Another Welding Cart (noob here - 1st project)

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Hey everyone,I'm a long-time lurker, first-time poster. I had a Biosystems Engineering Technology undergrad course this semester that was basically High School shop class on steroids. While we had typical exams and assignments and such, 40% of the grade came down to our final project. Material (wood or metal) was of our choosing. I got an Lincoln Power Mig 140c a year and a half ago mainly for automotive body/light-duty work, and haven't had much chance to use it. I always wanted a cart for it, so I chose a welding cart for my final project. This is the first time I've really done any fabrication work from start to finish (from concept, to drafting, material lists, etc.).I lurked on here (and other sites) for hours looking at tons of cart designs, and came up with this (this is just part of the final drawing). I made a few minor changes to it during the building process. This was my first time using AutoCad as well. My idea was to have a beefy tool cart that holds a welder. It has several shelves, and the upper horizontal support bar will hold various tool and cable hangers. I still need to figure out what exactly is going there. I like the half-moon looking hangers. I also am going to mount a double gang outlet box with a short cord under that bar. All metal is 11ga, with the frame being 2 in square, shelve supports being 1.5" angle, and shelves 3/4" expanded metal. Eventually I'm going to mount a plate worktop to the cart (probably with countersunk bolts through the expanded metal). Also need to eyes for the bottle chain, and add a handle. It currently has 4 in. front casters, and 8" hard rubber wheels. Let me know what you think. The majority of my welding experience came from this class (SMAW, GMAW, Oxy-Acetylene). Don't mind the watermarks... I meant to disable that before exporting the pics. And yes, that's my apartment kitchen.  Waiting to borrow my dad's truck to take it back home. In my spare time, I'm a sports photographer, so I can take C&C. Welding will remain a hobby thing, but I'd still like to get better. Feel free to point out any issues you see. I'm actually a little more confident (strength wise) in my stick welding. I have an old late 40's Lincoln AC I need to get running. I was pleased with most of the welds. I had a little trouble with a few of the miter joints. I blew through one, and had to stop and do 2 beads on a few others because I saw a blow-through about to happen. I feel like some of my fillets may have been on the cold side, probably due to a little quick travel speed, perhaps. I experimented with movement a little, as you can see in the beads. The expanded metal wasn't easy either. I did vertical down for the miter end corners... I definitely need to practice that more. Oh, almost forgot. These were done with one of the school's MM251 on .035" wire and C25. Having only used my 140c before then, I had major machine envy. So smooth, and it actually has power. I don't regret the 140c though. It with the AC welder will do well for my needs. Last edited by abruckse; 12-12-2012 at 09:54 PM.
Reply:Looks good from my seat. I would add some support under the unsupported sides of expanded metal shelves. I would also put some sort of keeper for the bottle that's going to ride around on the back. A chain towards the top of the cart and a stop at the base. Looks like a nice design. I like the use of expanded metal. Nice.
Reply:Thanks for the suggestions. I'm definitely planning on doing some sort of bottle keeper. I'm thinking of using a cradle that will double as the handle for the cart. As far as the shelves, you are probably right. The upper shelf already has a slight sag due to lack of support. I'll get some flat bar and make a few support straps.
Reply:Lack of support for the exp metal was my #1 thought when I saw this. #2 was the edges of the expanded metal at the top. Those edges tend to be sharp and catch on things easily. You might think about some thin angle to cover the edges or even some flat stock on top. Last option would be to simply weld the edges 100% to lock down and round off the sharp edges, but that's a lot of work and personally I don't think it looks as nice when done myself.In the future please try and resize your picts. This site cuts off text if the picts are too large and it makes the text hard to read.Otherwise you did a nice job on this..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Looks good IMO! I need to make a new cart for my welder.
Reply:Nice rugged cart, I hope you take pictures of it finished and painted.I agree with others about the expanded metal on the top shelf (I really dislike working with it because its like working with millions of little razor blades due to its method of fabrication).  But it does have its applications, such as in shelfs, but the next time you might want to make the perimeter of the shelf out of angle iron and weld the expanded metal to the underside of the horizontal face. I think it looks more finished and helps to protect against injury.happy holidays,mike
Reply:Looks pretty nice. Have you thought about putting drawer with full extension slides in place of the shelf? That way you can organize better and get to everything.
Reply:Thanks for the comments everybody. On the top sheet, I purposely sheared it across the squares between the diamonds so no ragged ends would be left. I also inset the exp metal from the edge of the tubing a little bit so it wouldn't stick out. I then filed the edges to the point where I can run my hand across the edge of the exp metal. The other shelves aren't as safe though. This exp metal was flattened, which probably helps. DSW, sorry about the pics. I re-sized them in photobucket, so it should be fixed whenever photobucket servers update.
Reply:Originally Posted by forhireLooks pretty nice. Have you thought about putting drawer with full extension slides in place of the shelf? That way you can organize better and get to everything.
Reply:I like it. How much did that expanded metal run you?Millermatic 211PowerPlasma 50s
Reply:Those are very nice welds for a noob! Good job!
Reply:Originally Posted by 225I like it. How much did that expanded metal run you?