Millermatic 211 and harbor freight cart

[isuhunter]

Today I decided to pick up a harbor freight welding cart for my new Millermatic 211. I figured it would fit with no worries. The Chicago electric cart isn't near the quality that the US General tool box is but it will work well once I figure out my dilemma.

The molding on the welder is approx 3/8" too wide for the top shelf.

I need to come up with a way to secure the welder in/to the cart and also lift it about 1/2" so I can open the door and get the unit above the bolts. It will be very nice when it's all done!

I'm open to any suggestions all you creative minds have.













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[bcradio]

Another cart. I bought one of those for my 211 and returned it because it was so terrible.

 

[Simplytodd]

Return the cart. Build your own.

 

[nine4gmc]

Return the cart. Build your own.

This, I'm building my own right now too.

Or, rip a scrap piece of 1/2" plywood to fit the tray and secure your welder to it, then set it in the tray.

 

[R5P7Duster]

I'm with everyone else, build your own. This is mine.

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[R5P7Duster]

I don't have completed pics on my phone but I can take some tomorrow if you want. I ran one 8-3 cord to a junction box on the cart, then split it off into two handy boxes with 50 amp outles. So even though I have a mig,Tig and water cooler on the same cart, only one cord to power them all. And everything is plugged in at the same time, so no plugging and unplugging.

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[md21722]

The cart worked with the transformer style but does not work with the newer inverter style. It's also very flimsy. I'd build your own. The HF cabinet works but is meh.

 

[StealthM8]

Have the Northern Tool drawer version with my transformer version 211.

 

[turbowoodworker]

I had the similar problem with my Lincoln TIG but it was in the back. I just cut the edge off in the back so it fit on the top. Works fine. Looks like you could do the same on the side and maintain functionality.

 

[isuhunter]

Looks like i should do some browsing for welding cart threads.

 

[bcradio]

I am in the camp to NOT build your own. I built mine and while it is nice, I have no way to manufacture drawers for it (which drawers are very handy and nice to have). My plan is to buy a HF 5-drawer cart and highly modify it for my needs.

 

[red94chev]

I bought the Klutch brand one from Northern Tool. Everything fits fine.

 

[Locker537]

isuhunter - I'm in the same boat. I was going to buy the HF cart until I saw this youtube video:

The effort to make it work is better spent on building something custom or paying more for a proper cart. That's just my opinion.

 

[DerekV]

I made my own. The hand truck is the beefy one from HFT. The angle iron is 3/4" x 1/8" thick and it's the perfect size for side door clearance. The welder is strapped down so it doesn't fall off when moved around. I keep the spool gun/wire/consumables/etc. in the storage section underneath.







...and I bought another Victor flowmeter since I loved the other one so much:


...and then I added these to increase the "grab n go" factor:



Overall, I really like the functionality and compactness of it. I'm going to swap machine-cylinder sides when I get a TIG and water cooler since I'll need the vertical space. I'm hoping to keep the storage cubby as well.

Just another idea. Good luck and have fun.

 

[87quest]

I made my own. The hand truck is the beefy one from HFT. The angle iron is 3/4" x 1/8" thick.

I love this design, is it easy to maneuver? Might dump my hf cart. Haha

quest

 

[wagon]

I love this design, is it easy to maneuver? Might dump my hf cart. Haha

quest

That's the standard setup for most field and shop Maxstar machines. Get a single cylinder cart or hand truck, weld on a bracket for the welder, and you have a very handy setup.

I have the same welder, and had the same HF cart. I wound up putting in supports to hold the welder over the bottom of the top shelf, flush with the rails, and put some stake-bed type pieces to hold it in on the non-door side.

I wound up giving the cart away to someone who was buying a 211, and bought a Metal Man.

http://www.metalmangear.com/Welding Carts/UWC3/index.html

It's big, but the casters are good, and the wheels are smooth. Room for all my welding stuff on it.

 

[DerekV]

I love this design, is it easy to maneuver? Might dump my hf cart. Haha



quest

Thanks. It's not bad actually.

