I have Draftsight, AutoCAD, SolidWorks, and SketchUp

See if this works. I'll get some photos posted soon. Should look like this (plus other details):

 

When it is harder as white pine it could be spruce wood.

Here in the US our white pine is harder than spruce. The grain in that looks more like either fir or hemlock to me.

 

See if this works. I'll get some photos posted soon.

on my end it opens in Inkscape by default and looks like this

No dimensions are shown; maybe some info is lost in translation to scalable vector. I can open regular dxf/dwg as well as several other formats. What is the native format of the software you use?

 

I'm using a program called Intaglio, which is Mac-only. I make use of one great feature it has - layers. It's odd that the "Dimensions" layer is showing but the text attached to all those arrows is gone. The other text is showing OK.

Is there any chance you can change the way those dimensions are displayed, or edit them in some way that allows you to see the numbers? [update] I have Inkscape too, and likewise lose the dimensions when viewing the SVG file I attached.

Here is my export menu. I sent you an SVG file and I think that's the only one likely to work as an actual drawing file. We could try eps if you want.

 

Here are the photos of my DIY router table.

The track I used is this one. The feather boards are el-cheapo from Harbor Freight but work fine.

The one thing I still want to change are the hold-down nuts that lock the fence in position. I use a crows foot wrench to make it easy to adjust those but they really should have knobs on them. Ditto I suppose for the faces on the fence, but I don't need to move them very often so it's not nearly so important. I believe I had to use my grinder to take down the height of the bolts holding the face on the fence.

A lot of the joining I did using Kreg pocket holes, since I have a kit for that. The bottom mount allows me to connect the router table to my Dewalt saw table as if it was a miter saw. Super handy, and I can even have my miter saw and router setup and running on the same table.

 

I suspect you have seen spring-loaded adjustable knobs, but in case not, here's an example: https://www.mcmaster.com/6270K23

A half turn is usually sufficient to loosen. The handle fits to the nut by a spline, so if you need more loosening, just lift the handle and turn half a turn or so -- whatever you have for clearance.

 

I suspect you have seen spring-loaded adjustable knobs, but in case not, here's an example: https://www.mcmaster.com/6270K23

A half turn is usually sufficient to loosen. The handle fits to the nut by a spline, so if you need more loosening, just lift the handle and turn half a turn or so -- whatever you have for clearance.

I have a jig on my table saw that has those but they’re too rich for my taste. I was thinking of a block of wood with a round hole jammed over the nut. Free.

 

Coffee table legs are all welded up. Still need to finish the tabletop.



The TIG welding went much better than previous crappy craftsman MIG welding.



It would have been flawless, except I had a lot of spots where the back of my weld blew out. Those were the spots where the metal was super thin from rust pits or my gaps were too wide.



The TIG gives me many more options to fix this, as I can control exactly how much filler metal is deposited and exactly how hot the arc is. If this were MIG I would just have to keep spraying metal at it until the hole fills up and then grind it down. This way is much more controlled.



It's still not an awesome job, but hey, I'm not claiming to be a welder. I'll just go with "it gives it character" or "it matches the overall theme of rustic recycled imperfection."

P.s. the setup to get all the angles correct was hell. This took me several hours to get straight enough so that the table does not teeter totter on 3 corners. The casters were salvaged from an old crappy office chair.

 

It's still not an awesome job, but hey, I'm not claiming to be a welder.

One regret I have from spending all those years in school and with a "career" is never having learned to weld. I can do a few things with wood but zilch with metal. I can drill and tap holes and apply JBweld, that's about it. Oh, I can grind the shinola out of anything.

 

One regret I have from spending all those years in school and with a "career" is never having learned to weld. I can do a few things with wood but zilch with metal. I can drill and tap holes and apply JBweld, that's about it. Oh, I can grind the shinola out of anything.

I really enjoy welding. I would say that I wouldn't mind being a welder by trade, except they would probably want me to weld uninteresting things in repetition, which would get old quick. If you're interested in getting into it, you can get actually decent welders for darn cheap nowadays. Harbor Freight's new line of Vulcan welders are getting overwhelmingly positive reviews, even from professional welders, and are priced at a fraction of big name brands. Also Eastwood sells good welders at a great price. I've never used a Vulcan. My TIG is an Eastwood.

