Are you still laughing? This is my biggest welding project. I took a class, two years ago, which I detailed here: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=319283
Since then, I have only used my welder a few times and only on tiny "fix it" projects. A few months ago, the Old Lady's laundry hamper shot craps. I decided it would be fun to build a new one. The old one was a frame on casters that held three bags.
This project ended up costing a lot more than I had hoped, but it should last forever...Around $35 in steel, $5 in bolts/lock nuts, $30 in casters, and some money in wire wheels/grinders/flap discs.
The following tools were used:
Welder: Forney 130FI (Yes, it's the same as a Clarke, Craftsman, HTP) 120v w/.035 Forney brand Flux-Cored wire.
Welpers: Channellock
Angle Grinder DeWalt DWE402 11 Amp, 11K RPM
Welding Helmet: Metal Man from Tractor Supply Company (still on two year old battery.
Welding Gloves: Lincoln Electric Red ones.
Drill: DeWalt DCD996 Brushless XR w/6.0 Ah battery.
Steel:
14" of 2"x1/4" flat=1
24" of 1/2" round=2
18" of 1"x1/8" angle=4
24" of 1"x1/8" angle=4
28" of 1"x1/8" angle=4
I only had the angle grinder or an air grinder to cut the 14" long, 2" wide, 1/4" flat stock into 3.5" coupons. Due to my lack of skill, they all came out crooked. To try to fix this, I squared up one side and clamped them to my welding table. Yes, that tiny workspace is my welding table. I then used a flap disc to try to make the cut sides all the same. I turned the pieces around and repeated. This was close enough.
About the welding table, it was a hand-me-down from a friend who ran a fab shop. He had it on a small crane. The hole and cutout make it nice to use clamps with, but it's a very small space, for what I was doing.
I then used the wire brushes on the 28" angle to weld the 24" to it.
I made sure it was square and clamped it. I'm not good enough to notch the angle, like a pro, so I did this hack job:
Here's the first weld, right after I did it, before any de-slagging. Not as bad as I expected, since it had been so long, since the last time I welded anything. Yeah, I know, it's ugly. However, it is pretty strong. I gave it the muscle a few different directions, to test.
I continued making the frame, for one side:
Somewhere during the second frame, I realized I switched which piece when where. The 28" angle was supposed to be the runner and the 24" was to be the height posts. I cussed and continued onward, hoping for the best. Of course, I had welded every joint I could.
Here's the welder and the setting I used. Since it's a 120v, I left it plugged in. I have found that it will trip the breaker, if I just plug it in and go. This way, it stays full of juice and the fan keeps blowing. My electrical setup is crappy. The plugin I use for the welder is plugged into another plugin that goes to another box with plugins and then to the breaker box. When I put my sub-panel in, I will have dedicated 120v and 240v lines.
I did have issues with the wire, at one point. I was using a two pound spool and somehow, it got very locked up. I took it out and by the time I got the wire to come off the spool like it should, instead of from the bottom, I had removed a lot of wire. Around 20+ feet of it, I would guess.
Again, due to my lack of proper tools, I had to improvise. To get the holes right, for the casters in the 1/4" flat, I clamped them down and drilled two holes, through the caster plate. I then put the bolts in and clamped it down, with the bolts keeping the back holes lined up. I used my DeWalt 886 and a cobalt 1/4" drill bit, since I don't have a drill press.
Here, you can see the 1/2" round stock I used and rails, for the hangers. I paid hell trying to weld that in. I think the solid round and the thinner flat, combined with my weak welder and poor welding ability all played a part. You can also see the 1/4" flat I welded to the bases of the legs, to mount the casters.
Here's one of the casters. It is the "non-marking" swivel kind.
Here's the functional product, in it's new habitat:
And the final rough (pre-paint) product with the hamper bags:
Another picture, of the bottom sections. I am going to put a rubber hose around the 1/4" flat, the casters are bolted to, after I paint it. The rounding of the corners was done with the angle grinder and a flap disc.
