Welding Project #2 - Welding Cart Part 2

Take a look at many welding carts. One thing you will notice is that they are taller than they are wide. This makes for a top heavy cart, prone to tipping if it travels up or down an incline such as a concrete ramp or even in a pock mark in a shop floor. Having your welding cart wheels set at the very outside corners is one way to increase stability. If possible mount your wheels outside of the main cart frame for maximum stability. Try not to make the cart more than twice as tall as the cart is wide.

If you are using a small MIG welder, consider the overall height of the cart with the machine mounted, trying not to place the gun cable where it is too low or too high so that it is not constantly being pulled up or down. Rather, the straighter the gun cable can run to the piece to be welded, the longer the gun and cable will last, and less feeding problems will occur. Allow enough height to accommodate your gas cylinder, fixed in a secure manner with at least two chains holding the cylinder with the top chain at mid height of the cylinder or higher. Set the cylinder over or slightly in front of the rear axle and not behind it so that it will not “wheelie” when the welder is not present. Never mount the cylinder behind the rear axle.