Welding Cart Project

[motorscot]

So, I had a metal trellis that was in bad shape. I decided to do some recycling and improve my welding skills at the same time. After a friend gave me a much abused Stack On brand 3 drawer tool chest, I decided that change was in order.
Using a Diablo 10" cutoff wheel on my miter saw....

I cut the posts to the correct size and started mocking everything up.

After some time (a lot of time) with the wire wheel...

There were also 3/8" rods that connected each trellis arch together

 

[motorscot]

I had already replaced the old casters with new ones, then decided that they needed to be moved to new locations to support the plans for bottles and welder

Next I got to use my drill press in anger and fabbed up the holes to fit the rods

Next came tacking and final welds for the bottle rack assembly

 

[motorscot]

You can see my old welding cart in the background. It was almost brand new but only had room for the welder, 1 bottle, and some odds and ends. Not what I wanted....
The casters went back on, tacked in place to fit check before a final decision was made to through bolt them or weld them

 

[motorscot]

Due to the weight of the bottles, I wanted things to be flex free and solid. I added a more 1" square tubing on the end of the chassis tubes

More tubing was added to create a surround for the bottles to sit in

I then stacked more 3/8" rod on the original rack, to stiffen it up and bring the mounting surface level for the bottles

 

[motorscot]

I wanted my bottles to stay put, with no sway or possibility to bang against each other. After getting many ideas from the fab thread and from the 1930's Auto Shop I wanted this thing to be travel ready....

The bracket tops are 12" from the bottle deck, I used 2" and 5" tubing.

Mocking up the side brackets

Final welds

Three more shots of completed work (I will be adding two (2) chains by this weekend)

I haven't ground the welds or filled any holes when these pics were taken.

 

[motorscot]

So, what good is a welding cart with storage if the drawers aren't deep enough for grinders you ask?
"Not diddly" I say.
After much mocking (some by my wife) and measuring, I settled on a plan.

2" tubing for the standoffs

And 24 1/2" long for the main mounts

I decided to free float the hanger rods, so no welding there

Sharp eyes will notice the nuts on the corners...Have patience young Padewans....

 

[motorscot]

This cart has grown into one HEAVY MoFo...
I located some old nuts...

I noticed that the DeWalt and HF grinders have interchangeable handles. So, I welded a pair of nuts on the front corners...

And another pair on the side

This allowed me some leeway when trying to maneuver it

The handles quickly spin off for use in front or side or the grinders themselves

 

[motorscot]

Grinders hanging and ready to work.

Cart mostly finished

 

[motorscot]

To do list:

1. Fab up brackets for negative cable
2. Fab up brackets for wire feed cable
3. mount small fire extinguisher
4. Make some mounts for: apron, helmet, etc
5. Final grind all welds
6. Add some aluminum, wood, expanded metal, or 1/8" steel to top
7. fab up some "custom" drawer pulls
8. Get some plastic end plugs for tubing (thanks Jagmandave)
9. Primer, paint, and clear
10. ENJOY
    

 

[Jagmandave]

Pretty good, I especially like the bottle stays....

You can buy nice plastic plugs for the ends of the tubing either from Home Depot or your local Ace hardware store, it finishes those open ends nicely.

 

[motorscot]

Pretty good, I especially like the bottle stays....

You can buy nice plastic plugs for the ends of the tubing either from Home Depot or your local Ace hardware store, it finishes those open ends nicely.

Thanks, my buddy told me about those. Need to add that to the "to do" list. The large welded rolling table in the background was his. He traded it to me for the original welding cart.

 

[Case IH]

Sweet!

 

[87Pomona]

Good idea on the welded nuts!

Cant wait to move up to a Hobart 140 Mig welder. Only flux core.......for now.

 

[toddacimer]

How heavy is that? I was a little concerned about the box wanting to roll away but it looks like the casters have brakes

 

[motorscot]

Good idea on the welded nuts!

Cant wait to move up to a Hobart 140 Mig welder. Only flux core.......for now.

I love the Hobart. I picked it up last July for $600 from this kid in Georgia. It was barely used (just dusty), and came with the 80 cu ft C25 bottle, cart, Miller gloves, Miller Digital Elite helmet, and DeWalt grinder

I have a 2x3" chunk missing from the deck of my commercial Toro 21" that's 3/16" aluminum, thus the argon bottle

 

[motorscot]

How heavy is that? I was a little concerned about the box wanting to roll away but it looks like the casters have brakes

Yes, the front casters have brakes and all 4 swivel. Makes it really easy to park. It is probably 150+ lbs. The chest was 30 or more, then whatever everything else weighs

A friend of mine commented on the welded casters: "but you missed the holes with the welds".....
I had to explain that if I wanted to upgrade or replace them, a 1/2" bead at each corner can be ground off in a couple of minutes, instead of beating hell out of the tubing to get to the holes...

 

[bluebolt]

I like it! I have an old Craftsman box I was going to use for the same thing, you gave me lots of ideas.

 

[motorscot]

I like it! I have an old Craftsman box I was going to use for the same thing, you gave me lots of ideas.

