Welding cart vs cabinet -preference?

[MrBreeze]

I've read countless threads about welding carts and cabinets - bought, bought and modified, repurposed from tool carts and files cabinets to custom built from scratch. As a newbie welder getting a new Miller 211, I've been researching carts and cabinets - one thing I haven't yet laded on: cart or cabinet?

I can see the advantages of both, but it might be helpful for myself and others who are getting their first welders for their garage/shop to hear from those who have lived with their set up for a while and what their preference and experience has been with their welding carts and cabinets.

Pics are always helpful too.

Thanks!

 

[MrBreeze]

Nearly 100 views and no opinions? That's so unlike this bunch.

Welding Cart?
or
Welding Cabinet?

 

[383 240z]

I have a cart under my MIG and plasma cutter. I'm putting a cabinet under my new TIG machine. Too many consumables with the TIG. cups, collets, gas lenses, tungstens, back caps ect.

I keep a box of nozzles, electrodes and swirl cups, under the plasma. The MIG only holds a pack of tips, mig pliers and a few rolls of wire. Not enough to warrant the cost of a cabinet

 

[RamVet]

Have the Northern tool cabinet under both MIG and TIG units and real happy with them. Really keeps things well organized well and where they are needed. Bought these on sale before HF came out with theirs. HF cabinets may be hard to beat if you can use a coupon

 

[justsam]

I think it depends on your intended application(s). I have my TIG unit on a cart, since gas is required at all times.

Your 211 is an inverter, it is small, use shielding gas is optional if you are using flux core. It also lends itself to portability since I believe it can run on 120VAC.

So....I recommend a cart. Keep you gloves pliers, helmet etc. all in one place. Gas, if used on the back of the cart.

HF or repurpose some existing cart.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I would say a cart also,

 

[pushrods]

The old house i rented I built a cart to hold my tig and my mig and it worked well because of how the garage was setup. With my new house im going to have a fixed location welding station and a cart for the mig when it needs to move around.

Depends on what your situation is. Though I agree tig is normally not that mobile so cabinet makes sense with all the extra consumables. Boils down to how much use and where most of your work is done. And if you got room.....build a mobile welding table on casters that holds all your equipment.

 

[zeke67]

I have a cart, but wish I had a cabinet. I keep the relevant tools, supplies and helmet on the cart. I don't weld that much so this stuff collects dust and whatnot from other shop projects. A cart would give me more storage space, keep stuff protected and organized and so on.

 

[Ilikeike]

I just bought a 211 for the shop at work and a $100 cart for it,that thing is light!, I always borrowed the old Miller 180 that it replaced,so I bought it for home.
The 180 has a crappy sheet metal cart that it came with it 6-7 yrs ago, so I thought about using a cabinet, but think I'd rather build some type of cart as my next project, I'd rather have a basic easy access shelf or two for a few tools than drawers.
I keep my consumables in a bin on a rack above my small home welding table,so a drawer on the cart isn't necessary just yet.

 

[mizzoutrover]

I am planning on building a cabinet from a heavy filing cabinet I have for my mig, I have a cart for the plasma cutter. Based on the comments here I think I will add an open shelf above the 2 drawer filing cabinet and set the mig above it so I can have a few things handy. I like the idea of storing my helmet, wire and consumables in the cabinet and keeping pliers and a few clamps outside and more accessible.

 

[evintho]

I'm a big fan of welding carts. With a 25' extension cord I can wheel my welders anywhere in the shop I need them. I've got a 110v for sheetmetal and a 220v for everything else. I built this simple cart for next to nothing and it works great. Here's the thread............
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=310087

 

[JonBoehman]

Here is what I did and I like it. Its kind of a mix of both worlds

 

[Nexussian]

Why not both?

Build a cart like evintho, but with a cabinet for consumables?

 

[justanengineer]

Ive always just stuck those small machines on a shelf over or under a welding bench, so long as its plugged in and connected to gas it'll work fine. If you need to work on a vehicle or off the bench I'd just move the work, the machine, or get a longer whip. Both my MM200s have 15' whips, I can pretty easily get benchwork done and most anywhere on a vehicle without moving the machine, not that moving a large machine on wheels or a small portable box is difficult.

 

[maxpower_hd]

I use a cart and an extension cord for the power. I need to be able to get outside and even though it is somewhat portable it is still kind of heavy and a PITA to move around with the tank, cord yada yada. So for me the cart is vital. You could always put wheels on a cabinet. I have a Hobart Handler 185.

My plasma is a Hypotherm and is very small and light so that just goes in a carry case.

 

[metalmagpie]

Either build a small steel drawer unit into your welding cart or into your welding table. You don't need ball bearing drawer slides or anything fancy, one of those ones designed to go into workman's vans would work fine.

 

[LandofRath]

When I got my welder I wanted a cabinet and found this low costing locking box and turned it into my first welding project. Works for me.

 

[TMcCay]

I bought the Northern cabinet and love it. HF did not have theirs yet and I haven't looked at it to compare the quality of the two. I really like that my helmet has a safe place for storage and the drawers are laid out the consumables.

