Thinking of a welding cart...

[dstig1]

So I recently got a nice upgrade to my welder with the new Miller XMT 304 and a wire feeder I picked up at an auction (separate thread). The bonus was the heavy duty welding cart that came with it. Made from 1.5" x1/8" angle and 1/8"/10ga plate shelves. It has space for 2 bottles on the back too (where the previous Thermal Arc that is for sale is sitting - anyone want it?). That will be nice as I will want to add a TIG torch to this in the near future so I will need both C25 and Ar.

So here is what I've got, and I'm looking for suggestions & comments.

Pics:

So here's my thoughts:
1. It needs hangers for the cables
2. A bank of drawers would help with storage
3. A handle on the front would help too.
4. Maybe some misc hooks and such for hanging torches and clamps

So I drew it up in CAD, just because that is what I do... and added 3 cable hangers that I made up, and a handle from 3/4" tube that sticks out about 3".

I'm thinking 2 may be better than 3 there for spacing/room. Not sure. Also not sure if 3" is enough space for the handle.

Next post...

 

[dstig1]

(Cont...)

Here's the plan for the bank of drawers. I'm planning to cut out some of the angle uprights so I can get a clear 9" width for a bank of drawers, that I will make. Making the drawers is as much a learning experience as anything as it will be thin stuff. I'm thinking 18ga would be nice and sturdy but not too thick to work with.

Anyone have any suggestions on drawer metal thickness and drawer slide sources for this? I know lots of drawer slides for woodworking, but I'm not sure they would fit well here.

Here's the metal I'm thinking of removing, and what the drawer bank would look like. The area shaded in red would be removed, leaving 1/2" of the leg of the angle. I am not worried about structural, as this thing is a tank, and adding the drawer case should beef it back up too.

And the drawers pasted in. Drawer heights are 2",2",3",3",4",6", top to bottom. Thinking 18" depth, full extension slides:

I'd want to make a case for the drawers and slides to mount in

Then in the space down below, I am thinking of tubes for TIG wire and general storage on the shelf at the right. Wire spools, misc bulky stuff. I could also add tubes for stick welding rods too. Hmmmm....

Paul (4Shorts) inspired me with his work to "build a better cart" so I'm trying to do this so I can improve my skills and gain some valuable storage and utility from this cart.

All comments welcome (constructive...)

-Dave

 

[Fixemall]

I think your bank of drawers is a good idea but be careful on balance and cost, maybe buy them already pre built out of any of the half of dozen makers out there...then again that is coming from a guy that is using an old modified shopping cart as a welding cart...

 

[deereman75]

That looks like a great idea, better then my welding cart. (a pile of gloves and helmets on top of the tombstone)

 

[dstig1]

Fixemall - you have source you can point me to? I'll do some searching too. It might be good from cost and time stanpoint to buy prefab, but I am also looking for the practice.

Deerman - my current welding "cart" is a milk crate...

 

[Shield Arc]

I can't find them on their site now, but Sears use to sell a hang on tool box that hangs on the side of a roll-away. I have one on each side of a small roll-away I don't hardly ever use anymore.

 

[dstig1]

Yeah, I know the type, SA. I could hang it on the outside, but I'd like to keep the footprint down as I don't have a lot of room for this. I just doubt I will find anything that will fit the space. Now if I was starting from scratch, I would probably try to build it around a set of drawers I got up front.

 

[4shorts]

Wow Dave. When someone states I've inspired them that's the ultimate compliment! Really! Thanks for that :thumbsup:

Nice drawing. When I did the "Crazy Cart" I really enjoyed it. It was a fun project that actually got me a lot of work because of it. When you build something yourself you get to use your imagination and that's the best part. That being said if your considering a Tig torch later on you might want to consider adding some sort of rod storage and a 110 volt outlet right on the cart so you can plug a grinder of something into which is very convenient. Crap. Now you got me wanting to build another cart

Good luck with it.

 

[dstig1]

Paul, glad you chimed in. I plan to add some rod storage to it, I think underneath the drawers and the angled shelf is the place to do it. I may do capped tubes that I can pull out to deal with short pieces.

I also have 2 questions for you.
1. What's a good gage for the drawers? I measured my Craftsman cheapo drawers and they are like 22-24 ga, which is clearly too thin to MIG weld (for me...). 16 seems too thick. I'm thinking 18 or 20 makes the most sense. Any thoughts?
2. How did you attach the drawer slides to the thin metal? I don't want screws sticking through to catch things. It looks like you have some kind of a smooth, low profile "nut" you used, but I can't make it out in your pics. Is it like a PEM nut or something?

 

[deereman75]

You could rivet the slides on.