Building a welding cart, looking for ideas & guidance

[A29]

Here is how I did mine

 

[Synergy]

My little cart

 

[pipehack]

That's a nice clean cart Synergy. Nice job.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Here is how I did mine

I like that...that's cool.

 

[austin308]

some very nice welding carts. Sold my weld pak a few years back so now I use it for the Plasma and weld control cart.

 

[nolatoolguy]

I think the issue with nylon straps is that they could conceivably burn or melt. It's not likely, but it's possible.

True that

he should see about some those metal band clamps

 

[dragginbalz]

Here's one I made for a present for my Dad. I used a nylon strap also and have no worries about it. I don't see him welding on the cart itself so the chance of melting it is probably pretty slim. I welded on some large rings, so he can very easily get a chain if he so desires.

 

[DarkMonohue]

Dragginbalz, that's pretty slick! I may go ahead and hang a chain on one set of lugs just for redundancy, although I will retain the straps. I really do like them because they keep the bottle tight and quiet. There's just something about unnecessary banging and clanging that I can't stand. It always seems to suggest either poor design or impending disaster...or both.

he should see about some those metal band clamps

Maybe he should, but he's working on a very thin budget, and he works too damn much to shop around for that stuff. Good idea, but it probably will not make this cart.

 

[kerryt1]

Best homemade I've seen (pics at the bottom):

http://www.planetlsx.com/review/Tool_Time__TIG_Welder_Tech_and_the_HTP_Invertig_201/121

 

[Wayne02]

This is the one I made for my esab mig.

 

[slodat]

I made this cart for my TIG welder and water cooler. The argon bottle is held in place by a clamp. The fixed side of the clamp has two pieces of mitered tubing welded to another piece of 1.5" tube. This cradles the bottle quite well. The bottle is held in place by a piece of 1.5" x 3/8" bar and two wing nuts. It sits in a pan on the bottom of the cart. The sides of the upper support are intentionally about 3/4" shorter than the diameter of the bottle so that the clamp holds the bottle. It is very secure and a dead simple design. I'm happy with the end result.

Please go easy on my welds. This is my first TIG project. I know I have a lot to learn. My approach was to make the cart the best I was able and learn from it.

 

[twostory]

I had some spare time today/yesterday due to the snow. So I finally got around to building my welding cart. It is nice to have everything on one cart now.

 

[69supercj]

Nice cart Mr. Donahue, 'specially the tank straps.!

 

[rsanter]

the problem with the straps is that they stand out too much.
paint the cart blue to match the straps and they will blend into the background

bob

 

[Bill Bowman]

You fellas have some nice welding carts. Here's mine. I enclosed the bottom for storage. I used expanded mesh for the cabinet (floor) so that dust/dirt wouldn't build up inside.

 

[smooth72]

Here is my version.

 

[Brad54]

Nice carts, and lots of good ideas.

But I didn't see a single cart with a fire extinguisher mounted to it. Makes sense to have a fire putter-outer mounted on the fire starter.

A cup holder for a spray bottle with water isn't a bad idea either.

-Brad

 

[twostory]

But I didn't see a single cart with a fire extinguisher mounted to it. Makes sense to have a fire putter-outer mounted on the fire starter.

I have one on my cart (post #52) it is on the front side, below the welder. (white with blue label)

Since this picture, I have painted the cart red. Looks real nice now.

 

[akdiesel]

Having an extinguisher on the cart is not a bad idea, but I would think a CO2 extinguisher would be best, so that you don't have to spend extra time cleaning the area.

 

[welderwink]

some of these carts are legendary.

 

[Detroit Auto]

Here's one I did a few weeks ago. What do you think?

I have yet to get pics with the Plasma and Mig on her.

 

[trkrmike]

Back from the dead here. I have been slacking for a long time, but I actually got quite a bit done this weekend. I have to do a little adjusting to get the bottle to rest on its platform, and then I need to install the drawer slides, maybe a few more hooks and handles, and shoot some paint. Here's what I have so far.


Essentially complete and mostly functional. The welder is located by a couple of chunks of angle bolted to the platform:

The bottle is held by two nylon tie-downs, so it should be nice and secure. The pad should be big enough for two small bottles:

There's a U-bolt welded to the cart to hold my angle grinder and a hook for the cable and gun:

The hoop on the front of the cart is hinged. It swings up to act as a handle, and has a support so it can double as a work tray (obviously not installed yet):

On the other side of the handle/tray is a piece of pipe to hold the gun and a chunk of flat scrap to hold the ground clamp when not in use:

Comments and criticism are welcome.

nice job and thanks for the ideas, I have a pair of wheel chair wheels to use since my grounds are far from level. Trkrmike

 

[ebartel]

Here's a cart I put together after years of dragging cords around the shop.

