Welding Tips and Tricks

I finally got around to making a cart for my machines and gas cylinders. I still have some work to do on it for things like cable and gas management and possibly rod storage. I really would've loved a larger and more robust table to fabricate it on as the cart is not quite square and has a slight twist in it. It is as good as I could get it so it will do the trick.

I used 30mm square tube, 2mm wall thickness. Overall it is about 500mm wide, 1m high and each shelf is approximately 750mm long except for the bottom shelf which is about 1m long to accommodate the gas cylinders.

The shelves are lined with 304 SS sheet 1.6mm thick but I doubled the thickness under the cylinders. I may use some 3mm mild steel sheet under the cylinders depending on how the stainless performs but given that the cylinders will stay put for a while it should be ok. There is a reinforcement tube under the sheet on all levels to provide extra structural support.

looks like solid work, I like it. Congrats and enjoy it.

Might well be a generation thing, but among old guys there is an opinion no welding cart should be painted for 5 years so you can work all the kinks out of the cart.

That aside, were I building it there would be gussets where the uprights meet the wheel frame to spread the stress over a larger area. Secondly there would be substantial gussets from the uprights to the tank porch, both for strength and cheeks to prevent the cylinders from scrubbing the wheels. Gussets will take most of the wiggle out of the cart rolling over rough areas too.

Curbs on the sides of the machine shelves would greatly improve odds of keeping the machine on the shelf too.

Another thing I'd do would be adding handles to move the cart with. Natural tendency will be to use the uprights to move the cart, and that can quickly lead to smashed knuckles, especially if the cart moves through a door.

A proper helmet hanger and work cable hangers would be good additions as well. The helmet hanger needs to be an inverted U shape to minimize stress on the headgear, and hanging the helmet on the regulators is not approved by most Safety people. A few rod tubes would make a nice convenience as well, or rings under the shelf you can slip PVC tubes in and out of depending on how many types of filler you use.

Since the entire cart looks top heavy, I'd also build valve/regulator protectors.

Most important, there should be a fire extinguisher mounted to the cart. In the event of an unexpected ignition you'll know exactly where to reach for an exringuisher at the machine, even a minimal 2½ pound ABC extinguisher within 10 feet of where you're working will give you a chance to minimize the fire.

nice build!
i like all the welders on one cart as well.
what i did was put the chiller on draw tracks
so i could slide it out to fill and service it.
issue with mine is rear wheels are not sufficient
to caring all the tank weight and get flat spots if
i don't move it occasionally....

craig

Another thing I'd do right quick is add ratchet tie down straps to the cart to hold the machines in place. Sort of safety belts for each machine.

Also give some thought to making a breakout box on the cart where the machines cal all plug into and only a single cord goes to the outlet on the wall.

Louie1961 wrote:looks like solid work, I like it. Congrats and enjoy it.

Cheers Louie!

Franz© wrote:Might well be a generation thing, but among old guys there is an opinion no welding cart should be painted for 5 years so you can work all the kinks out of the cart.

Yep.. I kind of thought about that after I had had painted it..

That aside, were I building it there would be gussets where the uprights meet the wheel frame to spread the stress over a larger area. Secondly there would be substantial gussets from the uprights to the tank porch, both for strength and cheeks to prevent the cylinders from scrubbing the wheels. Gussets will take most of the wiggle out of the cart rolling over rough areas too.

Fair suggestion and I did consider adding additional reinforcement. The only thing I can say is that with the cylinders strapped to the frame there is little chance of movement. Those things weigh a tonne and with them ratchet strapped to the frame they act as support for the frame. The other thing is that this cart will move all of a matter of 10' in my garage so there is not much rough ground it'll have to roll on.

Curbs on the sides of the machine shelves would greatly improve odds of keeping the machine on the shelf too.

I considered this also and may retrofit something if looks as though the machines are not secure.

Another thing I'd do would be adding handles to move the cart with. Natural tendency will be to use the uprights to move the cart, and that can quickly lead to smashed knuckles, especially if the cart moves through a door.

A proper helmet hanger and work cable hangers would be good additions as well. The helmet hanger needs to be an inverted U shape to minimize stress on the headgear, and hanging the helmet on the regulators is not approved by most Safety people. A few rod tubes would make a nice convenience as well, or rings under the shelf you can slip PVC tubes in and out of depending on how many types of filler you use.

Handles may or may not come but cable hangers definitely will. I like the under-shelf rod tube idea too.

motox wrote:nice build!
i like all the welders on one cart as well.
what i did was put the chiller on draw tracks
so i could slide it out to fill and service it.
issue with mine is rear wheels are not sufficient
to caring all the tank weight and get flat spots if
i don't move it occasionally....

craig

Thanks Craig! I like the slide out drawer idea for the cooler too. I may have to go for some heavier duty rear wheels at some point as I think these ones are well and truly at their limit.

Franz© wrote:Another thing I'd do right quick is add ratchet tie down straps to the cart to hold the machines in place. Sort of safety belts for each machine.

Also give some thought to making a breakout box on the cart where the machines cal all plug into and only a single cord goes to the outlet on the wall.

The breakout box is another great idea and one that briefly crossed my mind, and the tie downs might be worth investigating.

I really appreciate the great suggestions and encouragement!

Flo

great looking cart, I like the added touch of the SS sheets, fancy

I like to make my cable hangers from 4 inch exhaust pipe so the cabels don't kink looks like a solid cart build

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I like to make my cable hangers from 4 inch exhaust pipe so the cables don't kink looks like a solid cart build

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OzFlo wrote:I finally got around to making a cart for my machines and gas cylinders. I still have some work to do on it for things like cable and gas management and possibly rod storage. I really would've loved a larger and more robust table to fabricate it on as the cart is not quite square and has a slight twist in it. It is as good as I could get it so it will do the trick.

I used 30mm square tube, 2mm wall thickness. Overall it is about 500mm wide, 1m high and each shelf is approximately 750mm long except for the bottom shelf which is about 1m long to accommodate the gas cylinders.

The shelves are lined with 304 SS sheet 1.6mm thick but I doubled the thickness under the cylinders. I may use some 3mm mild steel sheet under the cylinders depending on how the stainless performs but given that the cylinders will stay put for a while it should be ok. There is a reinforcement tube under the sheet on all levels to provide extra structural support.

Looks great

Dave

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OzFlo wrote:I finally got around to making a cart for my machines and gas cylinders. I still have some work to do on it for things like cable and gas management and possibly rod storage. I really would've loved a larger and more robust table to fabricate it on as the cart is not quite square and has a slight twist in it. It is as good as I could get it so it will do the trick.

I used 30mm square tube, 2mm wall thickness. Overall it is about 500mm wide, 1m high and each shelf is approximately 750mm long except for the bottom shelf which is about 1m long to accommodate the gas cylinders.

The shelves are lined with 304 SS sheet 1.6mm thick but I doubled the thickness under the cylinders. I may use some 3mm mild steel sheet under the cylinders depending on how the stainless performs but given that the cylinders will stay put for a while it should be ok. There is a reinforcement tube under the sheet on all levels to provide extra structural support.

Looks great

Dave

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