Old Foundry Toy Works

Lebanon, Indiana

"Imagine not having to fabricate any more custom one-off welding jigs (for the most part), being able to depend on a standard of flatness so that there is no more second-guessing prior to tacking up your fitments, and honestly enjoying the preparation… this is exactly what you will do with this welding fixture system, it’s like a giant adult Lego set allowing you to build custom jigs, temporary frames, supports, you name it… For our shop it also doubles as a precision layout and assembly table.

Since our jobs are primarily restoration, repair, and fabrication, the nice thing about this system, is that it will never be obsolete. Try saying that about a 3D printer, a CNC mill, or any similar capital investment for a small shop. Properly taken care of, this will outlast you.

I was about to start construction of my own welding and layout table using various parts and pieces from around the shop, (80/20 pieces, some ground plate, etc.) and getting the remainder from McMaster-Carr. After putting it all together on paper and figuring the machining and assembly, checking for alignments and re-fitting, etc. I had at least $4,000 to $5,000 invested in my time, plus I’d have to make due with various clamps and fittings which were never meant to work together as a system… All I saw was more time (and definitely more money) involved in making everything cooperate.

While searching other options online, I saw an ad for a (slight) competitor to Siegmund, and started researching “modular welding tables” and that was when the Siegmund name appeared. A quick phone call to Tony Solano of Quantum Machinery answered all my questions, plus he suggested that Siegmund's "System 16" would be ideal for my application (Their larger systems are the 22 and 28 which reference the hole size in millimeters, and they have started to offer imperial platforms as well).

When I started punching in the numbers and seeing how much time this all-in-one package would save my very small shop, it was almost a no-brainer. Yes, it is expensive, yes you may get cold feet just before pulling the trigger, but my strategy was to cry once, so I bought almost everything that I thought would be useful. If you follow the path I did, you’ll definitely want to consider any accessories several times before your first initial purchase. This is where your sales rep from Quantum Machinery greatly helps.

Our shop is a unique place, we specialize in antique toy restoration and repairs, also model engineering and fabrication. As expected, this table was a missing link between our machine shop, and our welding/fabrication rooms. We ended up going with the Professional Series 2400mm x 1200mm nitride-coated version, and I wished we had this table 15 years ago.

As one can imagine, the uses of this type of table as a layout tool are literally endless. Precision counts in our shop, as our primary jobs put on the Siegmund are 1/2 scale to 1/4 scale replicas of historic racing automobiles (and some model airframes) which involves miniature tubular frame setup and measuring, body measurements and wooden buck construction for hand-made aluminum and steel bodies. Due to the extreme flatness of the table, this is also a perfect base for reverse-engineering measurements and custom 3D scanning on larger models, as you can utilize the grid to place the scanner (or model) at equidistant locations around the table, perfect every time.

I am now and forever a fan of Siegmund and Quantum Machinery and plan to purchase another System 16 table with wheels. The advantages of having an additional but smaller, mobile assembly and welding table were realized once I set up the first table. I doubt that Bernd and Daniel Siegmund had a toy shop in mind when they designed their first prototype welding tables, but I’m glad I found them. These fixtures are among the best made today, hands down."

Sincerely,

— Jason Spangle
Owner of Old Foundry Toy Works

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