Rotary Welding Table Build 13 

I really love how this entire build went from "this will be handy" to "im going to do the best job I can and challenge myself in the best way, because I can" and it's the "because I can" that makes this series so informative and entertaining. Thanks man. Great series.

HI Adam, I have really enjoyed watching you create your rotary table. It is coming out awesome! You will be the envy of every welder - and machinist - that sees it. Thanks for sharing. Best Regards, Reid

Another viewer said watching this project was better than anything on TV, and he is right. Great video, great series.

What is it about watching an end mill work thats so mesmerizing?

Adam, I have done some video work in the past, and I can say with confidence - you're not only doing a fantastic job of the welding table project with all that skill and precision, you're also putting together quite a presentation every time you assemble and cut together the videos we all enjoy. I believe I can speak for the entire group here... You're a great guy, and we ALL appreciate your work and patience in all that you are doing. It's a worthwhile endeavor! Thank you!!!!

Loved the photos at the end Adam the copper really catches your eye, once finished you will not be able to stop admiring it lol. ATB Craig.

Another nice build episode, Adam. The horses are coming around the final corner and into the home stretch.

It interesting to me see how differently copper behaves in these various processes compared to other metals also most interesting to see phenolic being machined.

Those little squares worked perfect for that. The copper block is a work of art.

I'm pretty late to your channel, but I'm catching up. Saw table in other videos. Glad to see it in a series on your channel. Been a Welder/Machinist for 16 years now, it's what i enjoy. Good to see people, like you, that share the passion. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

Great progress, Thanks for sharing. That fanolic stuff looks pretty cool when machined.

Adam, You do amazing work. Great project and can't wait to see you use it! Chris

another great video. what your ground critics fail to realize is that current will always take the path of least resistance. your ground path from the copper bars up thru the maint shaft to the table is the most direct path.your bearings and bushings are safe. project overkill looks great.

lol the polishing cloth video brought a memory back of the smell of Tarn-X working. Took me a minute to place it, I just had this 'smell memory' pop up and I couldn't remember what it was from. Very unique and somewhat unpleasant smell I haven't thought about in 20+ years. Crazy how the mind works.

Yes, Adam, I have enjoyed this series. Although there are lots of comments on what you should do, you seem to be doing just fine. It is your design and work, and if there is something that needs adjusting later, you will manage. Stick to your ideas and continue giving it your best. What esle can we ask for? I look forward to the end result. Joe

Very nice touch with the slide show at the end. Copper has a beautiful color and texture. I am really enjoying this series! Thanks for sharing.

Another great video Adam! Rather than using a spring, curve the straps part way around the tube, then come back in front and put a cross bolt thru with a locknut to adjust the tension against the tube....or make a fancy brass turn buckle!

Adam great project. This is one the nicest things if you know how to build something you can make to fit your needs. In addition if saw this in your shop I was told the story. I know I would be comfortable hiring your shop. I love the lines of this " WTable"!

Hey Adam, The welding table is turning out really nice man, looks like the project in coming re close to done! I hope you have another multi series project in mind, really enjoying this one! Ray

This project keeps looking better and better. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Adam, First and foremost the work is impeccable as all the work in your videos. As far as the isolation concerns,,,,,, there is an ass for every seat. There are a lot of good points made that the isolation is not going to work properly or its a waste of time but I am really enjoying the work and craftsmanship you are putting into the copper isolation block and I really enjoy your take on it. I like the project for what it is, a severally over built , go big or go home style of machining that you bring to the viewer. I am a heavy equipment mechanic and do quite a bit of machining at my job on lathes, mills and do lots of line boring so I really enjoy watching your projects and when I build something I take the same approach... may not be right or wrong but its over built and going to be around forever and built the way I want it. I also wanted to let you know that it has inspired me to finally do something with the old 24" faceplate that has been sitting in the corner. May be I'll film the build if I can get my 10 YRO to show me how her Go pro works and it can create videos like your chip control and face off series LOL Take care and don't' take the negativity to heart, you are doing a great job that is both educational and highly enjoyable to watch.

I never heard of phenolic till now, Thanks for sharing Adam.

