Build A Welding Table

Admit it: You’ve always wanted to learn how to weld. This pro will show you how.

- Mark Petersen

Welding intimidates a lot of people, even some of us hardcore DIYers. And that’s a shame because welding opens up a whole new world of household repairs and cool projects. We asked a pro welder to demonstrate some basic techniques by building a welding table. She’ll walk you through each step and provide helpful tips along the way.

A metal welding table is the perfect project to start with because you can build all your future welding projects on it. The materials will cost about $160.

This table was built using a Lincoln 210MP. This machine can function as a MIG (metal inert gas/wire feed) welder, a TIG (tungsten inert gas) welder and a stick welder, but we used the MIG wire-feed function. To learn more about the equipment needed to get started in welding, including advice on how to choose a machine, check out our March ‘18 issue, p. 16.

1. CUT METAL WITH A CHOP SAW

Fourteen-inch metal-cutting saws like this, outfitted with an abrasive blade, cost $100 to $200. These saws can cut bricks and pavers as well. A large metal-cutting saw with carbide teeth cuts metal like butter and with less burrs, but it will set you back more than $250. Never put a carbide-tooth blade on an abrasive saw because this saw runs at twice the rpm, a speed that could destroy the blade or worse. Miter saws designed to cut wood also spin too fast for metal-cutting blades, and since their motors aren’t sealed, the metal chips and shavings can destroy the motor.

2. GRIND THE EDGES