Thanks! I gleaned a lot from the other posters and their great work. I already fabbed up the brackets, just have to tack them up and see how everything lines up.

I am not looking forward to painting everything, but I have all the equipment to do the job so I might as well do it.

 

[Journaler]

How do you like the miter saw + diablo blade? I've thought about getting a cheap saw from Craigslist, and put a metal cutting blade on it, but was always worried about sparks/metal messing up the motor.

Do you know how fast that miter saw spins?

 

[motorscot]

How do you like the miter saw + diablo blade? I've thought about getting a cheap saw from Craigslist, and put a metal cutting blade on it, but was always worried about sparks/metal messing up the motor.

Do you know how fast that miter saw spins?

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...321&cj=true&srccode=cii_13736960#.UP-YKB3BGqk

According to the link: up to 5000 rpm. FYI, find some sheet metal and cover the deck, the red area is plastic and for some reason the literally red hot metal that you cut likes to melt into it

 

[Journaler]

I just realized it was a grinding disc and not their metal saw blade.

 

[motorscot]

I got a chance to do a little more to the setup. First I cut off a section of support material from the trellis and after cleaning it up, I heated it with a propane torch, bent it and chopped it

After determining the correct spacing...

After some snap, crackle, and pop, everything worked out perfectly

 

[motorscot]

But wait, there's more. There are two cables off the front of that welder you say?
Silly rabbits....
I added more brackets

Another angle showing more shots of my sloowwwly improving welds

 

[motorscot]

I know what you're thinking, did I fire 6 shots or only 5? Wait, what?

My bad, wrong ending.

I know what you're thinking: What the heck is that square tubing for?
THIS:

And the overall setup again:

 

[Journaler]

Looks very useful. Will look even better after you paint it!

 

[aka Larry]

Nice design on the cart. However, I guess nobody else is going to saying it, but IMO your welding needs more practice.

 

[BMW Rider]

Grinders hanging and ready to work.

Looks like I'm not the only one to have a grinder for every occassion. My arsenal looks a lot the same with four 4 1/2" Mastercraft ones and a big old 7" Wolfe.

Nice work on the cart too.

 

[alpinewhite]

...but IMO your welding needs more practice.

We were all there once. That's what the grinder is for.

Keep up the good work. Your welding will get better over time. Mine is still not perfect but it doesn't keep me from moving on.

 

[steel 35]

nobody else is going to saying it,

He did two post down


I wasn't able to see the straps finnished in the last photo

 

[aka Larry]

We were all there once. That's what the grinder is for.

That is NOT what the grinder is for. Any fillet weld that needs to be ground, needs someone else welding it.

 

[Journaler]

These aren't structural welds, what's the worst that could happen?

The platform holding the tanks could fail, the regulator snaps off, turning the gas tank into a spiraling missile.

See, no worries.



Seriously though, "it ain't pretty, but it'll hold" applies here.

 

[motorscot]

Thanks for the replies and input (I'm not going to get ****-hurt about anything)

Yes, I need more practice.
Yes, I need more practice.
Yes, I need more practice.

Seriously, I DO need the practice. I am a DIY guy and have to start somewhere. Nothing in any of the pics have been ground or finished. I would like to get to the point where I can "stack dimes" but just not there yet.

Paint is coming, won't be until spring. I have more projects in the pipeline, just waiting on time, motivation, and $$$.

 

[mark52621]

Isn't the grinder for cutting apart poor wields and cleaning up the wields so you can try again?

 

[alpinewhite]

Isn't the grinder for cutting apart poor wields and cleaning up the wields so you can try again?

exactly my point

 

[motorscot]

I'm taking my welds and going home!

Just kidding. I will be fabbing a rolling Tanker desk over the next couple of weeks. If you aren't familiar with Tankers, google them. I have 3 in the garage right now.

Anyway, I will be using 1" square tubing again and 5-6" (total height) casters to make a rolling work station. The desk is 30x60", and while 29.5" tall, will increase to 36".

The rolling metal table you see in the background is waiting on a 1/4" steel top. It is 24x48" and will mount my vise and drill press (captured nuts for quick detachment).

I believe that the work to be performed on the desk will be vastly superior to my work shown thus far. (Yes, I will still be doing it) But, working while standing, with steadier supports (elbows) should help me produce better product. If not, then I'll work harder.

 

[Strouty]

I like the design and I am glad you see that you need practice, but doing a project is trial by fire. You should take some scrap ad really work on running beads, attach different pieces of scrap and when you get done, you have garden art. One thing I will mention is when you do the aluminum you need to get a dedicated stainless steel wire wheel to clean it up. Also you may want to change the liner and tips in your gun. All those things will contaminate your aluminum welds. Also I am no where near the caliber welder that some members are, so I am still practicing too.

 

[alpinewhite]

Any updates, OP? Has this been painted?

 

[gapfast]

Cart looks great!! I'm about to purchase my first welder. I really like some of your ideas.

 

[PhantomEB]

I am doin the same but just buiding a frame and stickin a top box under it for the storage of tools and consumables.

 

[datsbooksleia]

Here is mine. I used scrap metal and kept it simple