 

[OCJohn]

...it might be helpful for myself and others who are getting their first welders for their garage/shop to hear from those who have lived with their set up for a while and what their preference and experience has been with their welding carts and cabinets.

I agree and am in the nearly the same situation.

When I got my Lincoln 175 I let myself get talked into one of theses deals. It was nice to have something plug and play from the start. But after owning it for 6-7 years though, I've come to hate it. There's no good place to store my helmet away from all my sawdust and the bottom shelf has become a mess of wire rolls, cups, tips and mig related miscellany. The welder's too low for my liking and all the space above it is waisted.

This HF/Northern thing would be an improvement, but the quality is a little shabby for the current price (not this coupon price...).


Thing is, I never realized I had a problem until I really started looking around GJ a few weeks ago. The first time I saw frijolee's rig, I felt like I'd found God. Brilliant.

This Canadian's rig is not as polished, but his video is much funnier.

So now I'm on the lookout for a small cabinet or tool cart I can repurpose. I'm also thinking about upgrading to a red HF 30 in. 5-drawer tool cart and then turning my black, 4-drawer 26 in. into the mig mobile.

Look forward to seeing other solutions and opinions. [subscribed]

 

[frankush]

I have a cart, but wish I had a cabinet. I keep the relevant tools, supplies and helmet on the cart. I don't weld that much so this stuff collects dust and whatnot from other shop projects. A cart would give me more storage space, keep stuff protected and organized and so on.

This is the reason I bought my cabinet. I really like having all my welding stuff in one place. Welding helmet in the big drawer. Added a few brackets for cord storage. For me, this setup works well.

 

[OCJohn]

 

[smalltown]

I like this thread. I also bought a Miller 211 (transformer model). One thing I do need is a cart or cabinet. Leaning toward http://www.zoro.com/miller-electric-running-gearcart-4-in-h-x-17-34-in-w-301239/i/G8571096/. I am little surprised at how much they want for these even when they go on sale.

The cabinet does has it advantages of being able to store helmet gloves etc.

I am a little leery about a cart being top heavy with a heavy MIG welder on top, and fairly light things on the lower shelf.


evintho thanks for the cart building post!

 

[StormcrowAz]

I prefer carts. Build it yourself. It’s fun, good practice, end up with a better product, and a sense of accomplishment.

The first one I made from angle iron and 3/16 plate. Portable workbench and weld surface.




It worked well for several years, but after a couple mobility issues (struggling to push the cart through dirt and hay in order to fix my neighbors horse stall pushed it over the edge) I decided to come up with something a bit more portable.





This has been working great so far. It has a smaller footprint when working on projects, which I like. It doesn’t have as much surface area to work on stuff, but haven’t really found that to be too much of an issue, I can always just wheel it over to the table if need be. There’s hardly any room to store “stuff” but I think that might be a positive point. The bottom of the other cart became another dumping ground for miscellaneous junk.

The old cart is still my primary workbench until I build something a little larger, and who knows…maybe I’ll squeeze a tig unit or maybe a plasma cutter under there sometime in the future?

 

[Farmall Cub]

I bought the blue HF Mig cart.
First thing I did was put heavier front casters on it, the originals bound and fought me all the time. They are double the size and weight of the originals.
That was all it needed, been using it for at least 10 years.

 

[Ilikeike]

I prefer carts. Build it yourself. It’s fun, good practice, end up with a better product, and a sense of accomplishment.

The first one I made from angle iron and 3/16 plate. Portable workbench and weld surface.


It worked well for several years, but after a couple mobility issues (struggling to push the cart through dirt and hay in order to fix my neighbors horse stall pushed it over the edge) I decided to come up with something a bit more portable.


This has been working great so far. It has a smaller footprint when working on projects, which I like. It doesn’t have as much surface area to work on stuff, but haven’t really found that to be too much of an issue, I can always just wheel it over to the table if need be. There’s hardly any room to store “stuff” but I think that might be a positive point. The bottom of the other cart became another dumping ground for miscellaneous junk.

The old cart is still my primary workbench until I build something a little larger, and who knows…maybe I’ll squeeze a tig unit or maybe a plasma cutter under there sometime in the future?

That is a pretty good idea. I nice simple mobile package.

 

[bullnerd]

Open=collects dirt, dust and everything in between.

Cabinets everywhere!

 

[BlueBomber]

Here are two of my solutions.

View media item 44462
As others have mentioned, a cabinet on wheels gives you the best of both worlds, except maybe not as portable over rough ground. This chest stores the MIG & plasma torch consumables, as well as a selection of clamps, files, Visegrips, and other useful tools for welding. There is also no portable work surface, but I have two welding table stands I can deploy if needed.

View media item 51233View media item 51234
I picked up this like-new Lincoln tombstone for a steal, and added a wheel kit. The handle is a re-purposed snow shovel handle. It has the advantage of being more portable over rough surfaces, but has no room for supplies or safety gear. I intend to rig up something on the back side to carry rods, gloves and helmet...eventually.

 

[zkling]

Depends on how your shop is setup. Stacking compact machines is a great way to save space, but then where are you going to keep the misc welding accessories?