....heh heh heh...."Over kill "....entirely up to ones imagination and opinion. Your build, and that's what it is,....is a great lesson in using whats on hand, machining, layout, turning, and working outside the box...that's what I got from it.........keep it coming!...........

Excellent work as always, Adam! Of course, after seeing the pics at the end I am almost sorry to think that that beautiful bit of copper is going to be where nobody will ever see it, lol.

Great Job Adam. Can't wait to see the finished product! You will never have to worry about messing that bearing up with the way you have it grounded. Every pipe welder I know using ball bearing pillow blocks on their spinners with no insulating barrier and they go day in day out. Craig, up in Canada.

Hey Adam, Your copper ground block looks like something out of an old Frankenstein movie. Hit it with 50,000 volts and it's alive! Your attention to detail is really amazing. I know you are about to shit your pants wanting to complete the project, but you still maintain that methodical work pace, doing things until they are the way you want them! Well done, Adam! Thanks for sharing! Have a good one! Dave

Hey Adam, nice ground terminal. For polishing I use autosol and a cloth, works great. A very small dab is all that is needed and it leave a light residue that keeps things shiny, $12 a tube in my neighbourhood.

What a fabulous build. I would love to see someone build a smaller, table-top version of this rotary table. Maybe a 12" tall version for model-makers. That would be a great project. BTW, you along with Keith Fenner, Keith Rucker, Tom Lipton, etc. have really become exceptional in the quality of your videos. You are to be commended.

Love it. I do think with all the thought and machining that is going into this, it won't get used. It will be put in the living room as a piece of art because that is what it is.

I love watching you work Adam, keep the faith!

Another Saturday afternoon well spent! :)

Great job Adam, that's a great job on the grounding block. It machined beautifully. That high helix endmill leaves a beautiful finish. Looking forward to the next episode. I've never had the opportunity to machine copper before, I would like to give it a try one day. Thanks for all your videos Adam. Ian Little

Hi Adam, Looking Good!! Very serious ground clamp attachment.. suspect you will never have to worry about a good ground when you are welding.. Best wishes,, Harvey from Nebraska

Hi Adam you have done a fantastic job engineering and manufacturing this table . I also know we build it because we can ! That being said with your design I'm not sure you can isolate the center shaft you have too many bearing surface's ,including the table lock . Keep up the great work Steve

So many experts, so little time. I've been in the same head space, I think. Not wanting it to be over, because it's so much fun building it with so much ingenuity. As the project nears completion, the remaining parts get smoother, better fitted, more elegant, more deeply polished, more comfortable to the hand. It turns into a gem. I say have fun, Bro, and ignore the experts. It can be finished however you want, because you're building it for yourself, not anyone else. "Efficient" is irrelevant for your design decisions. Thanks for letting me watch. It's cool. ..

. I like the still photos of the copper shavings, nice texture. .

THATS HERITAGE PIECE RIGHT THERE BROTHER, IT'LL OUTLAST US ALL, I LIKE THE STILLS ADDED TO THE END, NICE TOUCH

I like how you are isolating the ground to be only on the shaft ..I have seen the phenolic stuff in old radio equipment and fuse boxes

It's been six I'm milling lathe operator, I began by conventional machines, CNC now. I can only admire your work, attention to detail realized by hand. Thank you for those hours spent in front of your videos, unrivaled on TV trash :) A small question: What is the music in the end?

This project is getting better every episode! I like the "photo slideshow" at the end with that music. Great idea!

Hallo Adam, es macht Spaß dir beim Arbeiten zuzuschauen. Du machst wirklich sehr gute Arbeit. 👍 Schöne grüße aus Deutschland.

Another great grin. Well done.

Looking Good Adam! It's a good plan!

Love the vids man! as a professional welder in the nuclear industry I am geeking out over this project. Thanks for taking the time to include us youtubers in it.

Beautiful work - I enjoy every episode of this ultimate welding table project!

sweet baby bladefoot that copper is SHARP looking!

This video build is addicting. I'm going to go into withdrawal when I finish the series. You know that extra hole in the copper could be useful if you have another machine with a different style ground clamp. You could press-fit a copper rod into there, shorter than the casters of course, for the alligator-style clamps some machines have.