 

I really enjoy welding. I would say that I wouldn't mind being a welder by trade, except they would probably want me to weld uninteresting things in repetition, which would get old quick. If you're interested in getting into it, you can get actually decent welders for darn cheap nowadays. Harbor Freight's new line of Vulcan welders are getting overwhelmingly positive reviews, even from professional welders, and are priced at a fraction of big name brands. Also Eastwood sells good welders at a great price. I've never used a Vulcan. My TIG is an Eastwood.

Which type of welding would you recommend for a noob, the TIG?

I've read that a welder can make a decent wage doing single-piece work and "art", because there just aren't enough people that know how. No need to suffer the drudgery.

 

Which type of welding would you recommend for a noob, the TIG?

It's a tough call. Most people would recommend a MIG or stick for your first machine.

TIG is the hardest welding process to master. You can see, I haven't mastered it. But it's also the most versatile. With TIG you can weld paper thin metal or thick metal, you can weld aluminum, stainless, exotic metals, basically anything that conducts, and you can do it all with the same bottle of gas. With a MIG, to weld aluminum you need a spool gun attachment (expensive) and to weld stainless you need specialty gas. That's why, if I could have just one welder, it would be a TIG. I want to recommend MIG for a noob because that's the easiest to pick up, but it's also kinda limiting. I also want to recommend a TIG because it will be a bit cheaper and opens all the doors. But honestly I think you will get discouraged if TIG is the first thing you pick up.

So, MIG. Or stick. Stick is cheap and versatile but I personally don't like stick.

 

I've read that a welder can make a decent wage doing single-piece work and "art", because there just aren't enough people that know how. No need to suffer the drudgery.

Welders can actually make excellent pay. Like well into 6 figures. If you're willing to work pipelines. No thanks. Making art seems fun. Repair work usually is too. But I'm happy doing what I'm doing for money and keeping welding as a hobby. I would suggest welding as a career possibility worth investigating, for almost any young person though if they don't know what they want to do yet.

 

Have you seen the table saw that instantly stops when it contacts a finger (or any part of your body)?
If you don't have enough nerve to test it with you finger, you can use a hot dog.
Should save a lot of fingers.

 

It's a tough call. Most people would recommend a MIG or stick for your first machine.

TIG is the hardest welding process to master. You can see, I haven't mastered it. But it's also the most versatile. With TIG you can weld paper thin metal or thick metal, you can weld aluminum, stainless, exotic metals, basically anything that conducts, and you can do it all with the same bottle of gas. With a MIG, to weld aluminum you need a spool gun attachment (expensive) and to weld stainless you need specialty gas. That's why, if I could have just one welder, it would be a TIG. I want to recommend MIG for a noob because that's the easiest to pick up, but it's also kinda limiting. I also want to recommend a TIG because it will be a bit cheaper and opens all the doors. But honestly I think you will get discouraged if TIG is the first thing you pick up.

So, MIG. Or stick. Stick is cheap and versatile but I personally don't like stick.

The first type of welding I learned was oxy-acetylene at about 19 y.o. I went from that to TIG and only later got MIG. I still can't stick weld worth a darn, but I have done stick brazing to repair cast iron.

I found TIG relaxing and easier than MIG, but much slower. You can't beat the visibility one has with TIG and the ability to control heat. My welder is an older (1983) Miller Synchro with HF.

I have seen a lot of people start with MIG and end up with welds that look like beads of toothpaste on the surface with no penetration or flow. IMHO, it is hard to do that bad with TIG.

I would rarely use flame welding today, but I was a good place at least for me to start. You have good visibility and you learn not to rush it.

Back on to your project, when welding tubing, you can add a T-fitting to your argon source and back flush with it. That helps prevent burn through on really thin stuff. You can also get 100% penetration with the inside weld looking as good as the outside. On ordinary 14 gauge and heavier steel I didn't usually do that, but when I welded stainless steel aircraft mufflers, I did.

