notice I was getting the cold shoulder from the shop supervisor for a disagreement regarding my priorities in the shop. Paint vs throwing his ball.
Then finally got the top put back on it Saturday after stripping the top of all the mill scale. What a miserable job... It still has a few things to finish up but back to being functional as is. Right now 50psi in the bags puts it on its limit stops and one guy can roll it around without issue. The bags are both plumbed to a small manifold on the left hand side of the box that has a schrader valve for hooking my milwaukee m12 inflator to and a dump valve to let the air back out.
So first order of business was extending the legs to get things at the height I wanted. Luckily the top was only held on by 8 bolts so I was able to remove it with the help of a hydraulic lift table I have and my friends help.
So next thing I really wanted was the table to be moveable as I really dont want it setting smack in the middle of the shop all the time where it is most useful when machining but I also want to mount a large vise on it and dont want it on wheels all the time. Since it will weight around 1000lbs when I am done it should be plenty heavy to anchor a large vise in place.
So after a few different thoughts I took a coworkers idea and ordered a set of cheapish air bags.
I then started designing the lift mechanism, luckily this is the kind of stuff I do for a living. So solids modeling it is.
After scrounging up some material that i needed and finding yet another use for an old roadsign post I have had for 15+ years i started machining the parts. A couple of evenings later I had everything all tacked in place
So I took it back apart and stripped all the paint I could before giving it some fresh rustoleum paint. Notice I was getting the cold shoulder from the shop supervisor for a disagreement regarding my priorities in the shop. Paint vs throwing his ball.
Then finally got the top put back on it Saturday after stripping the top of all the mill scale. What a miserable job... It still has a few things to finish up but back to being functional as is. Right now 50psi in the bags puts it on its limit stops and one guy can roll it around without issue. The bags are both plumbed to a small manifold on the left hand side of the box that has a schrader valve for hooking my milwaukee m12 inflator to and a dump valve to let the air back out.
