Welding Station

September, 2023

I recently completed (and very much enjoyed) some fabrication classes at a local makerspace. I was instructed on MIG and TIG welding as well as plasma and acetylene torch cutting – lots of different options for metal fabrication. I decided I wanted to do more personal projects with welding, so I set forth to build a new welding station in my workshop. This turned out to be an extended project over many months because of the exceptionally long lead times required to get the needed components.

Welding Table

I knew I needed a flat, metal table for welding assembly, but did not want to invest thousands of dollars for a professional one that I saw online. A thick metal table top is key so I can clamp my welder’s ground to the surface and allow a good current flow, but also so it can handle heavy weights and heat without warping. After some research, I came across the Vevor Welding table which was 36″ x 24″ with adjustable height feet. It was small and cheap, but it meets my current needs and was inexpensive. I figure, it’s a good starter table and if it gets damaged, I can easily replace it with another. It came poorly packed, but arrived without damage. The table weighs about 45 pounds, so it is not flimsy or cheap-feeling.

After receiving and assembling the table, I learned the cost of my frugality: The holes on the top of the table were too small for standard tools. Bench dogs, clamps and other tools were designed for 3/4″ holes (19mm) and this had 16mm holes. I ended up buying some bench dogs and cutting them down on my metal lathe to fit the 16 mm holes. I also found that Klutch welding clamps are suited for 16mm, so I bought a set of them.

This table came with a set of accessories that I will likely not use. 4 C-clamps, a wire brush, a pair of welding gloves, and a hammer. Each of these is very poor quality and I expect them to fall apart if I used them. The only piece I might try is the hammer which will be useful for chipping away the slag and splatter. I already own much better options for all the others.

Fume Extractor

I have plans for a large, whole-shop exhaust fan to keep it cool during the hot summers and help with fume extraction. However, for now, I needed a smaller, portable fume extractor. After some research, I settled on the Vevor Solder Fume Extractor. It has a powerful 150W fan, with 3-stage filter and 3 speeds. I liked that it had 2 hoses so I can have one for my paint station and one for my welding station.

After some conversations with the vendor, I learned that this is really a white-labeled product and they don’t sell the replacement filters. After more research, I found that this product is actually made by OMTech which also sells the replacement filters. While Vevor gave me a great deal on the appliance, the replacement filters were much more expensive than I expected – almost half the cost of the product! Ouch! So, I bit the bullet and bought a replacement filter to have on-hand when I needed it. Not sure how long these will last, but good to have one on-hand.

Flooring

I love the finish on the slab floor of my workshop. It’s Polyaspartic with a layer of chips which is strong than epoxy and won’t yellow. While it’s a great floor for sawdust, it will not stand up to the torture of bits of molten metal landing on it from the welding process. So, I needed to find a way to protect it. After some research, I settled on Wearwell’s 24/Seven LockSafe Solid GR – interlocking rubber floor tiles.

These are specifically designed to support welding and the interlocking tiles allow for assurances that they won’t drift apart over time and expose the floor. Each tile is 3’x3′ so I planned to buy 4 to cover a 6’x6′ welding station. Additionally, I purchased 6 yellow edging strips. I only needed 6 (2 per side) since one side would be butted up against the wall.

I was fortunate that Wearwell recently announced a new successor product, so was able to get these at reduced prices. While I found several online companies that had them for sale, I found the freight charges to be outrageously high. Of course, these tiles are heavy, so I expected that the shipping charges would be significant, but each of these companies was charging premium prices for door-to-door tractor-trailer freight. Long story-short, I got around this by buying them through Amazon from several vendors in small batches and paid no shipping fees.

After arrival, the assembly was quick and easy. The most time-consuming part was to trim the corners of the edge strip, according to the directions. Once assembled, this became very difficult to move. These were heavy-duty tiles and gripped the floor, so I had to assemble them in place.

Welding Curtain

To further protect my floors, and other people that may be working in my shop, I decided to invest in a welding curtain on a track so I can close off the area while working. More research revealed several good options, but I decided to use Strip-Curtains.com because they had reasonable prices and a nice web site that let me easily order exactly what I needed. I did call and consult a sales rep before placing the order to confirm my understanding of the curtain length, and found him very helpful.

Again, the downside of my frugality was apparent as it ultimately took them 3 months to deliver my order after multiple follow-ups. They accidentally delivered 2 sets of curtains, which I confirmed I did not pay for the second set. While their customer service was friendly and responsive, they continually missed their estimated ship dates and offered no proactive communication during the process.

I decided on buying a 3-sided sliding curtain track with ceiling-mount brackets. I opted for curved track corners to allow for a continuous track. I also opted for a custom curtain comprised of 3 panels, each with 18 oz black opaque panels on top, then a 14 mil transparent yellow layer, then another 18 oz black opaque panel. All panels are made of weld-grade PVC and I’m really impressed with the quality.

