how to cover steel with wood, will it increase corrosion?

[Housedad]

Any burning oil or grease fumes are going to be fairly toxic.   Naphthalene is a polycyclic aromatic so its partial combustion products will be pretty nasty.   You'd want to wipe as much off as possible, possibly with the aid of thinners, before using the table for welding and re-coat it when you are not planning to use the table again within a week or so.   If you have adequate ventilation for welding, it should take care of the residual fumes.   

If you are going to use an oil or grease to prevent weld spatter adhesion at least an edible one will have biodegradable residue so is somewhat less likely to cause long-term health damage (unless the smell of burning lard oil makes you bust your diet with too many big breakfast fryups!  ).

N.B. *DO* *NOT* use any halogenated oil or grease on a welding table.  The thermal decomposition products are *EXTREMELY* hazardous.

Yes.  Phosgene gas will help you to see your God very quickly.

[eKretz]

Dehumidifier. Any solid surface you put on top of the steel will cause corrosion. With temperature changes in an unconditioned (heat, A/C) space, water will condense on steel big time. Anything holding it there will cause corrosion to occur at an accelerated rate. Dehumidifier will keep that from happening.

[nctnico]

I use thick car engine oil to prevent my drill press and other metal surfaces from rusting. A thin layer applied with a piece of cloth is enough.

[Electro Detective]

I use thick car engine oil to prevent my drill press and other metal surfaces from rusting.
A thin layer applied with a piece of cloth is enough.

Quite a few people mention car engine oils, but are never quite specific enough,
for me to run to the local store and pick up a 4 litre doorstop on special that will last ages,
to smother over rust prone gear 

There's car engine oils with additives, without additives (detergent free),

synthetic, semi-synthetic, non synthetic, 

plain tool oil for air compressor powered tools,

hydraulic oils,
 

Then there's the thickness/viscosity vibe too, SAE numbers
and other BS/or not BS stuff    written on the labels, that only clued up performance oil junkies may comprehend
 

The above is just the tip of the lube oils iceberg, there's also industrial and hydraulic and sealed transformer oils too

Because I don't know any better about CHEAP, long term with no ill effect alternative oils,
I just play it safe and stick with light machine oil, air tool oil, some lithium whatnot, and 'does the job for now..' WD40

oh yeah, and vegetable spray for the overworked peeling barbeque
that may get decommissioned and transferred to occasional welding activities dept.
if a new barbie (via dirt cheap scratch n dent clearout sale) ever rocks up in the future 



 

[coppercone2]

I think I am just going to raise the table top with pins like a sine bar to minimize contact area and stick to accepted general weld table surface prep procedures

glue it to the bottom of the wood. The wood surface does not need to be super stiff, it will be good enough with like 8 points of contact. it should not scratch it and stuff so long I think so long the machine pins are of good quality it should not cause any problems with scratching?

Or even just support it on ball bearings (but there is a bit of stress here unless you use alot?, it seems like it might scratch setting it down.

[Jeroen3]

Maybe this video will be of interest. Woods and metals react differently.

[nctnico]

I use thick car engine oil to prevent my drill press and other metal surfaces from rusting.
A thin layer applied with a piece of cloth is enough.

Quite a few people mention car engine oils, but are never quite specific enough,
for me to run to the local store and pick up a 4 litre doorstop on special that will last ages,
to smother over rust prone gear 

I wish I knew what kind of oil I have because your question is a very valid one... Let me try... I got it from a relative over 25 years ago. It is very thick so I guess something-W50 / W60 or so. It may be 20W50 because the person used to have a VW Beetle.

[Marc M.]

I've had a home machine shop for over 30 years, most of the years in buildings which weren't temp. controlled. Dehumidifiers are the best solution but they are expensive to run and not always practical. Regular WD-40 is garbage as any sort of oil or rust protection.  About the only use I ever found for it is machining aluminum, thinning out anti-seize, and drying condensation out of points/distributors.  The absolute best rust preventative I've found is LPS 3.  It's thick and waxy and a bit of a PITA to clean off, but it does an excellent job of protecting metal for longer periods.  The problem with any oils is that they are lighter than water so they can float to the top of the water droplets and you'll start to get rust.  My brother's garage recently burned down with my machines inside (2 days before I was going to move them  ).  I just recently brought a 3-jaw chuck home that was on my Monarch 10ee lathe  and exposed to the elements for well over a month after the fire (which was so hot that most anything aluminum melted).  The LPS was still on it!  It had hardened forming almost a shellac.  While the metal underneath wasn't pristine, the amount of damage was minimized compared to untreated areas.  It protected so well that even the metalized Bison sticker on the face of the chuck was still intact!  It's a bit pricey (running around $80 USD/gal), but that's really nothing relative to the cost of the tools and equipment it's protecting.

[L_Euler]

Your best bet might be to put a melamine (both sides coated) top on it.  You could also try a coat of Boshield before putting a top on.

[L_Euler]

If you run a small dehumidifier in the garage, nothing in there will rust any more.   

It's the way to go - protect everything in there, no chemicals.

