First Project - yep, a weld cart

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Long time lurker, first-time poster. Bought a 110V MIG this summer and am (slowly) learning how to convince bits of steel to adhere to one other.Here's pics of my weld cart (sorry, no WIP pics). In hindsight, I could have made it smaller in all 3 axes. And it didn't need to be made from 10 ga. 1.25 sq. tube either... but then I always did lean towards the 'hellforstrong' side of designing.  Might be able to justify the extra tabletop space with a plasma cutter later on?Will likely add shelves/drawers later, when I learn just what will be handy. Cylinder retaining chain includes 92# extension spring to maintain tension on cylinder... no bottle-rattle!  Rustoleum Safety Blue seems a shade or two light for matching Miller.Next will be a 30 x 60 x 3/8 weld table made with scrap 1.5 x 3 x 1/8 tube ends, and burnout HRS plate from a local structural steel fabricator. All found in their dumpster, and paid for at $.30 to .40 / lb.Comments / suggestions welcome.  Thanks! Attached Images
Reply:nice work!!  May want to thread a safety cable thru the spring.
Reply:Thanks, sounds like a prudent safety measure!
Reply:Looks real good.  maybe put provisions on the side to coil your ground/lead up on.  Nobody 'round here would ding you for making it incredibly overbuilt - look around at some of the other welding carts, they almost all are!  Nice work.  that fire extinguisher is a great idea.  I have mine sitting on my welding table, but I think I might put one on my cart too!Millermatic 135Syncrowave 250
Reply:Good ideas, Mot, thanks! I had a brother named Tom that I called Mot...
Reply:I like that cart, got a good paint job as well.  Unfortunately that blue won't go too well with the Lincoln I have that needs a set of wheels.
Reply:Thanks, Monica.  Sorry to hear about the red machine though...  ... just kidding.  Truth is, my favorite color always has been blue, and that probably had more sway on my purchasing decision than anything else!Spent 4 'long' years in TX when we moved to Flower Mound back in '89 with the wife's job in Irving. I was a toolmaker at the time and could go anywhere, so her mucky-muck job took priority.  Found out it's HOT  down there, and it's a LONG way from 'home'. Finally decided it's a nice place to visit, but...So now we're back in NW Ohio where we always used to see some snow in the winter, before Algore opened his big bag of hot air...Funny story about TX:Towards the end of the Civil War when Ullysses S. Grant rolled through Texas he was (supposedly) heard to exclaim, "If I owned both Hell and Texas, I'd live in Hell, and rent Texas."Something to do with the heat, I expect...
Reply:cart looks goods what paint did u go with?
Reply:Originally Posted by camach650cart looks goods what paint did u go with?
Reply:Originally Posted by camach650cart looks goods what paint did u go with?
Reply:Originally Posted by bhost1Thanks, Monica. Sorry to hear about the red machine though...  ... just kidding. Truth is, my favorite color always has been blue, and that probably had more sway on my purchasing decision than anything else!Spent 4 'long' years in TX when we moved to Flower Mound back in '89 with the wife's job in Irving. I was a toolmaker at the time and could go anywhere, so her mucky-muck job took priority. Found out it's HOT down there, and it's a LONG way from 'home'. Finally decided it's a nice place to visit, but...So now we're back in NW Ohio where we always used to see some snow in the winter, before Algore opened his big bag of hot air...Funny story about TX:Towards the end of the Civil War when Ullysses S. Grant rolled through Texas he was (supposedly) heard to exclaim, "If I owned both Hell and Texas, I'd live in Hell, and rent Texas."Something to do with the heat, I expect...
Reply:Looks like the handle would be a good place for the leads. As for the heat in Texas, it's supposed to be 100 today in the Houston area. I'm so ready for cooler temps.
Reply:We mightt recall  that U.S. Grant was a blind drunk who couldn't hit the floor with his hat; he served in the Mexican American War but was an abject failure as a business man in the 1850s so he went back into the Army when the war began. Later he fell into the  Presidency because nobody wanted the job,  and Yankees loved his war record of course...He did not fare so well in Southern political circles.  He was a great General, most drunks don't take heed of their mortality I suppose.  He certainly paid no mind to the casualties in his own ranks.  General Lee was fairly beaten but he was said to have an overshadowed  thought...  ~Grant wasn't going to give in since he cared little for losses within his troops~, Lee, a sober man,  had a soft heart for his men, it cost him.  And so, when we hear of Grant's opinion of Texas...I suppose Texas has about the same opinion of him.   one who loves West Texas where it is hell who wishes it had that nice dry heat.Last edited by PapaLion; 08-22-2010 at 01:56 PM.Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools