I did a post a while back describing a TIG table I hacked together. It's made a big improvement because my arms and hands are now steady. But it has become a tad cumbersome as I need to pull out the heavy plate everytime I use it. The one legged support was also a little too unstable for me now that I have used it a lot, and is a bit of a tripping hazard. So I embarked on some improvements this weekend. First I did some reinforcing to my bench. I added a cross member, then welded in some telescoping tube for supports. Finally I added some weldable hinges to a piece of 1/8" plate. I love weldable hinges.
Now I just have to flip up the table, pull out the telescopic supports, and I am good to go. It seems much more stable, is easier to setup, and (best of all), was just reclaimed metal. I had a little chuckle when one of the scrap pieces of tubing was a couple inches too short and thought, "Gee, if only a guy had a welder (or two) and some left over pieces from my first cut, he could avoid a trip to an expensive metal store." That's a great feeling.
An ancillary benefit of it seems to be that when flipped upwards (Pic 1), I can put a garbage bag over it and use it as a backsplash for spray painting.
I still have to soften the edges as they are right in the testicular zone. So yeah...better fix that soon.
Now I just have to flip up the table, pull out the telescopic supports, and I am good to go. It seems much more stable, is easier to setup, and (best of all), was just reclaimed metal. I had a little chuckle when one of the scrap pieces of tubing was a couple inches too short and thought, "Gee, if only a guy had a welder (or two) and some left over pieces from my first cut, he could avoid a trip to an expensive metal store." That's a great feeling.
An ancillary benefit of it seems to be that when flipped upwards (Pic 1), I can put a garbage bag over it and use it as a backsplash for spray painting.
I still have to soften the edges as they are right in the testicular zone. So yeah...better fix that soon.