Yea they work, but they draw a lot of power.  I had one that only ran about 25% of the time and added $15.00 a month to my bill.

[SilverSolder]

If you run a small dehumidifier in the garage, nothing in there will rust any more.   

It's the way to go - protect everything in there, no chemicals.

Yea they work, but they draw a lot of power.  I had one that only ran about 25% of the time and added $15.00 a month to my bill.

Compared to the cell phone bill, or the Internet cable bill -  it seems relatively good value!

[NiHaoMike]

Can also look into using desiccant dehumidifiers like calcium chloride (e.g. Damprid) that can be "recharged" using a solar thermal oven.

[coppercone2]

thats an excellent idea I wanted to make a solar thermal oven for a long time that was all fancy but it always seemed like a project that will never be used

you can afford to keep some unthinkable shit dry with that method

[NiHaoMike]

Here's a discussion I started to see how workable that idea really is:
https://ecorenovator.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2899

[Mechatrommer]

whats wrong with all you people with all those fancy steel-rust-phobia substances? cheap oil-based paint will just do the trick i thought this thread will quickly concluded to this. any color to your or tiffany yap's heart content will do, no carcinogenic no anti oxidant no problem risk, except in california. i have few welded steel assembly here that i think will last long than myself. want to put it outdoor where rain, dew, moisture can get in? use more expensive marine grade paint and it will last long even if you bury it in mud soil. grease and oils only if you cant afford to paint it such as usually found in moving parts such as gears and hinges. i will be more concern in what wood type you are going to put on it since for welding purpose you'll need wood as rock solid and heat resilient as ceramics, cement or etc. otherwise it will burn and holes on your 1st welding job, ymmv.

Here's a discussion I started to see how workable that idea really is:
https://ecorenovator.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2899

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Electronic-Silica-Gel-Desiccant-Moisture-Absorber-Reusable-Household-Camera-new/161917808944?hash=item25b30db130:g:aJIAAOxyl5lSJI9Y

[coppercone2]

you don't paint welding tables

[AlesALF]

use wax paper between steel and wood, it's also used for storage steel parts in the wooden boxes and work very well for this purpose

[Mechatrommer]

you don't paint welding tables

yes we do if we have another layer on top such as wood...
https://www.danscustomweldingtables.com/

[coppercone2]

the wood just sits over the top with good fit but its basically a protector if you are going to be grinding, or you want another table to put a chop saw or something on

I don't see the top being painted though?

[Mr. Scram]

yes we do if we have another layer on top such as wood...
https://www.danscustomweldingtables.com/

I wouldn't call anything covered in wood a welding table. A welding table derives work bench perhaps.

[coppercone2]

its a damn table protector. Its so you don't get grinding dust on the welding table, or minimize. Or polishing compound, removed rust, etc.

I can't always take those tools outside which make dust and abrasive debris

[KL27x]

I thought it was to protect your blanchard ground precision flat welding table from getting accidental grind marks. Steel surface seems to be ideal for dust. Just wipe it off when done.

Some folks use aluminum for precision flat welding tables. It doesn't handle scuffs nearly as well, but if you are using a cover, anyway... You don't have any rust problem and you probably don't need the stock to be precision ground. I have occasionally welded on a piece of 3/16" aluminum plate, before I had anything resembling a proper welding table. It worked very well and even this thin of a plate never warped. The BB's easily scraped off. You occasionally make some small "burn marks" where the work stock makes contact with the aluminum.

You might want to investigate this option for more pros and cons. I have very little cumulative personal experience, yet. Just an idea I have read about and people seem to be happy with.

I find the idea of a precision ground steel table you have to cover a bit cringey, personally. Steel takes a beating and it's a shame to be afraid to use it. I've seen a slat table where the slats are screw adjustable on either end for for height. Just grind them flat "enough" and adjust if/when necessary. And/or use shims. Or throw a flat plate of steel or aluminum over the top if you need to weld something small and precise. Or just grind the table flat (enough), again, every 5- 10 years.

If the slats are thick enough, they probably don't warp much, if at all. From my noob POV, it seems the main way a welding table would go out of flat is through temporarily welding stuff to it then grinding off the nubs and/or from grinding off really bad BBs?

[coppercone2]

It's also a slatted table, its not one giant sheet, its slats you can arrange so you can adjust the position of a magnetic drill on top (a beefy one).

The idea is the slats will rest on rails with conical machine pins to hold them into position once placed, so  when viewed from the side it will be shaped like a rampart.
 
That means wiping it down will be annoying because you need to clean a buncha grooves, and you will have 90 degree angles, so you will need to wipe corners.

The cover wood I made is shaped like this |__________________| with a rim around the edge that over hangs the table, so when you wipe it down the stuff goes over the edge and falls on the floor, rather then falling on the rail. Its also fairly well sanded and waxed so it wipes down really easily with a brush and then cleans with a damp cloth and it can be refurbished periodically with automotive polishing stuff that is on hand. And  its a bit wider then the table so it falls on the floor around the table so you can sweep or vacuum it easily.