Building a welder cart for my Hobart welder

[modernceo]

Ive been welding now for about 2 months, and love it. I have been practicing a lot on tubular steel, and am starting to get the hang of it.

However, my Hobart welder and C25 tanks are not easy to move around. So, taking some input from pictures of other welder carts pictured here, I decided to make one of my own.

Im using square steel tubing, 3 inch casters, and so far have built the lower frame. Unlike most of the welder carts out there, this design places the welder a little lower, closer to the ground. It would be nice to have it raised some I suppose, but I think Ill be just fine with this design.

Ive put a brace under where the tank will go, and Ive put two braces underneath where the welder will go. Later, Ill weld on some mesh material to use as a floor.

Ill continue to post photos as it progress's. Hopefully Ill have it finished by tonight. I only work on it in my spare time though, which I dont have much of, Hehe, so, Ill work on it little by little.

http://www.modernperformance.com/cory/Misc/weld/weldercart1.JPG

[Noisy Nova]

Lookin' good.
As an aside, I used to get right annoyed when the weldors at work would weld the casters onto whatever it was, 'cause as the maintenance guy, it was up to me to replace the casters when they became bent and/or torn off, etc.
Since I was maintenance for many years before I learned to weld, I still drill and tap when attaching anything that might have to be replaced. Casters seem to be one of those things. :D

[Rocky D]

I would highly recommend putting another brace under the swivel casters...or they will cave in on ya.

[modernceo]

I can see that happening.

I just got a little too weld happy with the casters, I should have just tack welded them in place.



Lookin' good.
As an aside, I used to get right annoyed when the weldors at work would weld the casters onto whatever it was, 'cause as the maintenance guy, it was up to me to replace the casters when they became bent and/or torn off, etc.
Since I was maintenance for many years before I learned to weld, I still drill and tap when attaching anything that might have to be replaced. Casters seem to be one of those things. :D

[modernceo]

I would highly recommend putting another brace under the swivel casters...or they will cave in on ya.

Thats planned.

I was thinking of creating a diagonal brace, but instead, I think Ill just cut another perpendicular brace to weld in behind the wheels for extra reinforcement, and for more weight load distribution for the welder.


Thank you both for your input on this project.

[Noisy Nova]

Always ready to disturb the fecal matter. :D:D (no charge)

[wireburner]

are you leaving it that low ,I find raise about to the waist so you can work on it easier if itsa little machine or thats what id did

[modernceo]

Well, Ive finished most of the welder cart construction. Next Im going to make a holder to hold the gun/cables and ground wire on the right side of the cart (when facing the front of it).

Sorry for the poor photos, but you can see that it has a mesh bottom with reinforcements, nice tall handle for pulling/pushing the cart around, and a circular support for the Mig C25 gas.

http://www.modernperformance.com/cory/Misc/weld/weldercart2.jpg

I spraypainted the cart with a paint called "hammered metal finish". The only way I can describe it, is that it looks a lot like a Medieval piece of metal.

http://www.modernperformance.com/cory/Misc/weld/weldercart3.jpg

[Rocky D]

Interesting cart...are you going to have to lift your gas cylinder into that ring? I would re-think your tank holder...the danger being that the tank can slip out the bottom. If the valve breaks off in the process, the tank can take off like a rocket and go through a brick wall. :eek:

[keenavv]

Interesting cart...are you going to have to lift your gas cylinder into that ring? I would re-think your tank holder...the danger being that the tank can slip out the bottom. If the valve breaks off in the process, the tank can take off like a rocket and go through a brick wall. :eek:

How could a tank slip out the bottom?

[Rocky D]

How could a tank slip out the bottom?

Murfee's Law....tanks should be secured in two places.

[modernceo]

Interesting cart...are you going to have to lift your gas cylinder into that ring? I would re-think your tank holder...the danger being that the tank can slip out the bottom. If the valve breaks off in the process, the tank can take off like a rocket and go through a brick wall. :eek:

This bottle goes almost all the way to the top of the handle for the cart. I seriously doubt its going anywhere.

Just for extra protection though, Ill add another loop to secure the bottle.

[modernceo]

Murfee's Law....tanks should be secured in two places.

(Murphy's)

[modernceo]

IM all finished! Finally!

