Franko's Welding Table

[Franko]

I used poor judgement and went to play golf this morning at 9:30. When our round was finished (4-two-man teams) My car, which was parked in the shade of a tree indicated it was 102º at 12:30. The bank sign after the freeway exit to my house said 104º, as did my thermometer at my home. I was ok until the 16th hole where I started getting short of breath and very tired. I walked pretty normal to my car in the parking lot, but when I got home I found I was taking very small steps slowly as I trudged my golf bag and a small soft cooler in the house. I went straight to the shower and rinsed off under some only slightly warm water.

After that, a nap was required, so I took one for a couple hours. I woke feeling better and moving slightly faster than before the shower and nap.

Later in the afternoon, I got busy out in the shop and clamped up the welding table base and legs for tack welding. I used sections of 2x4s to clamp it square as there was a slight gap between the steel components.

So, anyway, the stand is tacked welded and ready to be finish welded. I should be able to complete the final welds Saturday.

Here it is,so far...
Tomorrow, I'll fire up the TIG and finish it up.

 

[Franko]

And, for something completely different,
My most recent great-granddaughter, Isabelle Grace, was born on the 20th of this week.
I have one grandson, 3 grand daughters and 3 great granddaughters, with a great grandson due in late summer.



Here is Isabelle and her sister Sophia, daughters of my granddaughter Lauren.

 

[bpratl]

Franko, congratulations on the new family member, it's great to see the family grow.
Any grandsons interested in machining? My 7 year old grandson loves playing with my backup 7x10 lathe.

 

[turnitupper]

Franko,
My congratulations also on the latest addition to the dynasty. My nephew and his wife have just had a new bub and guess what they called it? Wait for it!(drum roll) Isabell. Why is it that all newborns are not very pretty except when they are your kin. I put it down to heriditary blindness. P.S. Hope you're feeling better after your round of golf (anagram) flog. It spoils a good walk.
John.

 

[roadie33]

Congratulations Franko on the new addition to the family. I can tell you're just as proud of her as her parents are.
Hope you have some AC in the Welding shop.
That heat is nothing to mess with. Temps get over 90 here and I won't play golf. To much of a chance for heat stroke and I hate playing when sweat is running places it usually doesn't. Makes for a bad round of golf.
Yesterday it was 92, heat index 116. Today it's supposed to be 96, heat index 120. Not going outside for very long at a time here today.
Take care and congrats again on the new family member.

 

[Franko]

Due to circumstances of life, my son, grandchildren and great grandchildren live far away — all the way across Texas and near Atlanta. His mother got custody after our divorce and even though he stayed with me for extended time during the summers, my life circumstances didn't allow for me to have much of a shop. Mostly at the time, I was an illustrator. He took some interest in art, but didn't pursue it. He hasn't seemed to show much interest in building.

 

[brav65]

Hey Franko congrats on the new additions! Being in AZ I am always weary of getting too much heat. It's funny as sometimes I could be in 115 all day with no problems, then another day at 100 kills me. The best medicine is to stay super hydrated. Not guarantee you will not suffer any ill effects, but reduces you chances a lot.

Table is looking great!

 

[Franko]

I completed the welding of my table yesterday. I'm disappointed with the welds. I probably should have used the MIG instead of the TIG. Apparently, I haven't practiced inside corner TIG welds enough.

The butt welds look good but many of the inside corner welds are lumpy and pathetic. I'm pretty sure they have good fusion and are strong enough, but I'm disappointed with how they look. I burned through a couple places on the leg braces because they are thinner walled tube. I got some ugly lumps trying to fill the holes in. It will take some fancy grinding to touch them up.

I also made an error measuring the legs. I think I made the two legs with the adjustable feet an inch too long. So, to fix it I'll either have to cut off the ends with t-nuts or drill two more holes for the height adjusting pins. Even though it will be much more trouble to shorten the legs an inch, I'm inclined to do it that way to avoid confusion when moving the legs to the correct pin hole for height adjustment.

 

[Chip Hacket]

Congratulations on your new addition Franco. I have a situation similar to yours. At least with modern technology I get to carry on a conversation with the texting thing. Not the best but better than nothing. The table is way beyond my capabilities, but it looks really good from up here in the peanut gallery.

 

[Franko]

I stay in contact with my son. I don't know my grown granddaughter or grandson very well, but I communicate by phone and email often.

The welding table looks good if you don't look close at the welds. Since it is a welding table, I wanted the welds to look good.

I cut off an inch and a quarter from the length of the adjustable legs. I can't weld them this morning or maybe all day because I ran out of argon last night. I went to Home Depot to get a tank, but they were out of argon.