A2 coursework welding trolley with collapsable workbench

[karterphil]

hi there, my name is phil and i am currently studying design and technology at Monmouth school, and for my A2 coursework i am designing and building a welding trolley that has a collapsible work bench attached to it.
For the market research section of my project i require some information regarding different aspects of a welding trolley. so if you could answer a few questions regarding the trolley i would highly appreciate it.

1) What sort of welder would you put in a welding trolley? I.e. the most commonly used type that you have.
2)What things do you usually weld and how do you clamp them? (take them to a workbench or vice etc.)
3)How much would you pay for an average to high end welding trolley?
4)What size is your welder in amps and is it a transformer type or an inverter type?
5)How do you currently store your equipment? Welder, gloves, rods and mask etc.
6)How often do you use a vice and/or some kind of angular measuring system when you're welding?
7)Is space an issue in your welding environment and would an all in one welding trolley with a collapsible workbench solve that issue?

any feedback and answers on these questions is much appreciated, thankshttp://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif

 

[cumbriasteve]

1 A hobby size MIG or arc set
2 Gates and railings, mitre clamps on a workbench or the floor
3 Errrrmmmmm...would probably make my own but am sure some would buy, the Americans like their fancy benches, us English tend not to go that route much.
4 235 trans
5 On hooks
6 90% of the time
7 It probably would help with the space I have but not enough of a help to spend the money

 

[Shox Dr]

1 TIG set and Plasma Cutter
2 Whatever I'm brought, and that then dictates where it gets worked on
3 ^wot Steve said
4 TIG is 240amp Inverter Plasma is 50amp inverter
5 Cables on hooks, Gloves sit on top of the bottle along with helmet. Rods see below
6 see 2
7 No

I don't believe there is a trolley on the market that has storage for TIG rods, I'm in the middle of building a trolley and the rod holder is to me the most important part. Along with a draw for consumables.

 

[Delgado]

1) What sort of welder would you put in a welding trolley? I.e. the most commonly used type that you have.
2)What things do you usually weld and how do you clamp them? (take them to a workbench or vice etc.)
3)How much would you pay for an average to high end welding trolley?
4)What size is your welder in amps and is it a transformer type or an inverter type?
5)How do you currently store your equipment? Welder, gloves, rods and mask etc.
6)How often do you use a vice and/or some kind of angular measuring system when you're welding?
7)Is space an issue in your welding environment and would an all in one welding trolley with a collapsible workbench solve that issue?

1) 200amp ac/dc tig inverter and 140a MMA inverter (not shown)
2) All sorts but nothing to heavy on the trolly.
3) I wouldn't, I'd just make one how I like it.
4) See answer 1
5) In the cabinet on the trolley I normally store; gloves and other PPE, Clamps, a few tools that I constantly use, spare cables and torches, grinders, and a small amount of consumables, tape etc. I also keep my tig rods on the back of the trolley and my mask hangs from the bottle.
6) Use the vice for holding stuff to cut and sometimes weld, you can see a welding magnet in the foto, but that just gets used for stopping drawings blowing away.
7) yes space is an issue, for any heavy/bigger stuff I just put a bit of plate on some tressels and use that as a bench. That being said, bear in mind that most of my work is just repairs and maintenance (and that's only a small part of my job), if It were a fab shop I'd probably have a different setup.

Here's a pic of my trolley, pretty basic, I threw it together quick to have somewhere to work so it's still a work in progress. The only downside is that you have to be a bit careful with the grinding dust, I normally do that somewhere else.

Things that I'm planning to do when I get time include;

Paint and fix down cabinet.
Make shelves/trays above, and to the left of cabinet.
Bend up some proper hooks for cables etc..
Make the filler rod storage better, including somewhere to store short bits for tacking.
Put some handles on the front of it to make it easier to move about.
Add sockets etc..


Hope this helps!

 

[the snooper]

i think for question 3 you will be better off looking at whats already on the market as most people on here make just about anything and everything and i cant see you getting a reliable answer to that as we are all tight gits thats why we make stuff

 

[gavuk]

Have a look here...... miller projects ...... plenty of examples of benchs etc

 

[karterphil]

thanks for all your input guys ,i appreciate it, i too am an experienced welder having learned how to stick weld when i was 8 but yes thanks for the help.