That was some cool thinking on some ones part, Looking good Adam.

You did made the grounding/isolation with "owerkill" style, as it should. I like it! When you get the table to finish, you should tell us the hypothetical manufacturing costs, "as you would do them on sale." Parts, materials, and labor combined. It would be fun to know. :)

Nice work Adam! I like the color of fresh cut/untarnished copper and think the emblem/logo Keith made for this would really look good copper plated and lacquered to prevent any tarnishing. Peace!

I sure like your little tail-stock chuck, looks like it works great. Nice series of videos----- Thanks

Adam, I'm glad that you machined the last little bit off of copper block. not only would it have bothered you for the rest of your life, you'd never get another good night sleep either. It might be a little to late but I was thinking, why not mill a taper on the sides of the block. Wide end towards the slot for the ground clamp narrowing towards the center post. That way you wouldn't have to bend the copper straps. Just slide the straps over the center post up close to the block and pull the block back to the mounting holes. The taper would cause the straps to fit tighter to the center post the farther you pulled the block back to the mounting holes. It would only take a few degrees from each side to work. In your SNS 60 you mentioned that you were going to drill and tap the center shaft for an eye bolt so you can use a cherry picker to puck it up. I'm a little confused, because of what you said and the motions you gave in video #1 of this series at the 5 minute12 second mark. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9gRMNaTkjQs.htmlm12s hahaha. I'm just messing with you... Right click link open in new tab Great video and awesome table.

Nice work. I get people who drop by my shop & make suggestions about this that and the other thing when I building something. The vast majority of the time I have already gone through the process of thinking through the various ways to do what is going to be done and it tends to get to me when a visitor offers up suggestions that were already thought of. I know they just want to get their two cents worth in and it should not bother me, but it can be insulting considering it's what I do for a living and they don't. On rare occasion, I will hear an idea that I had not thought of and I appreciate the idea when it happens. You know you stuff and do nice work. Thanks for the videos.

Hey Adam. I'm not trying to say the welding table is over built, well yeah it is way over built and awsome. On the ships I sail on the welder had a ground cable about 3 feet long attached to the hull and a weld cable about 300 feet long. We never had issues welding on the ship using the hull as ground. Again awsome welding table. Ryan.

Very enjoyable! Excellent production values, too.

Hey Adam, Nice work on the ground system. I love those high-helix cutters for softer material and the phenolic always reminds me of a horse barn. The oilers polished well look killer. Matt C.

Hi Adam, my comment is for the guys who feel they need to say things could be done different, or no need etc. I think they seem to forget that this project will produce a first class welding table, but also show many different way's to do this job, share your idea's and pass them on to novice guys like me. looking at copper machining and the set up is why I watch youtube thanks Adam for your video's and please keep doing them the Abom way. thanks Jeff

Hi Adam The old method in the UK was to use paraffin I think you call it kerosene in the states for lubrication on copper whilst machining, great videos keep them coming, and ignore the whinging sods who criticised you, good luck with the rest of the build. Regards Tony

Looks great Adam! The copper really pops! -mike

Was just looking up what phenolic is, and found that prior to the 80's it commonly had asbestos mixed in as filler. Might not be a good idea to be machining much of the stuff. Given that you found it in your grandfather's toolbox, its probably older than 80's. Thanks for the videos. They are fantastic.

great work Adam.

Adam you are to perfect , and i like it 👌👍

Enjoyed, cool use of the Z square!

Adam, lookin' great! Ever think about threading the extra hole and installing a plug? Or make a phenolic plug and press it in? It looks really good all polished up. I'm looking forward to the next couple videos as it comes all together. Then, you'll need to come up with a project or repair that needs the new table! All the best, Ken

I think your doing an awesome job on your table, and after reading the comments I nominate Elena for prez :) cant wait to see the finished product and you beside it grinning :)

Well Adam ole buddy buddy, Just think. Someday after you are gone this piece of work will proudly be displayed in the Smithsonian

Hey Adam, sure beats me why you want to isolate the earth from the baseplate! Surely it will be earthed anyway back through the shaft, the bush and the tube? Better to have it all locked down to ground? That said, the workmanship is wonderful as usual and it is your project so you gotta do as you see fit 😄

