Design Layouts

[iron quake]

How do you all make your layouts for large projects? I've been drawing them on my shop floor. I have some nice saw cut lines in the floor to use as a gauge or baseline and some at right angles that work pretty well. Is there a better way of doing this? I spent a few hours today making a 5' compass for drawing arcs on the floor. You folks who make huge gates and furniture have this all figured out I'm guessing.

[Old N Rusty]

The floor will do if you are able to do it, I am so Old n Rusty getting back up is difficult. Far better is a layout table. My main fab table is 96" x 96" x 2-1/4" thick flat and level 36" in height from the floor, For gates that will fit this table, I lay them out on the steel, and fab without much drawing, I feel doing a big drawing on paper is a waste of time and a trap. how are you going to build anything on top of paper? A client who makes wood doors with inset glass has me make wrought iron panels, He sends a plywood full size drawing for each most are 6'+- tall and 34"+- wide. I build one on top of this board and the other half of the pair on top of it. Ensuring a matched right and left side. For REALLY large driveway gates I have a pair of tables made of 1/4" plate, one is 8'x8' and can be pushed alongside a table that is 10' x 8' making a large layout table 18' x 8'.These tables are also 36" high and if needed can be pushed against the main fab table making a layout table 26' long x 8'. the shop is all concrete floor 80' x 80'. big enough.

[macbruce]

Sometimes the floor is the only option, groan.... Depending on how big your shop is and your wherewithal a BIG table works great. If you have more than one make em all the same height so you can butt them together....

[ironwolfforgeca]

Another welder friend of mine has 5 adjustable Lg pipe stands he works on a 4'x8' table & the stand hole the rest of the project
level I have used these stand often all sorts of projects you can set up just about anything to work on :) there on my LONG LIST
of tooling to make LOL thank God I have tools he likes to use to :rolleyes:

[Jeff Seelye]

I'm with Macbruce, My shop isn't that big and I have 2 main tables (6'x6' & 3'x8') and 5 small (2' x 4') 1"square tube tables that nest in the corner for extras. All these I made at the same height.

[peacock]

Where I worked before retirement we had a square tube rack that we set plywood panels on and clamped them up like a wall. we could ajdust them fom straight up to about 15 degrees back. Had a 6 inch shelf at the bottom. we would make a CAD drawing print it on a transperancy then project that on the ply wood adjust the size by moving closer or farther away. Then the guys would draw the lines on the ply wood. As we made different parts we could lean them up or clamp them on and tack weld it. It al stored in very little space against the wall when not in use. Next time we needed it fresh coat of white paint made it new. A little labor intense but in a prison you have alot of cheap labor.

[Frosty]

I use my computer almost exclusively to design, print out on graph paper and and do a coordinate enlargement. A friend of mine figured out how to use an overhead projector and his laptop screen to project images. Tables are a must though, a few years ago Deb found a drafting table on freecycle and I grabbed it. I'm still watching for a proper drafting arm but I can use a "T" square, triangles and rules.

Drawing on the floor is perfect or was till my back started aching when I do. Why is it that by time you start learning the best tricks it hurts to use them? <sigh>

Frosty The Lucky.