To buy an overkill Weld/working bench?

[Orangetruckman]

Howdy all,
I’m look to gather some outside perspective on a welding/working table I found. I have wanted to buy it the moment I saw it, and that’s part of the problem. I’m seeing things one way due to the super cheap price. The price breakdown is about $.24 a pound for those wondering.
I would really appreciate others thoughts on if I’m asking for a big headache with this thing or tell me I’m nutz if I pass it up. The material of the steel plate is unknown and is way overkill at 2 and 3/4” thick and about 33” wide x 86” long and weighs approximately 2,000lbs. The plate was placed on a metal frame table that supports it fine and is about 3ft tall. I’ll post a picture as well.
Now that you know specs about it, let me explain what my uses are and the place it’ll be going. My main use will be for hobby type use welding/fabrication, assembling stuff, and mounting things like a metal shear, bench vise, and possible a 2x72 belt grinder when it’s done (and indoors). For the time being and probably the next 1-2yrs (hope to build a shop area eventually and having the bench indoors then), the table will be located outside on lightly graveled uneven ground, so once it’s on the ground it will be essentially stationary. The owner will load it in my truck with a forklift and I’ll have no issues hauling it home. Unloading will be a cherry picker and chain kind of thing.
So folks, am I asking for more problems than it’s worth? Is there some serious flaws that I’m not seeing because I’m listing about this hunk of steel With the price of steel, finding another suitable table material like a 1/2” plate is out of the question and doesn’t make sense for the $$ they want for even half a 4x8 sheet. At this price point, I’m struggling to see past this as a cheap supply of steel if nothing else. Thank you in advance to all that provide input, pro or con.

 

[Jake M]

I'd be all over that......

You'll never get another one like it. Not at that price per pound anyhow. I don't think anyhow. I've seen tables of similar volume (surely not identical, but surely repurposed chunks of steel in that range), I've seen those go for 4500 bucks around here. What's your market like?

If it turns out to be a headache, sell it for a fraction of what it's worth, buy two tables that are more suitable, and keep the change.

 

[jwmay]

That is a die shoe for a stamping press. Cool!

The only problem I see with your plan, is that in 1-2 years, you’re gonna have to dig it up if you don’t put it on concrete.

It’s also gonna be a pain to drill holes in it to mount stuff. But with all the money you’re saving, you could order yourself a mag drill to help.

 

[jwmay]

Oops! Another thing that occurred to me. You really don’t want to lift that with an engine hoist on uneven gravel.

 

[Orangetruckman]

I'd be all over that......

You'll never get another one like it. Not at that price per pound anyhow. I don't think anyhow. I've seen tables of similar volume (surely not identical, but surely repurposed chunks of steel in that range), I've seen those go for 4500 bucks around here. What's your market like?

If it turns out to be a headache, sell it for a fraction of what it's worth, buy two tables that are more suitable, and keep the change.

I’ve got no clue what the market for steel that thick is around me, but it ain’t cheap for way smaller! The guy has been trying to sell it for months now and he’s reasonable with he prices. I got a 3hp 3 phase Baldor motor from him for $90. If he can’t sell it for what he’s asking, I doubt that I’ll be doing any better.

 

[Orangetruckman]

That is a die shoe for a stamping press. Cool!

The only problem I see with your plan, is that in 1-2 years, you’re gonna have to dig it up if you don’t put it on concrete.

It’s also gonna be a pain to drill holes in it to mount stuff. But with all the money you’re saving, you could order yourself a mag drill to help.

I really couldn’t tell you what it’s from, but the guy has 2 of these plates and on the other one it has a company name on it. On the other plate there’s 4 like 18” holes near each corner and the company is “ALFA-LAVAL”. That led to a rabbit hole of possibilities.
Yes, it will definitely sink into the ground some without better support. And I definitely did think about buying a mag drill one day to do such drilling tasks.

 

[Orangetruckman]

Oops! Another thing that occurred to me. You really don’t want to lift that with an engine hoist on uneven gravel.

I’d be lifting it out of the truck and then driving the truck out to lower the plate onto the table once it’s in the right position.

 

[hotrats]

The gray table in the foreground of my profile pic is about 34x42 or thereabouts. 3/8ths top, 2x2x1/4 legs. I gave $200 for it about a decade ago. I just bought some 2x2x1/4, 1x2x1/8, couple pieces of 1.5x1.5x1/4, and a piece of 6" channel iron - bout dropped when was quoted $900 for it - ouch! Heck, buy it, sell the top, and get a thinner top for it. Still, that's a lot of weight to move around...

 

[jwmay]

really couldn’t tell you what it’s from,

I already told you what it’s from.

Here’s some pictures and a video.

 

[piper184]

It looks to me like the door of opportunity has been opened for you.

If the current owner can't get his asking price it is probably priced a little over scrap price (plus transportation) so offering a little less is probably OK but you have a better sense about that than anyone else.

Since you have an idea of what you can use it for, and what it would cost to make it all new, you probably should get it. Even if you wind up cutting it down into smaller pieces you will probably come out ahead. The real value is in what benefits you will get out of it.

It is way more common in my shop to see something and say "I should have done that sooner" than it is to say "that was a waste"

I wonder what kind of steel it is? The dies would obviously be something special, but are the shoes just CRS or some other mild steel?