Welding and Metalworking Table

[Heavy Metal Welder76]

I fabricated a workbench for welding and metalworking out of 1 in. square tubing. The dimensions are 59 in. length and 40 in. width. The height of the 4 legs is 35 in. The top square frame (59 in. X 40 in.) is reinforced with more square tubing running inside the square frame along the length and width. On the lower end I welded angle to the legs as support for sheet metal. The top of the whole thing is a 1/4 inch sheet metal, steel as well. Although I have not welded the 1/4 sheet metal top to the frame.

I want to attach a vise to this table and be able to cut with a hacksaw by hand. The trouble is that it shakes too much and I am not sure on a solution. I suspect that maybe the legs are too long and that they need to be cut down some. But I am not sure on how to make it sturdier. Any suggestions would be great!

[MMW]

Can you post a picture? That would be most helpful. It may be a bad design or it could also be the legs are not sturdy enough.

If you shake it with your hands & let go does it keep shaking for a moment? Maybe an x-brace in the horizontal plane about a 12" from the bottom might stiffen it up.

A good welding table is usually very heavy & designed for strength. 1" square tubing for legs is very "lightweight" & is most likely flexing.

[Heavy Metal Welder76]

Unfortunately, I am unable to post a picture for now. To answer one of your questions, when I shake it with my hands and then let go it keeps on shaking for a little while, although it eventually stops. I'm thinking an X-brace is welding a piece of material from one leg to the diagonally opposite leg and then doing the same for the other pair of legs.

[MMW]

Yes on the x brace but it can also go from the top of one leg to the bottom of the other leg on the same side. Like an upright x on each of the four sides or a laid down x about a foot from the floor.

I am thinking the tubing you used for legs is just to lightweight & you will be chasing the shaking by putting in brace after brace until it's sturdy enough. A picture or drawing would really help to see if it even is engineered ok & where the best place for braces would be or maybe just cut off the legs & get bigger tubing. Kind of flying blind here.

[BennettSmith]

I think if you can attach pics that would be really helpful to see the kind the work you have done.

A good welding table is usually very heavy & designed for strength. 1" square tubing for legs is very "lightweight" & is most likely flexing.

[Oldgrandad]

I think you need to lose the 1" square legs and use at least 1 1/2 " square or 1 1/2" pipe legs. Just sayin

[FusionKing]

If you make a welding "TABLE" ........it is always gonna shake
What you need is a welding "BENCH"
Even tho we refer to them as welding tables here, almost everyone actually makes more of a bench. Having structure to provide for a lower shelf or something of that nature, helps tremendously with the diagonal twisting and flexing.
Think of it more like a cabinet without the outer skin. You will need bracing around the perimeter of the bottom.
A 1" frame is piddelly diddelly stuff compared to a 1/4" top. You will need to make a new table from something like 2" and put much more thought into the design. I generally imagine using wood type construction, and how would you best use wood in that instance......then when you use metal it tends to be overkill.

Overkill is what you want when you make something like a welding "TABLE"
Google is your friend. Keyword, welding table, then click images
Just my opinion....HTH