 

[pepi]

I love this design, is it easy to maneuver? Might dump my hf cart. Haha

quest

easy to maneuver?..................... It’s unbalanced think about it.

You are holding all the weight moving it. Torch cable is all wadded up, not very good for the liner.

Greg

 

[jp828108]

I have the cheap harbor freight cart. It was alright for my little Hobart welder. I upgraded to a 210MVP, and it makes me nervous, and that is before adding a bottle of gas. The drawer carts look decent, but personally I would rather build something, and make it sturdier and custom to suit my needs, and able to possibly expand likes some of these carts with welder and plasma etc.

 

[doogdoog]

A fast cheap and easy way is to cut some pipe to use as a stand off and attach the pipe between the base of the welder and welder cart top. From the first picture, it looks like there are mounting holes on the welder base so just drill some holes into the welder cart top and slip the pipe in using the right size bolt.

 

[WittHay]

Another cart. I bought one of those for my 211 and returned it because it was so terrible.

We bought a Lincoln 210MP last year. Was in a hurry and got a cheap Astro cart similar to the Op's. The wheels lasted about a week before they started wobbling. Also its top heavy and you have to be careful on rough cement.

I thought Miller made a decent cart vs. the Lincoln which I don't like

 

[maxchevy]

I had a similar problem with my Hobart 210 and the HF cart, I used a piece of ply wood to raise it up, and ground the lip down slightly on the side of the door. I attached a 2x4 to the back of the cart to move the gas bottle back however it is still difficult to get the cover on and off the welder. The hobart seems slightly shorter than the Miller though. For $40 its not a bad cart to get your welder mobile until you find a different solution, that's my take anyways.

 

[CGT80]

Build your own and use a small filing cabinet for the drawers.

 

[DerekV]

easy to maneuver?..................... It’s unbalanced think about it.

You are holding all the weight moving it. Torch cable is all wadded up, not very good for the liner.

Greg

Greg, you make it seem like this is a 300lb machine - don't be so quick to jump to conclusions. Also, don't forget that the cylinders offset much of the weight in the back that is handled by the user's "strength". Miller utilizes this same design for one of their Dynasty TIG + cooler carts (which for the record, weigh MORE than a new 211 with a full spool of wire). If one has trouble moving this around, then he/she has no business working with metal. Period.



The liner is also just fine. The power cable is very light and flexible. There's a little thing on it called a strain relief - Google it. It works wonderfully, especially considering the lazy loops it's coiled into - into the very side pocket that was designed for storing the gun/cable. I haven't had a single feeding issue since I got the machine in September 2015.

So again, don't be so quick to jump to conclusions.

 

[bcradio]

These are awesome... where did you find these?

 

[Stooge]

i'm in the ' I bought a cart' camp, mostly because, although capable, I couldn't be bothered making one and just ordered whatever the suggested miller one was when I was buying from them, ($100ish sounds right). I would just put a piece of plywood underneath it if its bothering you, but really how often are you going to be opening up the side cover to change wire spools?

 

[pepi]

Greg, you make it seem like this is a 300lb machine - don't be so quick to jump to conclusions. Also, don't forget that the cylinders offset much of the weight in the back that is handled by the user's "strength". Miller utilizes this same design for one of their Dynasty TIG + cooler carts (which for the record, weigh MORE than a new 211 with a full spool of wire). If one has trouble moving this around, then he/she has no business working with metal. Period.



The liner is also just fine. The power cable is very light and flexible. There's a little thing on it called a strain relief - Google it. It works wonderfully, especially considering the lazy loops it's coiled into - into the very side pocket that was designed for storing the gun/cable. I haven't had a single feeding issue since I got the machine in September 2015.

So again, don't be so quick to jump to conclusions.

.

Notice the design of this cart, the load is in front of the axel, add a cylinder will further offset machine weight. The home made job is not the same, I stand by what I posted. Maybe you should look closer at the home made one and not jump to conclusion your own self.

Even Miller's user manual suggest not to wad up a MIG torch cable... FYI TIG torch has NO liner, silly little details.


Think about it....
Greg

 

[DerekV]

.