 

The first type of welding I learned was oxy-acetylene at about 19 y.o[....]I would rarely use flame welding today, but I was a good place at least for me to start. You have good visibility and you learn not to rush it.

I have a nice harris torch kit with cutting head and rosebud. I got it used and the welding torch was missing. I want to get that torch and try my hand at oxy welding. I've heard it's hard to beat, for doing repairs on super thin stuff (like bullet holes in a car fender).

I went from that to TIG and only later got MIG. [...]I have seen a lot of people start with MIG and end up with welds that look like beads of toothpaste on the surface with no penetration or flow. IMHO, it is hard to do that bad with TIG.

This is true. Learning how to weld for the first time with a TIG is like learning how to drive for the first time with a manual transmission. And learning on MIG is analogous to learning on an automatic. With the MIG you're going to pick it up way faster but you'll probably never learn what's actually going on while you're welding, and how to control it. BUT... Imagine trying to learn to drive stick from youtube videos? It's something where you really, really benefit from having someone around to show you and point out where you're going wrong.

I still can't stick weld worth a darn, but I have done stick brazing to repair cast iron.

Well that makes me feel better. Everyone says stick is easy, and 2/3 of people who can weld say they cut their teeth on a miller tombstone buzzbox. Well I don't know what's wrong with me; I must be defective. I have never had much luck with stick.

NOTE: A TIG machine almost always can also weld stick. You just need to buy the lead and the electrode holder. My $800 Eastwood TIG200 can weld stick and I got the parts from my local welding supply to weld stick with it. I thought that maybe after learning how to TIG, stick should be a snap. it wasn't. I'm still defective.

I found TIG relaxing and easier than MIG, but much slower. You can't beat the visibility one has with TIG and the ability to control heat. My welder is an older (1983) Miller Synchro with HF.

Those machines are available on all my local online buy/sell social media outlets for cheap. You could go that route, or if you're reluctant, the brand new imports are also cheap. My Eastwood has HF as well; most do these days. It's so common now, that they don't even list it as a selling point, but it is described in the manual. I agree about TIG being more relaxing, but you're the first person I've ever hear describe it as easier than MIG. MIG is like a hot glue gun for metal.

Back on to your project, when welding tubing, you can add a T-fitting to your argon source and back flush with it. That helps prevent burn through on really thin stuff. You can also get 100% penetration with the inside weld looking as good as the outside. On ordinary 14 gauge and heavier steel I didn't usually do that, but when I welded stainless steel aircraft mufflers, I did.

Well that's a cool trick. Thanks for sharing. I never would have thought of that.

 

Well that's a cool trick. Thanks for sharing. I never would have thought of that.

Hopefully you will try it. You will want a regulator (simple adjustable valve) for the back flush so you don't waste a lot of argon. Listen carefully as you weld, and the "sizzle" changes pitch when you are fully penetrated and fusing the back side.

BTW, my MIG welder is an old Linde 225 (?) that doesn't have pulse. Maybe my opinion would differ if it did, but I only use it for structural stuff and steel.

 

Have you seen the table saw that instantly stops when it contacts a finger (or any part of your body)?
If you don't have enough nerve to test it with you finger, you can use a hot dog.
Should save a lot of fingers.

My neighbor bought a Powermatic saw table recently. Those are pretty high end. I don't think he got the hot dog model but I saw one in the store. I was shocked to learn that, yes it will save your finger, but at a significant cost. To brake the blade that fast, there's an expensive mechanism that sacrifices itself and the blade will likely be destroyed as well. The hot dog demo might cost you $300 a pop or more. Trivial when it comes to saving your finger but not something you show off to your friends.

 

Interesting.

Wish it gave more details about how it detects meat. Will it stop with any conductor? Well made table saws with carbide blades make good cold cut-off saws for aluminum and such.

 

Interesting.

Wish it gave more details about how it detects meat. Will it stop with any conductor? Well made table saws with carbide blades make good cold cut-off saws for aluminum and such.