My welding kart project

[Jadecy]

I finally got the materials and built my welding cart this weekend. I am happy with the way it turned, and as usual I've over built it. It is constructed from 1.5" angle and some 20gauge sheet for shelving. The frame is way stronger than it needs to be. I am still going to add a few features like a hook underneath to hold the 25' extension that is currently laying on the bottom shelf and a mig gun holder. I bought the heavy duty casters at HF on sale. The entire cart cost me about $80.

[Jadecy]

picture 2

[Jadecy]

picture 3

[Jadecy]

picture 4

[Sberry]

I can see where strength might have been a concern, you wouldnt wanted it to collapse under the weight of that monster bottle,,,, hahahaahAZhaahahaaa good cart.

[Jadecy]

I don't do a whole lot of welding so the small bottle lasts me about 6 months. I was going to buy a bigger bottle but got two small ones instead. One is Argon and the other is Ar/CO2 mix. The handle on the cart is a piece of 3/4" chromoly (4130) that I had bent incorrectly a while back. It ended up fitting perfectly.

[Jadecy]

If I had an old barn or a place to get scrap I would have done that. I'm limited to where I can buy materials. I bought the material from a welding company and the only other source I have found that will sell to the public in small amounts is a place called suburban steel. I usually buy from them, but this time I decided to try someone else because suburban doesn't always have what I want. If anyone has a better option in the Columbus, Ohio area please let me know. The only connections I have are the yellow pages or the web. I know it sounds like a lot, but it is a heck of a lot cheaper than buying online and paying shipping or buying it at one of the home box stores (ie. Lowes, home depot, ...).

[morpheus]

don't let the un-niceguywelder get to you...

when I first getting started it took me a long time before I found the places to buy steel from that would sell small quantities to me cheaply. I too have some pricey projects around.

I have two places I buy from now. a scrapyard and a welding shop. THe scrapyard has great deals when they have what I need .. the welding shop is great to me. they sell me just what I need most of the time at scrap prices and will cut or shear anything I need. Great place. I do all I can to keep that relationship healthy. Ironically, a woman owns the welding shop.

Keep calling around, you'll find one or two places that will deal with you.

- jack

[Wyoming]

Jadecy,
Try looking around your area for a good scrapyard that will let you go out into their yard and root around. I haven't purchased a new caster in years since trying this method locally....I must have three five gallon buckets filled with various sizes and styles of casters. You would be surprised at what is being thrown away.

Try to get in good with the scrapyard people before you start asking for special treatment or service. A dollar or so item may not be their idea of worthwhile work to break from their busy duties to help you on. Once they know that you are a regular they will tend to be much more willing to help you out with what you need.

Stay away from the heavy equipment and off the piles. The owners are always worried that your mad-dog lawyer is going to take their business for a mint.

None of this matters if you are in an area of the country that will not let you root around. I once advised a friend of mine out in Philadelphia to go this route and he replied that in his area it was not a good idea to visit the side of the city with the scrapyards even during daylight hours.

Locally, used steel is running around 10 cents a pound which makes it cheaper to build from steel than to do the same job in wood. I've found used sections of 1/8" plate in the 4' X 10' size that had never been used before they were surplused to the scrapyard.

Hope this helps

[Wyoming]

Jadecy,

I read your post again and missed a point. Look in your Yellow Pages for steel recyclers. Might take a day of looking around at the various yards to find one that will let you do what you want. Most seem to be located down in the railroad areas of the city for the cheap shipping. My geography isn't that good on Ohio...if you have water ports near you, I'd head down to that section of town and look around as water transport is even cheaper than rail.

[pepster]

Nice cart!

I like your cart; simple and functional. How are you able to have the photos in the post without the reader having to download them? Its a nice touch and I would like to be able to do it too. Saves a lot of time.

[Jadecy]

The pictures - To get the pictures to show rather than just having a link is a 2 step process.

1) Attach the photo as you normally would using the
'Attach file:' option at the bottom. This will put a link in
your post.

2) a) Go to your new post and right click on the link. This
produces a context menu.

b) Click on the 'copy shortcut' option. This will put the URL in
the paste buffer.

c) 'Edit' the same post and click on the 'IMG' option. When it
asks for the URL press "Ctrl+V". This will paste the URL
into the text field. Click 'Ok' and it will insert the img tag.

d) resubmit your post and the picture should show up.

Hope this helps !


Sberry has a good point about not putting the pictures in the post since some do not have good connection speed. I think I'll refrain from making the pictures show up in the post for now on.

[Sberry]

I dont like the pics in the thread, would rather load them as am on a phone line and after I see them they have to reload everytime we revisit the thread. Just 2 cents worth.

[astro]

Nice cart.