welder cart design question

[HandsomeRyan]

I'm working on welding up a cart/rack thing for my welder to sit on. My original design was to have pieces of metal that come up on each side to prevent the welder from getting whacked and slipping off the side of the platform that it sits on. (i know it would take a pretty good wallop to knock a 45# welder off it's base but you can never be too careful)

If I allow the vertical supports to come up that high I will have to remove the welder from the cart to replace the wire but OTOH, I have been welding little stuff around the house for 2 weeks with the 'sample' spool that came with the welder so once i put in the full sized spool that i got to run when the 'sample' runs out. At this rate i may only need to change the spool once every 6 months or so; not a huge deal.

What would you do?

Pro's:
• looks cool
• keeps welder from being bumped off side of cart
• more practice welds

Con's:
• welder has to be taken off cart to replace spool about 2x a year

[fjk]

I'm working on welding up a cart/rack thing for my welder to sit on. My original design was to have pieces of metal that come up on each side to prevent the welder from getting whacked and slipping off the side of the platform that it sits on. (i know it would take a pretty good wallop to knock a 45# welder off it's base but you can never be too careful)

If I allow the vertical supports to come up that high I will have to remove the welder from the cart to replace the wire but OTOH, I have been welding little stuff around the house for 2 weeks with the 'sample' spool that came with the welder so once i put in the full sized spool that i got to run when the 'sample' runs out. At this rate i may only need to change the spool once every 6 months or so; not a huge deal.

What would you do?

Pro's:
• looks cool
• keeps welder from being bumped off side of cart
• more practice welds

Con's:
• welder has to be taken off cart to replace spool about 2x a year

assuming that the welder is a typical hobart/miller design,
with both the spool _and_ the mechanism all behind door #1...
what do you do when the wire bird's-nests?
or you have to adjust the feed?
or change polarity?
or swap solid for fluxcore?
or change alloys?
(or any of the other things that i've forgot about :-)

i would not put sides on the cart -- but if you're hot to trot
on the idea, you could do something like make the one side
removable and bolt it to the cart.

f

[AnotherDano]

I have a little toy Lincoln. My cart has 2x2 angle mounted to hold the welder in place on the sides. The side door closes over the angle bracket.

[Rocky D]

Here's how I overcame that problem...I used 1: angle on three sides for the welder to sit in, 45° cuts and on the door side I used 5/8" angle mounted underneath to allow for the door to open. The welder fits in the frame tight enough, so it won't fall out.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/RockyD/Stuff%20I%20built/Welder%20Cart/MVC-737F.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/RockyD/Stuff%20I%20built/Welder%20Cart/MVC-606F.jpg
I have since replaced the 20CF tank mount for accept a 80CF tank.

[84ZMike]

Mine is simular to Rocky's cart...... I used some 1" 1/8 angle.....the welder fits very snug into it.....if I remove the tool box and bottle from the cart I can pick up the welder and cart together by the handle on top of my HH140 :D

[whateg0]

My MM180 sits on top of a 32-ish inch tall cart. The shelf is actually a piece of plywood, which has not caught fire yet. It's been that way for about 4? years now and neither this welder, nor the previous welder has moved at all.

I roll it out onto the not-so-smooth driveway in front of the garage to weld out there. It has to go over the threshold of the walk-in door, or over the lip at the overhead door and neither seem to affect it.

So, it's up to you what you do, but I don't think you have much to worry about either way. If it's sliding off because the cart is tipping over, well, it's going to hit the floor either way.

Dave

[crawler]

Here's how I overcame that problem...I used 1: angle on three sides for the welder to sit in, 45° cuts and on the door side I used 5/8" angle mounted underneath to allow for the door to open. The welder fits in the frame tight enough, so it won't fall out.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/RockyD/Stuff%20I%20built/Welder%20Cart/MVC-737F.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/RockyD/Stuff%20I%20built/Welder%20Cart/MVC-606F.jpg
I have since replaced the 20CF tank mount for accept a 80CF tank.

Rocky,

I like your design. Can you tell why you have 2 receptacle boxes on there?

Thanks,
Charles

[Rocky D]

Rocky,

I like your design. Can you tell why you have 2 receptacle boxes on there?

Thanks,
Charles

one is for the machines, plasma cutter and welder, and the other faces front for power tools.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/RockyD/Stuff%20I%20built/Welder%20Cart/MVC-594F.jpg

[crawler]

one is for the machines, plasma cutter and welder, and the other faces front for power tools.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/RockyD/Stuff%20I%20built/Welder%20Cart/MVC-594F.jpg

That is very nice and well thought out.

I'm going with your design when I build a cart for my little 110v welder. Thanks for sharing Rocky.

Charles

[FABMAN]

one is for the machines, plasma cutter and welder, and the other faces front for power tools.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/RockyD/Stuff%20I%20built/Welder%20Cart/MVC-594F.jpg

Nice design Rocky !;)

[oldjeep]

I wouldn't worry about having to move the welder a couple times a year. On my cart, I have to slide it forward enough to get the door open and it's not a big deal.

http://oldjeep.com/images/WelderCart/WelderCart%20001.jpg

[Rocky D]

Chuck, it looks to me like you don't even need that piece blocking the door, cuz you have it supported underneath. I think it would be a major PIA to have to move the machine any time you needed to change wire or fix a jam. Very nice cart, by the way...cool with the diamond plate. :cool:

[whateg0]

Hey Oldjeep, that's a cool looking welding cart, but how do you get the bottle in? Do you have to lift it over the handle?

Dave

[oldjeep]

I think it would be a major PIA to have to move the machine any time you needed to change wire or fix a jam.

Spool get changed maybe twice a year. I've never had the machine jam on me, fed about 8 11lb spools through it so far.


Hey Oldjeep, that's a cool looking welding cart, but how do you get the bottle in? Do you have to lift it over the handle?
Dave
Yes, I just lift it over the handle.