Another Welding Cart

[stevenstilts]

As many beginning welders have done, I decided to build a simple cart to hold my welder and gas. I spent most of my time being careful with the cutting and making sure everything is square and plumb; which for the most part, it is. I'll be putting some plate on the two platforms, the top to hold the welder and the bottom, to have something to weld casters on and to be able to use the bottom to hold the gas cylinder on the extended part and the rest for stuff like clamps.

Everything is 1/8" x 1" angle iron. I plan to use 1/8/th flat iron on the top and bottom. Question; will I have trouble with it warping as I weld around the outside of the frame? Any tips on how to go about that appreciated.

[LMSyrus]

Good job! Are you going to weld hooks on for your leads?

[stevenstilts]

Originally Posted by LMSyrus

Good job! Are you going to weld hooks on for your leads?

Thanks, yes I will be attaching something to coil the leads on. I'm not sure about a couple of things yet, wheels, etc., because I'm not working from plans.

[ed mac]

looking good

[stevenstilts]

Thanks for the comments; remember I had a question about welding that flat iron to the bottom. I'm worried I won't be able to just lay it on there and weld it on, I'm afraid it will warp before I get all the way around. Should I tack it in several places first? Is there anything to worry about with 1/8th? How should I handle that?

[Down&out]

Nice work!!

[oxygen454]

You may get some warpage. You can either do stitch patterns around the plate instead of welding solid which is what I would do or, you could weld 2 inches and then go to the other side of the plate (not the underside) and weld and then top....just jump around... but stitching would be the best with the sheet inside the angle ..

Defiantly give it a few good tacs.

Then throw some caster wheels on each corner, wire hangers, a safety chain, some paint and your good to go.

[Rugar]

Originally Posted by stevenstilts

Thanks for the comments; remember I had a question about welding that flat iron to the bottom. I'm worried I won't be able to just lay it on there and weld it on, I'm afraid it will warp before I get all the way around. Should I tack it in several places first? Is there anything to worry about with 1/8th? How should I handle that?

Theres no reason to weld it all the way around. 1/2" welds every 5 to 6" should be plenty. But if your planning to put casters on all four corners of your existing frame, your going to have a top heavy cart. Best bet would be to put a axle on the cylinder end with wheels extending outside the frame to give it stability.

[stevenstilts]

Originally Posted by oxygen454

You may get some warpage. You can either do stitch patterns around the plate instead of welding solid which is what I would do or, you could weld 2 inches and then go to the other side of the plate (not the underside) and weld and then top....just jump around... but stitching would be the best with the sheet inside the angle ..

Defiantly give it a few good tacs.

Then throw some caster wheels on each corner, wire hangers, a safety chain, some paint and your good to go.

I thought about putting the sheet inside the angle rather than just welding it to the bottom; it would definitely look better. You'll have to explain stitching to me if you don't mind; I've been welding for a whole 2 weeks.

[stevenstilts]

Originally Posted by Rugar

Theres no reason to weld it all the way around. 1/2" welds every 5 to 6" should be plenty. But if your planning to put casters on all four corners of your existing frame, your going to have a top heavy cart. Best bet would be to put a axle on the cylinder end with wheels extending outside the frame to give it stability.

I had thought about it being top heavy since it's so narrow, the wheels on the outside of the frame is a good idea.

As for the welding, I'm just starting so the more the better for right now and I need the practice!

[welderShane]

Looks good!

[oxygen454]

This is a stitch pattern. If asked for a 2-3 pattern, this means 2" of weld, and welds on 3" centers. In this pic I thew together, the stitches are on 2 1/2" centers The half rectangles are welds. (not to scale)

[oxygen454]

The axle with wheels on the outside is the best way to go as stated above...

Also the bottle on the back will help keep it from being too top heavy. My cart is similar to this one and my welder also goes on top. They all seems to be similar to this. Top heavy has not been a problem. Just make sure the safety chain is on there. You dont even want to know what happens when a bottle falls over.

[oxygen454]

This is what a small scuba tank similar to your welding tank will do. That is if the top is cut off which doesn't happen very easily.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyINNUaXa8Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyINNUaXa8Q

[kenklingerman]

cool, kinda like mine, still have never painted it!

[oxygen454]

Nice, you could put a plasma on there too.

[stevenstilts]

Originally Posted by oxygen454

This is a stitch pattern. If asked for a 2-3 pattern, this means 2" of weld, and welds on 3" centers. In this pic I thew together, the stitches are on 2 1/2" centers The half rectangles are welds. (not to scale)

Thanks for explaining it.

[oxygen454]

No problem, happy to help.

[stevenstilts]

Originally Posted by kenklingerman

cool, kinda like mine, still have never painted it!

That's kind of what I had in mind. Hadn't thought about expanded metal though.

[stevenstilts]

Originally Posted by oxygen454

This is what a small scuba tank similar to your welding tank will do. That is if the top is cut off which doesn't happen very easily.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyINNUaXa8Q

Would you believe I've seen that done intentionally. I'm a helicopter pilot and I've seen some of the offshore workers on rigs aim oxygen bottles offshore and knock off the stem with a sledgh hammer to watch what happens. (among other things equally dangerous) It's been years though, before safety was the priority it is now.

[oxygen454]

Yeah its crazy. I have heard of full size tanks going through brick walls and a 1/4 mile across a field and into the ground but never seen it in real life. I have however had bottles fall over and crack the tops and acetylene tank valves catch on fire. That's scary enough.

[himsa169]

Not trying to be a negative nancy but im in a class, so i see all the retarded things that you will probly not need to worry about. But i would flip the angle or in your case add a piece so the welder sits with a little boarder around it. you dont know how many times ive seen a hole kids pull the mig by the gun/ground lead/ or the plug and pulled it right off the cart but im sure you treat your machine alot diffrent

[oxygen454]

haha I was thinking the same thing... he could weld some tabs in the corners or on each side on center too.

My cart has a plate which clamps down on the front side with a couple of bolts and some angle in the back side.



(Sorry for all the pictures lol)

[stevenstilts]

Originally Posted by himsa169

Not trying to be a negative nancy but im in a class, so i see all the retarded things that you will probly not need to worry about. But i would flip the angle or in your case add a piece so the welder sits with a little boarder around it. you dont know how many times ive seen a hole kids pull the mig by the gun/ground lead/ or the plug and pulled it right off the cart but im sure you treat your machine alot diffrent

That's a good point, however this particular welder has four 1/4 20 bolt thread points on the bottom which I plan to use to bolt it to two pieces of angle I'll weld across the top piece. It won't fall off. Also, turning the angle up has the potential to interfere with the opening of the wire feed door on the side. I'll post photos to show you what I'm talking about when I do it.

[Monica]

Originally Posted by stevenstilts

That's a good point, however this particular welder has four 1/4 20 bolt thread points on the bottom which I plan to use to bolt it to two pieces of angle I'll weld across the top piece. It won't fall off. Also, turning the angle up has the potential to interfere with the opening of the wire feed door on the side. I'll post photos to show you what I'm talking about when I do it.

That's what I came across on my cart. The space you need depends on the width of the sides and the depth of the shelf. I gave myself 1.5" on each side of the machine (I used 1"x1"x1/8"). At that point I had not yet decided what material I'd use on the shelf but that was a safe measurement. I ended up using a 3/4" thick piece of shelf board to hurry up and get it done. So clearance isn't even a second thought. I also retained a small lip. In time I can change the shelf material as I see fit.


If you find the door gets stopped by the side, just make your shelf a little thicker so the machine sits a little higher. That'll help it clear.


Edit: oop, just read you got it already done. Coffee hasn't taken affect yet