Show us your welding cart/trolley...

[Gareth J]

I put mine old Clarke 150 on an old wheel barrow frame. Not great on space but stable and easy to travel. Also at a sensible height when peering out from under a car. I don't have a pic but I'm sure you can conjour one up with your mind. But I'm really here trying to steal ideas for my plasma. It's also on a barrow frame but it doesn't need to leave the workshop so would be better on something a bit more compact.

 

[Richard.]

Does it count as a welding trolley if it's a bodged "temporary" MDF shelf?

Does it have wheels?

 

[Maker]

Does it have wheels?

It's got a load of old 100mm scooter wheels on top of it at the moment.

 

[Richard.]

Well your only cheating yourself.

 

[Skytiger]

I have been gathering lots of information from the forum including getting rid of my sip migmate 105 turbo even after all he mods suggested here and got an R-Tech Mig180 best thing I ever done it makes me into a reasonable welder. I thought I would build a new trolley for it one with space for my hobbyweld gas bottle, angle grinders, cable storage and drawers for various junk.

The basic frame with electric scooter wheels for the rear and Toolstation braked swivel castors for the front.


Work in progress pic, used old table legs for the square tube.




Old metal drawer unit for storage, some pics before painting

 

[skotl]

Now, that's a set of wheels

 

[skotl]

Here's mine - probably not the most compact of trolleys but it will only ever be moved out of the way rather than needing to be completely mobile!


It takes the R-Tech and the plasma cutter, and has stands on the left for the angle grinders, coil mounts for the leads on the right and is fully plumbed for 32A in, 32A out for the welder and 4x13A out for the plasma and grinders.

At the back I've got space for two Y-size cylinders (assuming I ever get round to trying out TIG for real).
I was going to make little hinged gates for the bottles but a ratchet strap did the job with less hassle.

Grinders and power on the left, and a hefting handle on the front

Coils for the leads on the right. I hammered out some cylinders our of 1.5mm plate, put a small semi-circular cap on the end and a larger one at the top to hold the cables.
I would have liked to have made the stick-out longer but need to be able to get down the side of the trolley when it's in place.
(the 32A blue cable isn't stretched like that in-situ; it's just hung out of the way for the pics)

The mounts for the grinders - I had these old drawer handles hanging around and they seemed a simple solution.

The electrical arrangement; 32A Arctic cable coming in to a 32A switch, out to a junction box that feeds the 32A socket at the back for the welder, and the 13A 4-way on the other side.
The JB also carries an earth to the trolley chassis.

It may not look it but everything is very securely bolted down, first onto the wood, then the wood onto the chassis.

Close-up of the lead holders. I'm not suggesting for a minute that I'm the best welder or plasma cutter in the world
The circle templates were the plasma head tracking the inside and outside of a masking tape roll.
The masking tape did not survive the experience...

My heavy-duty haulin' handle

And everything in-situ.

My bargain basement Nederman extractor hose (£40 from an industrial auction site) waiting to be re-hooked up to the fan.

POWERRRR!

 

[slim_boy_fat]

What kind of prehistoric creature is that, under construction on the bench?

 

[skotl]

What kind of prehistoric creature is that, under construction on the bench?

That's Stig the Stegosaurus

 

[Robotstar5]

Having your trolley to the right of the workbench puts the welders in the line of fire from grinder sparks/dust?

 

[skotl]

Having your trolley to the right of the workbench puts the welders in the line of fire from grinder sparks/dust?

I drape a fire retardent tarp down the left side of the trolley, held on by the magnets, when I'm using them

 

[@antonio]

That's Stig the Stegosaurus

Is the plasma working ok now skoti?

 

[skotl]

Is the plasma working ok now skoti?

Aye - going great, Antonio. I always have a moment of doubt when I pull the trigger whether it's going to work but (so far) it's all good.

Used it today to cut a couple of brackets for the feed to the trolley and used it the other day to start some pilot holes in steel - so much easier than using a drill

 

[slim_boy_fat]

.....so much easier than using a drill

Getting lazy.......?

 

[skotl]

Getting lazy.......?

Probably a topic for another post but the steel on the trolley was just laughing at my (admittedly 50 for a tenner) drill bits.
Even with cutting compound they were just going round and round and doing nothing but make a dimple in either the sheet or the box section.
One pulse of the plasma cutter and I had me a lovely 2mm hole that I could drill out.

I will start a new topic on this rather than spam the trolley thread, though

 

[Richard.]

Having your trolley to the right of the workbench puts the welders in the line of fire from grinder sparks/dust?

Sharp spot Robo
Yes I made that erra once and now keep everything (but the vice) on the left side.

 

[roofman]

Cart finnished now with a place for the plasma...The Tig is held down with flat plates underneath that slots into the ready made grooves on the machine so cant topple or slide..

 

[Jim Davey]

How many of you take the machines off the carts and give them a good blow out? Some look like they'd be a reall pain in the arris to get at for maintenance.

 

[daleyd]

How many of you take the machines off the carts and give them a good blow out? Some look like they'd be a reall pain in the arris to get at for maintenance.

I've just had a look back through the thread and none of them look like they would take more than 2 minutes to have the welder out and on a bench??

 

[Jim Davey]

But does anyone actually do it?