I've got a full size floor tig which the portable mig sits on top, and a full size floor mig which the plasma sits on top. Then a 26" tool box dedicated to misc weld accessories.

[/URL]

This has been working great so far. It has a smaller footprint when working on projects, which I like. It doesn’t have as much surface area to work on stuff, but haven’t really found that to be too much of an issue, I can always just wheel it over to the table if need be. There’s hardly any room to store “stuff” but I think that might be a positive point. The bottom of the other cart became another dumping ground for miscellaneous junk.

The old cart is still my primary workbench until I build something a little larger, and who knows…maybe I’ll squeeze a tig unit or maybe a plasma cutter under there sometime in the future?

That's an awesome setup!

Open=collects dirt, dust and everything in between.

Cabinets everywhere!

But...cabinets block airflow and access to machine internals.

 

[NotV8]

Just to give you another idea. This is what I built when I first got my welder and since my welder is already on wheels. I can put my vise either on the left or right and use one extension cord for the outlet for the grinders and chop saw. Painted the small filing cabinet and weld it under for the helmet, gloves, pliers, etc. I usually weld outside too. I build something to stop the wheel from rolling when I used the vise. I'm not a welder but just want to learn and do my own stuff...

 

[eastbaysubaru]

Just to give you another idea. This is what I built when I first got my welder and since my welder is already on wheels. I can put my vise either on the left or right and use one extension cord for the outlet for the grinders and chop saw. Painted the small filing cabinet and weld it under for the helmet, gloves, pliers, etc. I usually weld outside too. I build something to stop the wheel from rolling when I used the vise. I'm not a welder but just want to learn and do my own stuff...

That is a really nice welding table/bench! How much practice/experience with welding did you have when you built that?

-Brian

 

[Responder]

Just to give you another idea. This is what I built when I first got my welder and since my welder is already on wheels. I can put my vise either on the left or right and use one extension cord for the outlet for the grinders and chop saw. Painted the small filing cabinet and weld it under for the helmet, gloves, pliers, etc. I usually weld outside too. I build something to stop the wheel from rolling when I used the vise. I'm not a welder but just want to learn and do my own stuff...

Not to hijack this thread, but do you have more pics of that table? I may have seen this before but not sure where......Dukers maybe?

 

[A**holes Garage]

I bought a Nothern garden cart and modified it to hold 2) welders, clamps, Oxy/Acet cart, gas, etc.

 

[bullnerd]

But...cabinets block airflow and access to machine internals.

True. I didnt mean for the actual welder to be enclosed, just everything else.

That wasn't too clear on my part.

 

[tarmy]

This is my set up...
View attachment 507519
And the welder and plasma cutter ...

 

[bobcatdan]

My 211 is on the cart that came as part of the package deal. It's OK and does what it's suppose to. It has a cubby for a case for consumables. The case is big enough for years worth of tips and enough cones for a while. Other then maybe building a better cart myself, I see this working fine. The cabinets HF or northern sell do look kinda cool, but I don't see storing that much stuff in there. 99% of the time, my welder doesn't move so I have no reason to have a lot of stuff moving with it.

 

[lakeroadster]

FWIW... Here's my home made welding related stuff:

I made a piggyback caddy to install my Lincoln 110V mig on top of my ESAB 220V Mig, Tig, Stick welder. Handy and compact.



I also built a rolling welding table out of an old steel computer base, added a 3/8" steel top. It has a lot of space for misc. welding stuff and is where I keep c-clamps, angle iron, etc.

 

[Will S.]

I put the HF cabinet under my Miller, but like some others here, I replaced the wheels. In fact, I replaced not only the crappy casters, but the rear axle and wheels as well. Then I went on to make some improvements on the tank strap, and welding cable hooks. It works well, and if you time it right, you can get it for under a hundred bucks.

 

[ssg57]

I use a cart like this for my MIG on top and my stick welder on the bottom. It's very sturdy. You can catch them on sale at harbor freight or northern tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/30-in-...ypropylene-industrial-service-cart-61930.html

 

[motofool33]

I agree and am in the nearly the same situation.

When I got my Lincoln 175 I let myself get talked into one of theses deals. It was nice to have something plug and play from the start. But after owning it for 6-7 years though, I've come to hate it. There's no good place to store my helmet away from all my sawdust and the bottom shelf has become a mess of wire rolls, cups, tips and mig related miscellany. The welder's too low for my liking and all the space above it is waisted.

This HF/Northern thing would be an improvement, but the quality is a little shabby for the current price (not this coupon price...).


Thing is, I never realized I had a problem until I really started looking around GJ a few weeks ago. The first time I saw frijolee's rig, I felt like I'd found God. Brilliant.

This Canadian's rig is not as polished, but his video is much funnier.

So now I'm on the lookout for a small cabinet or tool cart I can repurpose. I'm also thinking about upgrading to a red HF 30 in. 5-drawer tool cart and then turning my black, 4-drawer 26 in. into the mig mobile.

Look forward to seeing other solutions and opinions. [subscribed]

thanks now i have to build a new welding cart...

 

[AndrewDouglasBird]

I really like this. I think I would make the table foldable though for better storage, or just leave it off (for my uses I'd probably never use it).