Welding Tips and Tricks

Been doing a lot of travel for the business lately, so finally got around to building a much needed cart for my new 350EXT which itself is GIGANTIC.

Had a whole design planned out to build it from 1.5" tubing and plate, but with time constraints, looking at the material cost and time, and then glancing over at the scrap pile of lumber I've had taking up space in my shop for lord knows how long, I opted for the lumber build just to get it done this weekend.

Ended up being about 40" x 28" with room for hanging accessories and a toolbox in the back which is yet to be built. The bit of extra length was needed to fit the gas lines in the back bottom with my "Y" fittings. Ended up spending about $25 on it, which was really just for the casters. May also add a handle, but it's tall enough that it really isn't needed.

And yes, I will be adding chains to the cylinders to be compliant, which will be in addition to the bungies which are what are actually securing them snugly and safely.

She ain't pretty, but she's mine

Someone's sportin wood

What is the 2nd cylinder gas?

Coldman wrote:Someone's sportin wood

I feel no shame

It's so cheap and quick, all of my future cart builds (even the smaller/regular-sized ones) may also be out of lumber.

Oscar wrote:What is the 2nd cylinder gas?

The smaller 80 is helium.

Looks like a great cart

Dave

Spartan wrote:Been doing a lot of travel for the business lately, so finally got around to building a much needed cart for my new 350EXT which itself is GIGANTIC.

Had a whole design planned out to build it from 1.5" tubing and plate, but with time constraints, looking at the material cost and time, and then glancing over at the scrap pile of lumber I've had taking up space in my shop for lord knows how long, I opted for the lumber build just to get it done this weekend.

Ended up being about 40" x 28" with room for hanging accessories and a toolbox in the back which is yet to be built. The bit of extra length was needed to fit the gas lines in the back bottom with my "Y" fittings. Ended up spending about $25 on it, which was really just for the casters. May also add a handle, but it's tall enough that it really isn't needed.

And yes, I will be adding chains to the cylinders to be compliant, which will be in addition to the bungies which are what are actually securing them snugly and safely.

She ain't pretty, but she's mine

IMG_2167.jpg

IMG_2168.jpg

IMG_2169.jpg

Nice looking cart Spartan!

Reminds me I have half a cart built in the garage...

I have a space dilemma so trying to fit to my welder the best I can with only a single 125 cu.ft. tank.

Hopefully it will be stable enough. I have 2 x 8" wheels for the rear where the tank is, and 2 x 3" swivel casters for the front.

TraditionalToolworks wrote:Nice looking cart Spartan!

Reminds me I have half a cart built in the garage...

I have a space dilemma so trying to fit to my welder the best I can with only a single 125 cu.ft. tank.

Hopefully it will be stable enough. I have 2 x 8" wheels for the rear where the tank is, and 2 x 3" swivel casters for the front.

Thanks. Stability was a big concern of mine also, especially with the welder being so tall and having two tanks. A big part of the reason I made the cart so large and went with the side-mounting of the tanks. Actually went with 2" casters just to get the CG as low as possible for stability. May upgrade them to 3" or 4" if needed for better maneuverability, but I don't plan on moving the cart several times a day--probably only a few times each week, and only on a shop floor--so I'll see how those little casters do. Easy enough to swap them out if needed.

Also have D rings mounted on each side of the welder to fit a tie-down strap around the top of the welder in between the welder handle, but didn't have the strap installed for the pics. I'm happy with how solid it turned out considering that the design (at least the lumber design) was only a napkin drawing this morning.

Spartan wrote:Actually went with 2" casters just to get the CG as low as possible for stability.

I think it looks very stable, since you have more width. Mine is only about 12" wide, so that's primarily why I'm using the 8" wheels on the rear, and those will be in the center of where the tank sits. I'm really limited on the actual space I have.

Spartan wrote:probably only a few times each week, and only on a shop floor

I actually plan to move mine about a few times every couple months.

It depends if I move it to the new shop or not. In my current shop I will leave it in place and weld with it where it sits. Would only need to move it when I move the cart outside to weld stick.

I used a hf cart (cheap one) putting the "everything" needed for the welder along with tig fillers on the cart. Discovered it was a bit shaky so I made a dually out of it. that helped.... a lot