[mesquiteforge]

The tie plates do make good work surfaces, I, like previous others, welded one to a 6" piece of 2_3/8" drill pipe. The 2_3/8" fits inside a 3" pipe that is about 4' tall and is welded to a disc(for a base). The tie plate is then a swivel base for my 8" bench grinder. It swivels, but can be stopped by placing a lynch pin through the two pipes. It gives you plenty of room to maneauver large work pieces around the grinding wheels. The cord can be run through the spike hole and through the base to keep it out of the way. I was lucky enough to find a really large plate for this. I could see that smaller ones would work too. I am always looking for a place to store extra hammers too-so I added on a piece of bar stock to allow for hanging hammers on the plate.
Outside of the shop, I keep a tie plate in the bed of my truck for a jacking base. Sometimes I catch myself in areas with soft ground and these plates give your car jack, bottle jack or hi-lift jack more surface area to allow your jacking operation to go as intended.