Welding Tips and Tricks

.....It looks SO much like mine, and I'm glad he and I think alike.

I too, discovered I needed a cart that would hold most of my welders/cutter and big bottles, yet remain easy to maneuver around shop, carport and driveway....I wanted a cart that would support every welding process, MIG-STICK-TIG and PLASMA plus large Argon and C25 bottles but still roll around easy and be able to get up close to my work.

These pics show it as it is today, but I'll modify it soon to support my new HTP-221 TIG/STICK after it arrives Monday....As it sits, it all weighs in at almost 600Lbs, but rolls really easy and safe. Once in position, I just lock the casters and get after it.

On top is a Hobart 210MVP MIG, HF plasma(now a Hypertherm Powermax 30), Hobart Stickmate 235LX AC/DC(to be replaced by HTP-221 TIG/STICK next week), and two 150CF gas bottles. Behind the Stick welder on bottom shelf is my spool gun and plasma consumables....On each side is a nema 6-50 25" extension cord....Behind the plasma is a nema 6-50 gang box that every welder/cutter plugs into so just one extension cord powers the whole cart.

I got the super heavy duty casters and weld on caster plates from CasterCity.com, and painted it all with Rustoleum spray on truck bed liner.

The cart frame is all made from 1x1 x1/8" square tubing and angle I dug out of the trash at work...all Mig welded.

Shucks, I need to finger out how to attach pics, huh?

Ok, lemme see if I can post my cart pics from photobucket...here goes:)

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p59 ... asters.jpg

Super heavy duty 5" casters and weld on plates from castercity.cam..148 bucks but worth it.

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p59 ... 76599a.jpg

Getting my bottle racks fingered out. I used my harbor freight roller to make these really handy bottle rack locks...no chains for me. I made the hinges out of 1/8" pipe

[urlhttp://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p595/yodaddykeith/weldercart02_zpsc40d81d3.jpg][/url]

Almost finished

[urlhttp://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p595/yodaddykeith/werlercart4_zps91e19566.jpg][/url]

Whee!, but now already changed. I swapped a Hypertherm Powermax 30 in the middle shelf, and next week bottom shelf will hold the HTP-221 Invertig TIG/STICK machine.

Here is my homemade NEMA 6-50 gang box I mounted on my cart up behind the middle shelf...All my welders/cutter remain plugged in and cart is powered of a pair of 25' factory made NEMA 6-50 extension cord I got off Amazon.

THe 110 VAC gang box I hung off my welding table so all my grinders remained plugged in too ")

I was in the middle of an explanation when your attempts began... I edited one to make the pic show.

Give me a minute to work through, and get your pics up.

wrinkleneck wrote:Here is my homemade NEMA 6-50 gang box I mounted on my cart up behind the middle shelf...All my welders/cutter remain plugged in and cart is powered of a pair of 25' factory made NEMA 6-50 extension cord I got off Amazon.

THe 110 VAC gang box I hung off my welding table so all my grinders remained plugged in too ")

[img][IMG]http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p595/yodaddykeith/gangboxes.jpg[/img][/img]

You're almost there...

You don't need to add IMG from here, as what you're quoting already has the IMG tag at each end...

I'll edit it out, and the second picture will show.

That worked.

You don't need to use the IMG tab on the header, when you copy and paste IMG code from photobucket.

Caution!...If you too decide to fab up a 110VAC gang box so all your grinders can remain plugged in and mount it under your table, PLEASE PLEASE first mount the gang box to a plywood piece, then attach the plywood to your metal table so as to isolate your grounds.

Otherwise the first time you fire up an arc and forget to attach the welder work/ground clamp, the welder current will find it's path to ground thru your 110VAC gangbox back to your distro panel and most likey meld the insulation off the conductors..Promise

SMOOCH, OTTO!

I ain't real smart, plus I'm old and wearing an ostomy bag...I appreciate your help

wrinkleneck wrote:Ok, lemme see if I can post my cart pics from photobucket...here goes:)

Hi WN
Welcome aboard, this is a great Forum as I too am discovering.
There's a great tip on embedding your own images at this link:
http://forum.weldingtipsandtricks.com/v ... =25&t=2466

HTH
Cheers
Trev

DUH.......Thanks TRACKRANGER!

Thanks for allowing me to spout, but I want to add that my Hobart welders have proven flawless and able to handle stiff usage between me and my younger neighbors that run mud racing trucks and street racing junk.

That Harbor Freight plasma cutter really is a hard working and reliable machine too-it has held up after hours of thick cuts and I found consumables for it cheap off eBay, but I got a bug up my butt for a Hypertherm and gave the HF unit to young kids in my hood that build mud trucks.

Nice Job. I really like the gangboxes. Seems so obvious now that I've seen yours lol. Good tip about isolating grounds. I had an old drill motor with messed up wiring lying on my welding table and had a ground feed back thru it. Will definitely melt the windings.

About isolating grounds... I had an idea at my bench to setup a bus strip with short leads to the welders, then have a tail coming off that with one work clamp for good measure. Could easily do the same for a cart.

As a plus, that'd certainly prevent the ground path problem described here - is there any reason this approach would be a bad idea?

Cheers,
Richard