Welding Tips and Tricks

Welding Carts are pretty inexpensive to begin with but most of us modify them in one way or another or we build our own as our first project.

I was at Harbor Freight yesterday and I picked up two of their welder carts for 49.99 each. I had just done the math on the cost of building my own and it worked out to well over 150.00.

The cart on display looked pretty crappy but I have a vivid imagination and I saw all the basic parts there and a lot cheaper than I could buy them retail.

I modified the design so that one is setup for my Plasma Cutter and the other for my water cooler and TIG machine. I think I had to drill about 6 new holes in each one to make it work. I don't run tanks on my welder carts so there was plenty of room for all the modifications I needed to do.

The result was that for under 100.00 I had two decent carts.

Just thought I'd pass it on in case you wanted to check it out.

Do you have some pics of them?

I'll take some for you tonight. I have them all setup now. My new Everlast 250EX arrived Monday and I set it all up last night. Sweet little unit.

The setup -



Closer look -



Here's a little trick you might want to try, I stuck these on all four corners of the table. The were originally there for my MIG torch but they work just as well for a TIG torch. They're 1" thin wall square tube about 5 inches long and tacked to the leg. It's just nice to hang your torch off the table top so you don't beat it up by setting a piece of heavy stock on by accident.. Yep that's where I got the idea..

Nice set-up. Isn't a whole lot you can't tackle with that. I'm at the end stages of building a small garage-shop and am looking for as many ideas as I can get.

A welding cart will show you the problems that a weldor faces. Usually you will have distortion from heat that will throw your welding cart out of kilter. You have to plan out your welds on a cart to keep it straight and level. You have to fabricate pieces and parts. It is just a good way to learn about welding.

I learned a whole lot about welding by building my welding cart. And it was fun!

I've had it for over 28 years and it is way better than any cart I could buy. It was my first project and it was the best way to learn about welding. Glad my instructor at Lincoln recommended that everyone build their own welding carts.

tip of the cap to your shop-looks sharp! carts aren't bad either...but if I were to buy my carts, couldn't justify my pan/box break I want/need....lol

mister bobo wrote:tip of the cap to your shop-looks sharp! carts aren't bad either...but if I were to buy my carts, couldn't justify my pan/box break I want/need....lol

I almost bought a 40" combo shear and press brake but I backed out when I saw it was the Harbor Freight unit. I'm looking at a Jet now.

I looked at those HF carts and wasn't real sure they would handle the weight of the welder and a 125 CF bottle so I passed.

Given my need to practice and that I'ld like more "features" I decided I'm gonna build my own.

Do you think that cart would stand up to the added weight of a bottle?

WILD BILL wrote:I looked at those HF carts and wasn't real sure they would handle the weight of the welder and a 125 CF bottle so I passed.

Given my need to practice and that I'ld like more "features" I decided I'm gonna build my own.

Do you think that cart would stand up to the added weight of a bottle?

Those little HF carts are pretty sturdy. The tag on them says the limit is 100 pounds but that is "lawyer speak." Just bought and put together two of them for a welder and plasma cutter. Now they are going on sale for $40. Can't buy the metal for that.

You think they will hold up well to an 80# machine and a 125CF bottle on the back?


If so I just may have to give it another look

WILD BILL wrote:You think they will hold up well to an 80# machine and a 125CF bottle on the back?


If so I just may have to give it another look

Should be fine. How can you go wrong for $40 bucks. You could use it for a planter stand if you don't like it.

GWD wrote:

WILD BILL wrote:I looked at those HF carts and wasn't real sure they would handle the weight of the welder and a 125 CF bottle so I passed.

Given my need to practice and that I'ld like more "features" I decided I'm gonna build my own.

Do you think that cart would stand up to the added weight of a bottle?

Those little HF carts are pretty sturdy. The tag on them says the limit is 100 pounds but that is "lawyer speak." Just bought and put together two of them for a welder and plasma cutter. Now they are going on sale for $40. Can't buy the metal for that.

I just got a coupon for them for 34.99. no way can I justify building my own for that kinda cash. anybody wants the coupon let me know, I can email it. there is also a web forum that has all the coupons for harbor freight!

btw, are they on sale for $40 or a coupon for $40?? if it's a sale you can use a 20% off coupon to get it for $33!

I just went and bought two of them today. It is a coupon in their flyer for 34.99. There is also a number on the coupon you can use if you buy online.

Like you said, can't buy the metal for that these days...outrageous

I put mine together last night. Only a couple things that I didn't like about it. I read the reviews about it online and everyone recommended replacing the factory hardware with 1/4-20 bolts so I picked up a bunch of 3/4" bolts, washers and lock nuts. Fairly sturdy although the casters/wheels appear to be perfectly serviceable units they aren't anything special. I put my everlast 225LX on it and found a couple things I didn't really like. the Welder is longer than the cart so the front rubber pads don't rest on the cart and the gas inlet barb is in the center of the welder and will get in the way of the 150cf tank I'm going to put on the back. I'm thinking about putting a longer 1x10 in the bottom of the tray to support the front of the welder and allow me to slide it forward a bit more to clear the hose barb in the back.

couple other things that came to mind were that the foot pedal and electrode holder take up more room on the bottom shelf than I thought. I had hopes of putting a home brew cooler under there with enough room for the accessories as well. might be too tight for that.

revkev6 wrote:I put mine together last night. Only a couple things that I didn't like about it. I read the reviews about it online and everyone recommended replacing the factory hardware with 1/4-20 bolts so I picked up a bunch of 3/4" bolts, washers and lock nuts. Fairly sturdy although the casters/wheels appear to be perfectly serviceable units they aren't anything special. I put my everlast 225LX on it and found a couple things I didn't really like. the Welder is longer than the cart so the front rubber pads don't rest on the cart and the gas inlet barb is in the center of the welder and will get in the way of the 150cf tank I'm going to put on the back. I'm thinking about putting a longer 1x10 in the bottom of the tray to support the front of the welder and allow me to slide it forward a bit more to clear the hose barb in the back.

couple other things that came to mind were that the foot pedal and electrode holder take up more room on the bottom shelf than I thought. I had hopes of putting a home brew cooler under there with enough room for the accessories as well. might be too tight for that.

My PowerPlasma 70 is about the same size as your 225LX and also didn't fit on the top shelf. I used 1/2 plywood cut to size with only about an inch overhang on front and it worked perfectly.

The hose barb on back wasn't a problem with mine since a tank won't be put there. Can you put a 90 degree fitting on the barb?

If you go with the plywood or 1x10 you could nail a thin piece of wood to make a backstop for the rear feet on the machine. Or use a flycutter drill bit to make depressions for the feet. That way it won't slip back, hit the tank, and damage the barb.

The shelves aren't large but that helps in keeping the unit compact.

I thought the people that recommended the replacement screws used round head fasteners to give more room on the shelves. Maybe I misread. Anyway, the ones that come with it served my purpose just fine.

that's exactly what I was planning. I figured increasing the length of the top shelf about 2-3 inches would give me plenty of clearance for the barb. I was just tossing around how I could use insert nuts on the board to screw it to the cart and maybe bolt a tube handle to the board. it's an odd thing for a welder like this to have the barb directly in the center in my experience. I haven't looked at the barb to see what kind of connection it has to the welder so I don't even know if I can pick up a different fitting. a 90 fitting would at least give me more room.