I built a welding cart from a bed frame and it is better than the $200 ones
Angle iron bed frames are free on every curb and the steel is harder than anything from the box store (it is usually recycled rail steel, so it eats drill bits; use a cutoff wheel and cobalt bits).
Layout: bottom shelf for the bottle with a chain, middle shelf for the machine, a slanted top shelf so the welder faces you, hooks for the leads, a tube for rods, and a magnetic strip for the grinder wrenches. Four casters, two locking.
Welding it: the paint burns off and stinks, grind it back 1" from every joint first. 1/8" angle is forgiving: 120 amps MIG, .030 wire, C25.
What I'd change: put the bottle on the back so the cart does not try to tip when you pull it over a cord. I added a counterweight (a brake rotor) later.
Materials
- two angle-iron bed frames
- 4 casters (2 locking)
- scrap plate for shelves
- chain + hook for the bottle
Tools
- MIG or flux-core welder
- angle grinder with cutoff and flap discs
- drill, cobalt bits
- welding magnets, square
#welding-cart#welding#fabrication#upcycle#angle-iron
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This is the kind of post that makes this place worth it.
Should be the same procedure, the part moved slightly but the steps match.
Followed along, got it done in about twice the time quoted, but it is done and it works.
Unplug it. Always. Takes two seconds and the worst case otherwise is a trip to the ER.
Question: do you need to disconnect power for this or is it safe to leave it plugged in?
Should be the same procedure, the part moved slightly but the steps match.
Tried this over the weekend and it worked first time. Thanks for writing it up properly.
Yep, same here. The second time is always faster.
This is the kind of post that makes this place worth it.