Hello Adam, To use an expression I heard somewhere else, "Nothing too Strong ever Broke" I think it applies here. As for the points raised here; Your insulated block is fine. It keeps current away from your bearings. Your wheel base will be grounded, by the ball bearings and by shaft to cylinder contact, but they will not be carrying the welding current. So success there. The main contact points between the copper and steel may have galvanic corrosion and in the worst case arc pitting, but I doubt it. They are wear points, so the more you spin the table the more you clean them. For the people who think Adam will die if the contact points go bad, that is a scary proposition for the next time a welder forgets to connect his ground clamp. He'll have to turn around and wait for the grim reaper to show up :) Your doing good Adam, keep the video's cumming. And I'll keep wishing I had a shop like yours:) Robert

great project Adam

Congrats on 30k subs Adam. Been watching a long time, gotta send you a gift one day, its gonna be a shop made useful item, been pondering it for a while. Toms gonna get one too. Great series here by the way- thoroughly enjoyable Alex Kern

Looking good Adam. It's a work of art.

More a work of art than a welding table, very nice indeed. Has me wondering what the next project will be seeing that this one is nearly finished ?

Hi Adam, Copper is one bitch to machine but it looks fantastic when its polished up. This project is teaching us all heaps and at the end of it you will have a project that you can be proud of and will be the flashiest welding table on youTube. Thanks for keeping us entertained. Dave.

Great build no need to over think the ground system it's not a flux capasitor it's a welding table it will never see 1.21 giga watts at precisely 1:21 a.m.... Lol So many Doc's from Back to the future. Keep up the great work

So Adam We are into about 10 K $ . but it is awsome build. Elena thanks for watching's Abom's back.

Yes I agree and I wouldn't bother isolating the block as you are going to isolate the baring should be all good.

Looks nice Adam.

Adam, whoever recommended the slot for the ground clamp was pretty observant to realize that you had a welder with old school ground that had flat plate on one side. New welders have the other style clamps that wouldn't fit into your slot. If you change welders, better keep that ground clamp or your going to have to modify your work. Nice video! Great work!!!

Top job Adam, the current from your ground clamp should follow the path of least resistance, so I don't think you will have any trouble as stated in some of the other comments, top job keep up the great work.

Another amazing video ABOM the only thing I would say is on the copper block on the bottom under the slot you cut I’d mark where the clamp stops and mill a small groove for the small flat part on the clamp to slot into so I’d didn’t slide out only a suggestion lol amazing work thanks for the video

Adam. Take some of those left over copper chips, melt them down, and make you a plug to press into the hole that shouldn't be there, and mill it flat. I know that won't matter, but it'll be a nice finishing touch. - or just get a copper rod of sufficient size... do the same thing, but the other way would be more fun. Copper: Melting point: 1,984°F (1,085°C), or use a threaded rod piece, maybe.

Maybe get some brass bolts to attach the arms to the copper block? Mostly for looks, but also helps conductivity. They always seem to use a lot of brass fasteners with copper bus bars. This is such a work of art, it might be hard to use it for welding.

I love to watch your work it's almost like an art...

Lol so funny when you said “awe, dang it! Wrong side.”

Well done sir ! You put a hell of a lot of work too build it ! 😨

Adam; Nice looking work there. One safety suggestion for you. Phenolic is a formaldehyde resin and you really don't want to breathe that stuff in any shape or form. In the future you might want to use a good quality dust mask when working with it. Regards; Ron Kluwe

Great video or your over the top welding table, what more could you ask for. Thanks for the video.

nice video work. great job!

When you said " aw, dangit, wrong side" I was like oh noooooo... Then I realized you were just kidding and I started cracking up..

Awesome as usual! As far as your polishing cloths go look into a product called Nevr-Dull. Wadding in a can. I learned about this years ago from a big truck driver that delivered to a company I worked for. His rig had all Aluminum wheels (yes the trailer too). He would do the whole thing before our guys could unload. I have Aluminum wheels on my Monza and it takes them from nasty to perfect in less than an hour. And that's after it sits for a couple years.