I bought the 6′ length 16 gauge galvanized steel track which I cut to length to accommodate the curved corners. I roughly laid out the design on the floor, using the foam pads as a guide and cut the track to length. I then used clamps to temporarily hold the track to the ceiling joists as I made the necessary adjustments to fit everything. I then added 2×4’s to the ceiling joinsts to provide the needed mounting surfaces and used a combination of lag bolts and carriage bolts to affix the mounting brackets to the ceiling. This was a challenging process requiring many trips up a tall ladder to reach the 10′ ceiling – still a bit sore from all that climbing.

I bought a pack of 20 nylon roller hooks that fit inside the track as a part of the package. Not knowing how many holes where in each panel, I assumed that this would be enough. Unfortunately, I found that each panel has 7 holes which required a total of 21 roller hooks (after doubling up on the ends of the adjoining panels. So, I’ve got one gromet on the end without a hook and I’m likely not going to try to fix that because the effort of disassembling the whole thing to add the extra hook is not worth it.

Because the curtain panels are linked due to the miss-count on the roller hooks, I must moving them all as 1 big curtain on the track. That means that when opening the curtain, I have to pull all 3 panels to the right, which I was not planning. So, I’ve installed a bungee cord with some eye hooks to help keep them tight against the wall and out of the way when not in use.

Wall Protection – Welding Blanket

While the 3-sided curtain is great, there was still the matter of protecting the 4th side of my welding station – the wall. For this, I cheaped-out and went for an inexpensive fiberglass 6′ x 8′ welding blanket. Since the wall behind the welding station was 6′ and the ceiling was 10′ tall, I knew this would be close, but probably good enough. Unfortunately, the measurements were off quite a bit as this was several inches shy in both dimensions leaving a notable gap of wall exposed on either side (I accepted the top 2′ of wall would not be protected, and I was ok with that since no sparks should be flying that high!)

I mounted 2×4’s between the wall studs to add screws to act as mounting pegs for the welding blanket. The gromets were inconsistently spaced, and it looked bad, but at least the wall would be protected. After hanging for a few weeks, I noticed that the blanket was tearing around one the gromets taking the weight of the blanket, so I’m a bit disappointed by that.

Lighting

Seeing inside my welding helmet has always been a challenge. I’ve found good lighting is a big help, so looked for options to solve this issue. First, when mounting the curtain track, I was sure to full enclose one of my main shop ceiling lights so I could get the benefit of the powerful lighting straing down from the ceiling. Next, I bought some high-powered lamps to illuminate my welding workspace. I took advantage of Prime Day specials and got good deals on 2 different lamps:

• 50W LED work light – 5000 lumens with 2 brightness modes. I mounted this on the back wall over my work table.
• 200W Dual Head LED – 20,000 lumens. This came with a telescoping tripod. I’ll set this up behind me, for illumination over my shoulder. It’s dangerous to stare directly at this thing when it’s on, so it’s perfect for my needs!

The Rabbit Hole

Yes, I’m guilty of watching pretty much every YouTube video that advises new welders on the top 10 tools you can’t live without. As such, I’ve gone down the rabbit hole in buying a bunch of gadgets that I’m not sure if I’ll even use. Magnetic corner holders, clamps, etc. – I’ve reviewed them all and bought quite a few. I’m sure I’ll want/need even more once I get going.

One investment I’m glad I made was Weld-Aid Weld-Kleen Heavy Duty Anti-spatter spray. This is inexpensive stuff and, when used correctly, should make clean-up of my tools and environment faster and easier. I’m hoping this will prolong the tools and help protect my investments.

Conclusions

I’ve got several projects lined up and waiting for my welding station to be completed, so looking forward to getting those started now that I have a functional welding station to sufficiently protect my shop. That said, there are a few additional items that I’d like to work on:

• The curtains have a pocket in the bottom that allow addition of weights to help keep them from flapping. I’m not sure if I need them, but it’s good to know I have the option. It also might help stretch the curtain material.
• The curtains hang about 2 inches off the ground. I had planned for them to hang right at ground level, but changed the way I mounted them on the ceiling, which resulted in a gap. I could go back and add a 2×4″ along the ceiling to let them touch the ground, but the thought of staring over is not something I’m looking forward to as first-time assembly was a lot of work.
• My fume extractor has long, bendable necks, but will be challenged to reach all corners of the table when placed on the floor. I’m thinking of removing the wheels and building a small table that allows it to be lifted. That would also make it easier to access the on/off button. The table could also be a good place to keep my welder and a access it’s controls.
• I had the foresight to add a 220V power outlet near this area when the shed was built, so I’m ready for a higher-end welding machine. However, I think I’m going to play around with my cheap one until I confirm I’m using these tools well to justify the cost. At that point, I’ll probably graduate from Flux-Core to MIG (with gas).
• Since I have an extra set of curtains, I’m thinking of replacing my welding blanket with one of the panels for uniformity and better protection of my wall.