Welding table build

[NC Rick]

Oh and I picked up an Esab Savage A40 helmet and 2.5x magnifying insert.
Absolute game changer for me.
I can see the MIG wire as it enters the puddle.
Amazing difference.

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I use my 3.0 readers under a helmet. I couldn't put the old school narrow magnifiers and limit where I could look out the fancy wide-screen. Were you able to get full sized magnifying inserts?

 

[DavidR8]

I use my 3.0 readers under a helmet. I couldn't put the old school narrow magnifiers and limit where I could look out the fancy wide-screen. Were you able to get full sized magnifying inserts?

Not quite full size but very close.
I am going to try some readers also to see which I like better.


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[C-Bag]

I went to auto darkening a while back and it’s amazing. Not as nice as your Esab but can see great and use my readers just fine. My problem is trying to break my pulling up and down the hood after decades of doing that.

 

[DavidR8]

I went to auto darkening a while back and it’s amazing. Not as nice as your Esab but can see great and use my readers just fine. My problem is trying to break my pulling up and down the hood after decades of doing that.

I can totally relate to that.
Even though my other Esab was autodark it was so opaque that I used to raise it whenever I wasn’t welding.


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[C-Bag]

I just happened to watch this last night. Interesting that the 2.5" thick mild steel slab was the most inaccurate.

one thing I was a bit confused on was the last top he reviewed sounded like his top? Or was i filling in? The one that was a cast iron top that you put on a bench or toolbox. At $900 it was the cheapest of the real precision tops. That review reflected what I’d always found that anything less than 3/4” thick will warp. I wasn’t surprised the laser cut “precision table” wasnt NASA worthy. Way too thin of material. I like his reviews.

 

[C-Bag]

I can totally relate to that.
Even though my other Esab was autodark it was so opaque that I used to raise it whenever I wasn’t welding.


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So the new one is not so opaque? My cheap autodark I can see just fine when not dark. One that I couldn’t see when not dark would be no bueno.

 

[DavidR8]

So the new one is not so opaque? My cheap autodark I can see just fine when not dark. One that I couldn’t see when not dark would be no bueno.

The new one is very clear.
New

Old

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[C-Bag]

The new one is very clear.
New

Old

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Yeah the color of the old one would have been a mess for me. Especially if there wasn’t a lot of light like overhead welding. Man, autodark has come a long way.

 

[mikey]

one thing I was a bit confused on was the last top he reviewed sounded like his top? Or was i filling in? The one that was a cast iron top that you put on a bench or toolbox. At $900 it was the cheapest of the real precision tops. That review reflected what I’d always found that anything less than 3/4” thick will warp. I wasn’t surprised the laser cut “precision table” wasnt NASA worthy. Way too thin of material. I like his reviews.

I'll have to go back and watch it again but I thought the last one was that thick slab of mild steel. I almost bought a table with a 1" thick top but I didn't have room for it. Now I'm glad I didn't. A smaller piece like David's would probably be fine but 4X8, no, not unsupported.

My personal table is just a 3X6', 1/4" thick steel plate sitting on a plywood base supported by square tubing all around with cross braces. It works for me but it surely isn't anything like what you can get nowadays. It's flat, though, so good enough for me.

 

[Janderso]

David,
I have the Miller digital elite. Have you had any experience with this one?
I have looked at the Esab. I can’t say the clarity is all that great with the digital elite.
The certificate is flat. I’m considering installing one inside my 5’x5’ welding table. (It’s bowed, I think it’s 1/4” plate)