I took Rocky D's advice, and made another loop, and welded it to cart to support the tank. Its way overkill in my opinion, but, its in the name of safety.

I also bought a hoop from Sears designed for shelving units, and welded a brace onto it, and then welded square steel bar onto it to hold my electrical cables and gun.

Here are some photos. Hope you guys can see some of the detail and work I put into this thing! Heh, it took a lot of work to build this, but im very proud of it !! BTW, I bent those circular loops by hand! Wish I had some sort of apparatus or device to bend those easier.

http://www.modernperformance.com/cory/Misc/weld/weldercart5.jpg

http://www.modernperformance.com/cory/Misc/weld/weldercart4.jpg

Im so happy that this is completed, now I can easily move my welder/tank around, and easily/PROPERLY store it all in my garage. Now, maybe I should weld a storage compartment for my gloves, helmet, jacket, and welding magnets/clamps, accesories.. :D

[AnotherDano]

Call around to some of the TSC stores to see if they still have a Hobart Weldor's backpack stashed away.

I watched them for months at my local store. The were in and out of stock on a day to day basis and the price was jumping between $50.00 and $75.00.
Finally, they were down to just two and the price was around $30.00.

Backpack, hood, chipping hammer and gloves in the package.

I picked up one of those foam-tipped hangers for my welding cart a while ago. Glad to see someone else likes it too.. As soon as the weather breaks, I'll put it all together. The last coat is drying now - I hope. The garage isn't heated and it's freakin' cold here.

[modernceo]

Im suprised only AnotherDano had something to say about my completed cart.

:(

[Clay Walters]

I like its design and your workmanship, but not for a welder cart. Heck, its a personal preferance thing; if you like it that' all that matters. If you had put the bottle behind the handle you would have the option to add a topshelf later. I found I like my Handler roughly table top high or slightly higher and my tools on a shelf underneath. Made my own cart too and not nearly as nicely as you did yours.

Thanks for sharing your project as you never know who or what you might inspire.

Happy New Year too,

Clay

[Brianstick]

I think his cart looks fine, and if he wants to change it later on that's up to him. There's a shortage of men in this world that enjoys working with tools. There's too many men that want to sit a watch sports on television. Those are the men I try to stay away from because you can't learn anything from them. When you have a tool in your hand, your learning. When you're learning, you're growing. I commend him on a job well done.

[pegleg1]

modernceo.

If you wanted to make a helmet holder and a place for your gloves, clamps and what nots, You should have included them in your plans and your cart would have been set for everything in one place and done differant.

When you redo it again this one can be a goods hauler.

Take the time and think of every thing you would ever want in a cart or what ever you are making. then draw it up and weld it from there....

[stevinator]

Looks like a nice quality job.If you ever want you could always have a shelf over the welder for small things also.Wasn't that fun what's next?;)

[whateg0]

...Take the time and think of every thing you would ever want in a cart or what ever you are making. then draw it up and weld it from there....

It's hard to know what other things you'll need when you haven't done it before. Heck, I didn't even include a place to hang the gun on my first welding cart because it was always hanging over a sawhorse or something. Then when I made a table, I didn't have a place to put it.

Modern,

Otherwise, to me it looks like a nice cart to wheel things around on. The height is what what prompted me to replace my first welding cart (that came with my first welder). I got tired of bending over to make adjustments. No, that's not true. I got tired of getting back up after bending over to make adjustments. It is a nice job though, and if it suits your needs, then job well done. And if you do most of your welding on the top of jackstands like I did when I started out :o , the height may be just right. Now that you have made a cart and can put the welder to good use, just take notes for the "next time", just like you would with any other project.

Dave

[BBackSoon]

I have to agree with whatego, it is a nice cart and you will learn what you like and dislike about it as you go.

I don't think I have ever build anything that I didn't look at later and say, why didn't I do this or what was I thinking when I did that?

My cart is a bottle dolly/cart that lays the bottle at about a 45-degree angle and I simply put a bracket on the bottom to hold my welder. I had to make one weld and the dolly was free so it has worked for me. My cord and hose holder is simply a loop of wire up on the handle that I made a hook on. Next time I will take a little more time on that, but for now it works.