2013 Summer Project #1 Micro Cart

[Rambozo]

Well the rules didn't say anything about project posting titles, but I figure I'll be able to find things easier at the end if I do it like this.

I've been thinking about a different sort of little welding cart for a while. I wanted something small that could go over rough terrain or be pulled up stairs. So I went for a two wheeled design, instead of the typical four wheeled. For compact use I have a 55 cuft. bottle, but I can go larger as well.

I sketched out the basic plan and used ¾” EMT for all the tubes and a couple of 11ga. plates. I did sand back the galvanizing near the weld areas with a flap disc, and fish-mouthed everything for a good fit-up. To stay authentic, I did all the welding with the 140ST using 3/32” 2% lanthanated tungsten and ER70S2 filler, with about 12 CFH argon.



I think I have too many pictures, for a single post. So I'll split it here.

[Rambozo]

Part two.

The wheels are the ones always on sale at Harbor Freight, but I put some slime in the tubes so they actually hold air, now.



And here it is all loaded up. The welder is held in place by a couple of nylon straps and fastex buckles, and the tank is retained with a camlock tie down strap. Put in some PVC pipe for rod holders, and some edging around the upper plate.



At first I thought I would mainly use this welder just when I needed the portability, but I find that it is so handy that I use it all the time. Mostly on 120V, too, as I do a lot of stuff less than .125” thick. Being able to take the welder to the job, instead of having to bring the job to the welder, is a real time and work saver.

I still have a 4500psi carbon fiber SCBA bottle, maybe next up will be a backpack TIG. Something for ladders or bucket lifts.

[redbeard]

Nicely done. Doesn't get much more compact than that.

Do you have a notcher for the fishmouths, or done by hand?

What did you use for the attachment flanges for the pvc?

[Rambozo]

Nicely done. Doesn't get much more compact than that.

Do you have a notcher for the fishmouths, or done by hand?

What did you use for the attachment flanges for the pvc?

For the cross I just cut 45° cuts on each piece with a chop saw, so it's really four pieces. Just trying out an idea for something else. For the others I used a mill to do the notching.

For the PVC, that was an afterthought, so I cut the holes with a holesaw, then used couplers and bushings to sandwich the top plate when glued together. The bushing was a 1" to 3/4" and I cut out the stop for the pipe to give me a little more room. I have a bunch of those small TIG rod tubes, so I wanted something that I could just drop them into, with a small assortment of rods I might need.

[redbeard]

For the PVC, that was an afterthought, so I cut the holes with a holesaw, then used couplers and bushings to sandwich the top plate when glued together. The bushing was a 1" to 3/4" and I cut out the stop for the pipe to give me a little more room. I have a bunch of those small TIG rod tubes, so I wanted something that I could just drop them into, with a small assortment of rods I might need.

Oh yeah, It is entirely too obvious now. For an afterthought, it sure looks well planned!

[Mr120]

Looking at the pictures I just realized that the cart is so small it almost (almost!) makes the PA 140st look big!

[Mr120]

Very nice project and I'm sure you are going to get a lot of use out of it. I haven't gotten around to sliming my HF wheels yet. Thanks for the pictures.

[sportbike]

That looks pretty nice. I hadn't thought about a cart, but I may need to make something similar fro my PT185. Would make it alot easier to roll it into the trailer for a race weekend.

[Kempy]

Rambozo that is a well though out cart for been compact and light good work.