Notice the design of this cart, the load is in front of the axel, add a cylinder will further offset machine weight. The home made job is not the same, I stand by what I posted. Maybe you should look closer at the home made one and not jump to conclusion your own self.



Even Miller's user manual suggest not to wad up a MIG torch cable... FYI TIG torch has NO liner, silly little details.





Think about it....

Greg

You're right, it does hang slightly over the axle, that is one of the design constraints given the hand truck I used. You're wrong, however, in that in real life...like actual life and not the internet or in theory...it's not at all difficult to move around. The two cylinders offset the weight in the same way that they do in the Miller TIG version.

The biggest difference between what you and I have said is that I've used it and you haven't. I have nothing to gain here. I'm not making it up that it's not hard to move around. The user does have some weight to handle just like hauling anything with a hand truck, but it's so marginal.

No one said anything about a TIG torch. I'm aware that the manual says to avoid tight bends in the power cable. How it's coiled is far from tight. The cover has side pockets on it that are meant to store the coiled gun/work lead & clamp/etc. Again, the biggest difference between what you and I have said is that I've used it and you haven't. Absolutely zero issues since getting it in September 2015.

Think about it...

 

[isuhunter]

I think I'm going roll with my HF cart for a while.

Will I see a big difference from running fluxcore wire vs getting a tank and gas right away? I need to weld a little bracket on my sprayer to mount my manifold and some square tubing to some channel and mount to my mower for the sprayer.

Both gas suppliers are trying to get me to get a 125 cf tank, I think an 80 cf would fit me perfectly space and size wise. I probably won't have to fill but every year.

 

[DerekV]

I think I'm going roll with my HF cart for a while.

Will I see a big difference from running fluxcore wire vs getting a tank and gas right away? I need to weld a little bracket on my sprayer to mount my manifold and some square tubing to some channel and mount to my mower for the sprayer.

Both gas suppliers are trying to get me to get a 125 cf tank, I think an 80 cf would fit me perfectly space and size wise. I probably won't have to fill but every year.

Big difference between flux core and solid wire MIG.

I'm actually surprised that they're pushing you towards a "bigger" tank since they'll make more money with the smaller ones. If you can do a 125, do it. It's the perfect hobby size IMHO. Strikes the best balance between cost/size/weight/"run time" IMHO.

 

[CGT80]

These are awesome... where did you find these?

I made them from scrap.

The front was cut on my CNC plasma table, as well as the back, and the middle is aluminum tube that I cut to length and split. The parts are tack welded on the inside, with tig.

I did the same for the gun and work cable holder.

 

[R5P7Duster]

I made them from scrap.

The front was cut on my CNC plasma table, as well as the back, and the middle is aluminum tube that I cut to length and split. The parts are tack welded on the inside, with tig.

I did the same for the gun and work cable holder.

What's the deal with that vise grip in the last pic?

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[L.Cheapo]

What's the deal with that vise grip in the last pic?

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Its a heavy duty grounding clamp.
http://stronghandtools.com/stronghandtools/products/groundingclamps.php

 

[CGT80]

http://stronghandtools.com/stronghandtools/products/groundingclamps.php

That is a groundhog clamp. It opens very big and can be set as tight as you want and doubles as a clamp for your work. It looked cool and useful, so I bought one. After using it for quite a while, I bought another, but I don't remember which machine I first used it on. I had this one on my old miller 135 and my other machine is a Miller 330 abp tig machine with a 4/0 work cable (probably installed when it was in a steel plant since the machine is rated at 460 amps). The 211 has a 25 foot 4ga work lead, and a 15' mig gun. The 150 spool gun is in the top drawer.

My plasma still has a spring clamp, but I really like the ground hogs vs. the springs. The spring style will slip off the work or won't open far enough. Once the ground hog is on, it isn't coming off.

 

[4ruinner]

My transformer style 211 is sitting on one of those carts right now. It fits, however, I had to put a piece of plywood under the welder to raise it up a little bit so I can open the door.

It's not the best but it's done the job so far, I don't move it around much. I did make a bracket for the gas cylinder though.

I wish I had scrap metal laying around so I can make a better one.