I attached a 30 ft 240 line to it for the welders and split it out to 110 outlets for grinders, bandsaws, etc.

I posted some more pictures here.

 

[jhn9840]

Welcome to GJ ebartel. Your cart is very nicely done and functional.

jhn9840
John

 

[PCO6]

My first welding job with this Lincoln 180 was more urgent than building a cart so opted for a "store bought" Lincoln cart. I couldn't resist pimping it out a bit though. I still plan to build my own but it's down on the list of things to do.

I built one for my old Clarke welder and it served me well for years.

 

[ARAMP1]

Here's mine. I used a fire extinguisher mount to clamp in the argon bottle.

Still need to come up with a way to hold all the accessories and the filler rods.

 

[SM Racing]

I built a couple of different one. For my MIG, I built wide cart to hold two bottles, my plasma cutter, and the MIG side by side up high. Then I put a small tool box down low to hold wire and such. The cart also has a coat tree to hold my welding jacket, helmets, hat, gloves, etc.

The TIG cart holds my welder up high, the water cooler below, there are hooks on the side for the cables, torch, etc. On the other side there are several 2in tubes that I store my filler rod in. All organized by material and size.

 

[PhantomEB]

I built one for my old Clarke welder and it served me well for years.

Welding table on top? If so I REALLY like this little unit!

 

[SWT Racing]

There are some damn nice welding carts in this thread! The hardest thing is how to integrate hangers for all the cables to make it clean, yet easy to use, and there are some great solutions in this thread.

 

[PCO6]

Welding table on top? If so I REALLY like this little unit!

I'm afraid it was just a "junk" table for all the small tools, etc. that you need while welding. The side of the Clarke welder came off so I could access the drive mechanism, spool, etc. The side of my Lincoln 180 flips up so I can't have a similar table top (... without some modifications which I might find a way to do).

 

[NASTYZEN]

My first welding job with this Lincoln 180 was more urgent than building a cart so opted for a "store bought" Lincoln cart. I couldn't resist pimping it out a bit though. I still plan to build my own but it's down on the list of things to do.

That looks like it could off road with ease.

 

[PCO6]

My first welding job with this Lincoln 180 was more urgent than building a cart so opted for a "store bought" Lincoln cart. I couldn't resist pimping it out a bit though. I still plan to build my own but it's down on the list of things to do.

That looks like it could off road with ease.

You are RIGHT! I've welded out in my yard on good days and that's exactly why I put the larger pneumatic tires on the back. I plan to remove the handle and reinstall it on the same plane as the top surface of the cart (on the same angle). That will give me leverage to either lift and drag it or basically use it like a wheel barrow.

 

[jvo]

I've posted this in the past before.http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17668

Or, you can search for the thread titled " Three Storey Welding Cart"

Someone asked how to keep the cables up off the floor, and the system I use works very well.

 

[Blase]

This is the one I made for my esab mig.

Do you have to take the rack off to get to the wire?

I'd like to build something similar to yours for but could not figure out an easy clean way to get to the wire and wire wipers.

 

[rocketmac]

I think the issue with nylon straps is that they could conceivably burn or melt. It's not likely, but it's possible.

But not Likely !!

 

[GarageEnvy]

Kind of an old thread but since I never contributed and nobody is complaining, here's mine.

It's nothing fancy but it is nice to have a small cabinet for storing my hood and jacket. Originally I made the mistake of small cheap casters and switched to 6" double locking. It made all the difference in the world. I plan on adding a spot for additional chop saw blades and a rack to hang grinders. The deep drawer will hold a grinder but only with the guard off.

 

[lilredex]

This is mine and my solution to eliminating those "straps" (done with a HF ring roller) Mainly made from bed rails and other junk laying around.



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[shoot summ]

I like the idea of a small steel plate on top for a welding table, I'm in the design stage on mine, think I will incorporate one into it.

 

[tcianci]

That rounded handle you have on the front is a great idea for keeping the MIG gun from getting bent at the base, kinda like a bumper for a MIG cart. I will have to "borrow" that one! Here's mine:

 

[Jack Burton]

14 gauge square tube. I kinda built this without thinking too much about it. Next time I'll actually draw something out.