To my great surprise, the damn thing is even close enough to square it doesn't wobble, at all.
Since then, I have only used my welder a few times and only on tiny "fix it" projects. A few months ago, the Old Lady's laundry hamper shot craps. I decided it would be fun to build a new one. The old one was a frame on casters that held three bags.
This project ended up costing a lot more than I had hoped, but it should last forever...Around $35 in steel, $5 in bolts/lock nuts, $30 in casters, and some money in wire wheels/grinders/flap discs.
The following tools were used:
Welder: Forney 130FI (Yes, it's the same as a Clarke, Craftsman, HTP) 120v w/.035 Forney brand Flux-Cored wire.
Welpers: Channellock
Angle Grinder DeWalt DWE402 11 Amp, 11K RPM
Welding Helmet: Metal Man from Tractor Supply Company (still on two year old battery.
Welding Gloves: Lincoln Electric Red ones.
Drill: DeWalt DCD996 Brushless XR w/6.0 Ah battery.
Steel:
14" of 2"x1/4" flat=1
24" of 1/2" round=2
18" of 1"x1/8" angle=4
24" of 1"x1/8" angle=4
28" of 1"x1/8" angle=4
I only had the angle grinder or an air grinder to cut the 14" long, 2" wide, 1/4" flat stock into 3.5" coupons. Due to my lack of skill, they all came out crooked. To try to fix this, I squared up one side and clamped them to my welding table. Yes, that tiny workspace is my welding table. I then used a flap disc to try to make the cut sides all the same. I turned the pieces around and repeated. This was close enough.
About the welding table, it was a hand-me-down from a friend who ran a fab shop. He had it on a small crane. The hole and cutout make it nice to use clamps with, but it's a very small space, for what I was doing.
I then used the wire brushes on the 28" angle to weld the 24" to it.
I made sure it was square and clamped it. I'm not good enough to notch the angle, like a pro, so I did this hack job:
Here's the first weld, right after I did it, before any de-slagging. Not as bad as I expected, since it had been so long, since the last time I welded anything. Yeah, I know, it's ugly. However, it is pretty strong. I gave it the muscle a few different directions, to test.
I continued making the frame, for one side:
Somewhere during the second frame, I realized I switched which piece when where. The 28" angle was supposed to be the runner and the 24" was to be the height posts. I cussed and continued onward, hoping for the best. Of course, I had welded every joint I could.
Here's the welder and the setting I used. Since it's a 120v, I left it plugged in. I have found that it will trip the breaker, if I just plug it in and go. This way, it stays full of juice and the fan keeps blowing. My electrical setup is crappy. The plugin I use for the welder is plugged into another plugin that goes to another box with plugins and then to the breaker box. When I put my sub-panel in, I will have dedicated 120v and 240v lines.
I did have issues with the wire, at one point. I was using a two pound spool and somehow, it got very locked up. I took it out and by the time I got the wire to come off the spool like it should, instead of from the bottom, I had removed a lot of wire. Around 20+ feet of it, I would guess.
Again, due to my lack of proper tools, I had to improvise. To get the holes right, for the casters in the 1/4" flat, I clamped them down and drilled two holes, through the caster plate. I then put the bolts in and clamped it down, with the bolts keeping the back holes lined up. I used my DeWalt 886 and a cobalt 1/4" drill bit, since I don't have a drill press.
Here, you can see the 1/2" round stock I used and rails, for the hangers. I paid hell trying to weld that in. I think the solid round and the thinner flat, combined with my weak welder and poor welding ability all played a part. You can also see the 1/4" flat I welded to the bases of the legs, to mount the casters.
Here's one of the casters. It is the "non-marking" swivel kind.
Here's the functional product, in it's new habitat:
And the final rough (pre-paint) product with the hamper bags:
Another picture, of the bottom sections. I am going to put a rubber hose around the 1/4" flat, the casters are bolted to, after I paint it. The rounding of the corners was done with the angle grinder and a flap disc.
To my great surprise, the damn thing is even close enough to square it doesn't wobble, at all.
Time for the next project 
