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Grounding the welding table

RedMF40

RedMF40

Well-known Member
For some background, I converted a Sears table saw to a welding table by adding a large steel plate and some other things up top. I have a table saw, didn't need another. It works well.

Now it's a bit clunky and taking up too much space and hard to move around so I'd like to cut off the top and set it aside and just use it maybe on wooden sawhorses when needed.

For grounding it, does it matter that the legs are wood? Or does it just get grounded back to the welder when I put the clamp on? I know enough about electricity to connect wires and not burn the house down, but not much about the theory behind all that.

Thanks in advance.

Gerrit
 
Not really a earth ground on the welder. It is not a connection to earth it is a return to the welder. So the wooden legs are just fine as long as the welder ground is attasceh to the metal plate (or the work -- Best) Jim
 
The only thing to worry about grounding is the piece u
are welding. And most welders want the ground on what
they are welding. What the table sits on makes no
difference.
 
In arc welding, an arc is established from the
electrode to the work piece. To do this, a smooth
flow of electricity needs to complete the
electrical circuit, hence the need for good
electrical connections. Not only will good work
lead connections, commonly incorrectly called
ground connections, affect the welding arc and
the quality of the finished weld, having good
work lead connections are important to minimize
electrical shock hazards.
Not really a ground connection.
 
Not only will good work
lead connections, commonly incorrectly called
ground connections, affect the welding arc...

Thanks for the replies. I try to connect my work lead to the piece being welded whenever possible.

Not calling it a "ground" makes sense. I'm thinking the work lead must be the neutral wire, with the electrode being in the clamp with the hot wire. Or vice-versa. Since electrical circuits have the hot and neutral to complete the circuit, with a ground wire for safety, it wouldn't make sense for the welding to occur by having the ground as part of the circuit.

Anyway that's my interpretation. Thanks again.

Gerrit
 
The welding device is a step down transformer with an isolated primary and secondary. Since the secondary is isolated from the
power source you only need to think about completing the circuit in the high current, low voltage secondary. Thats 2 leads one hot
and one return. As others have said where it is and upon what it is sitting makes no difference.
 
Be careful using the terms hot, neutral and ground. There are totally
different functionally. If you are in the US and your welder is 220/240
powered there is probably no neutral in the circuit. Instead you have
2 hits and a ground.

If it a simple A/C welder the output side has as work clamp and an
electrode holder. Electrically they are the same. They just look
different because you hold one in your hand.

If your welder has D/C capability that is different.

Bottom line is the only thing you need to do different with wooden
legs on your bench is dont catch them on fire.
 
On large construction sites, like powerhouses , steel mills ,etc. One may have a work clamp with 10-20 feet long going to bulding structure and hundreds of feet on the rod holder. Works as you are welding to the building itself. If you set up a bench we would weld a piece of flat stock to structure and bench. The welder might be set way high to account for voltage drop. Get er done.
 
The basic typical AC Buzz Box welder is no more than an isolation transformer and
its AC output voltage is across the two leads bearing no relationship to the utility
Neutral or Ground.. If you want to use say the steel table surface or a vice secured
and bonded to it as one of the two electrodes fine and call it a ground if you like
even though that's not an ideal term. NO it makes no difference if the legs are wood.
The isolation transformer (AC welder leads) welds due to the energy current flow and
extreme heat potential in its AC circuit nowhere else.

John T
 
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