This cart has been in work for about 6 months now. I rarely have any free time at work so naturally progress was slow. I wanted a cart that could hold 2 machines and 2 80 cu/ft cylinders. I've always wanted a TIG and I figured if I over built a welding cart I could get the ball rolling to buy one. Last year I found a full 80 cu/ft tank of nitrogen in the back of the shop that no one layed claim to. I traded it straight up for a tank of C25, the problem was, my little mig cart could never handle a tank that tall. So now what?
Started out with the base. Since I have no way to cut sheet metal i had the panels pre-cut and built the cart dimensions around them. The 2 main panels are 12x24" and the tank panel is 8x24". I did also buy a 14" milwaukee chop saw before I started all of this.
The second level is 21" high, just enough to fit my Miller 211 on the bottom
Frame all boxed up and casters welded to the bottom. I found the casters on ebay, when I saw the color I knew they'd fit perfect. I bought an extra set too just incase something happened to one.
Panels layed into place, they did need a little grinding to fit but overall the size was close. By the time I got to this point all my design plans were used up
Figuring out how to secure the tanks was one of the hardest parts. Luckily I found an old cylinder rack in the back of the shop and was able to rob the strap from it. I welded up a little boss with a nut in it and it worked perfect
A couple weeks ago I finally got a coat of paint on it. I used VHT roll bar and chassis paint hoping it'll hold up to a little abuse. After I saw the paint dried on the panels I knew it would be too slick to hold the machines in place.
Ordered a 3x3' sheet of diamond rubber mat from ebay. I could only hope that it would look good. Luckily it did. Cut the rubber sheet up today and glued it down.
Now comes the best part. I did get my TIG in last week. That's what got my *** moving to get the cart done.
I'm waiting on my full sized tank of argon to come in and I'll put the cylinders on the cart. Until then I've got a 20 and a 40 to keep me busy with. I'm still shocked how much different TIG is from MIG. No noise, no smoke, no splatter.
02-08-2013, 05:04 PM
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