Boy, I certainly won't be making any electrical comments on this thread, LOL, I'll just say I think it's a thing of beauty and functionality, and please just use the heck out of it as you weld your projects up! Thanks for the excellent show, and also for taking me back with that phenolic pattern which I would have never imagined could be turned like that. Nice job my man, nice job, Aloha...Chuck

I am surprised you didn't put another extra hole in that block just to make it match. :-)

Hey Adam first time comment. Great vids my friend. I look forward to Saturday to watch. While I was doing my apprenticeship we would make buss bars for a electrical contractor, we would use kerosene for copper to mill, drill and tap. Give it a try it may help ya next time.

Thats shaping up nice Adam. Likin the slot for the ground..Much better design. Colin ;-)

Love your videos, and this project in particular! Now, I have a comment... I know this is gonna get nerdy, and it is after the fact, but just for kicks, I’d like to put this out there for your consideration about the conduction path of the ground. You did a great job on it and I guarantee you’ll have no problems with it, but in the grand scheme of things, it was a little bit overdone. That’s cool - you’re a detail oriented guy, and that’s why I think you’ll appreciate this analysis of it. Let’s start off assuming a 250 amp max current at 36 volts. That’s a 9000 watt load. You are concerned with the power load through your thrust bearing, and it looks to have eight balls. So, if the total power load were to be transmitted through the bearing, it would be 1125 watts per ball energy transfer. That would be like using one of the balls as a welding lead with a 62.5 amp setting at 36 volts. That could cause welding if it were a “point-to-point” contact, but the balls ride in a curved groove to spread out the load (being thrust bearings) so they obviously spread out the electrical contact surface as well. Even considering that, 1125 watts per ball would cause a fair amount of sparking and pitting over time. But in reality, even without the phenolic and other electrical isolation methods, the electrical path would be split between the table shaft and the base-through-bearing shaft. Even assuming that each of these paths had the same conductive potential, now we are talking about 512.5 watts per ball - considerably less damaging. Now let’s consider the reality of the conductive potential being the same on both paths…they wouldn’t be. The resistance through the shaft would be less than the resistance through the bearing, so now we’re talking about less than 500 watts per ball. (At this point, I would like to say that if I WERE building this project with a conductive path, however small, through the bearing, I would use an anti-seize grease for the bearing, because it usually has plenty of conductive stuff like aluminum powder in it, and it would carry a significant portion of the load around the balls, and not through them) So now we have the scenario of having a bearing with conductive grease carrying less than 500 watts per ball (worst case scenario) and a considerable amount of that power going through the metal particles in the grease. With just the plastic shims under the bearing, you would exponentially cut down the conduction through the bearing. In other words, the resistance of the shims would reduce the current through the bearing to a fraction of a watt. This would force the vast majority of the current through the shaft and less than a tingle through the bearing - definitely not enough to weld the bearing. All the other stuff is just gravy.

Hi Adam, I would have loved to seen you do the machining on that block using the Sheldon shaper much like you did on your dads cutting boards. I use my shaper as often as I can and just love the fine finish it puts on parts! A bevel around the edge's of that block would have also looked very nice and would have allowed you to keep at the 3/16" that you were shooting for. On the sides of the block where the 2 contactor plates will be attached, how about angle milling that area to build in some preload into the contactor plates? Joe in Minneapolis MN.

Nice design. I wouldn't worry about the thrust bearing, the current path is through the shaft, it won't bother the bearing the way you have it set up with the copper bars against the shaft.

nice! I'm curious to see how the continuity is going to work with greased bushings. I hope good because it gives me an ide on a different type project.

Hello Adam, I read all the negative comments about the need for your grounding brushes. These people just don't understand. The way you designed it is absolutely correct. I see that you are creating a directed current path. I totally understand the need for the phenolic insulation. It is a smart design. I say this as a mechanical engineer but I have a ton of electrical knowledge. You have a nice design there. Just because 98% of the general public are electrically ignorant, don't let their comments bring you down. Nice work. ---Doozer

Glad you polished the bottom of that block, so the teeth on the clamp have something to dig into. 😀