welding cart / bench and other projects

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I figure this is a welding project, even though there isn't a lot of welding in it (yet), however there is a fair amount of welding done ON it, so please forgive my lack of constructionIts my take on a welding bench / trolly. Originally the trolly was a overhead projector trolly like those found in schools and universitys. The top surface is wood with a steel top made from a couple of scraps that my dad gave me.A couple of metal toolboxes provide somewhere I can store electrodes and grinding discs & tools etc that I want to lock upI reciently took the front caster wheels off the trolly, as they weren't lockable, and made it move around a fair bit. thats when the photo below was taken, and the reason its so clean.future developments I am thinking of doing soon isReplace the wood with a cement surface to add a more solid work surfaceTry to find a sheet of steel which i can use to cover the entire top in one pieceCreate a fold out side for extra work surfaceRemove or replace the vice with something smaller, as currently the bench can't handle and beating or anything that really requires a vice of that sizeI'm also currently in the very early stages of building a stand for a vice out of a steel car wheel rim, and some pipe. the plan is to weld the pipe to the wheel in the middle, add some other reinforcement, and then fill the gaps in the rim with concrete. also thinking of filling the center column with concrete too. It should make a heavy SOB, but should be a lot better for beating on things, such as my test welds, or generally anything that needs a hammering. The second picture is a stand I made before I had the little bench to work on. I'm going to cut the hideous legs off it and use it as the beginning of my new vice stand (vice is the one on my welding bench now). It was too high, too wobbly, and too light, and the welds I did on it are too shameful to even look at. I'll show you all the ones on my new stand though!I've got some photos in the introduction forum, but next time I get a chance to practice, I'll try to document settings and what i'm trying to achieve, but seemings I couldn't post a post without showing some of my actual welds, the third picture is of some practice welds I managed to find on my computer. I can't remember much, but I'm guessing the top weld I was trying to go as slow as i couldThe middle weld, a bit faster, but still fairly slow. I ran out of rod, and had a go at continuing the weld (poorly), and my starts weren't the greatest, I'm moving on too fast before the weld pool gets going I'm guessingand the 3rd weld looks like i was going faster again, still a poor start, and a bit of a crater again in the finish.I'd love to hear some constructive criticism. And I'll end it here for now, Cheers,Matt. Attached Images
Reply:Well Matt, for welding upside down, (down under) they look like a great start! I got that same vise at work! City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:cheers tanglediver,I'm trying to practice pretty hard whenever I can. I had a little bit of time this morning to do some practice, but I've run out of actual bits to weld, so this morning it was back to laying stringers on plate. I've attached a photo of the pad I laid downIt went down fairly even, but on the first few beads were a bit off, with gaps & included slag.The other photos are some beads I put down previously on a bit of angle i had kicking around (about 4- 5mm thick). I promise in future I'll clean up the steel before I start welding. On top, the beads look OK, but I'm guessing they could have done with better penetration. The weld on the left is pretty crappy, and the others have somewhat average beginning and ends Out of curiosity, beat on one weld (not any in the pictures) till it broke. It looks like there is only about half penetration. Is it normal for the weld just to break off the parent metal like this? I'm not completely sure the quality of the metal either.I've started sitting down when I do my welds, and they are a whole lot more consistant now! Attached Images
Reply:Matt,First off, to me wood and molten steel do not get along.  So a welding table/bench/platform really should be metal.  No wood.Next, no, a weld bead is not supposed to just 'peel' off of the base metal.  That's called "lack of fusion" or "lack of penetration".  More practice and watch the "puddle" (where the arc has melted the base metal and the filler is filling in the molten pool) and not the bright shiny light (the arc itself).Cheers mate.  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:Looks like you have a stick welder on that cart.  To solve your problem with the low penetration slow your rate of travel down and maybe even turn up the amps a bit.  WIth thick plate you might consider either beveling one piece for the butt joint or using multi-pass - hit it with 6011/10 to get a good root in then follow with 7018.For the work surface, it is best to not weld over concrete or wood.  The wood tends to burn and contaminate the weldment and concrete can spall when it gets really hot (throwing chucks of concrete around).I found the DVD from northern tool really helpful (Arc Welding I and II) since I had to teach myself.I am sure you have heard it before but a good weld joint is at least as much about surface preparation and joint fitup as it is actual welding.  Good welding has a hard time trying to make up for crummy prep/fitup.Frank Marlow's books - Welding Essentials, Welding Fabrication & Repair are really helpful for those of us that aren't around pros every day.Hobart LX235Victor 250 Oxy-Acetylene Rig (welding and cutting)Bobcat 773F-350, 1999, 4x4, 16' 10K# trailerOutdoor Wood Burner - 10 cords/year
Reply:Cheers guys, thanks for the advice. Yea gwiley, its a fairly crappy little ac buzz box. its pretty good & doesn't usually cut out when i'm using the smaller 2 & 2.6mm rodsI'll take it on board and re-think the concrete base too. I'm trying to get away from the wood as soon as I can. I've been meaning to contact a few fab shops around here to see if they have some scraps for me to practice on. I might see if they have a good slab of plate for a reasonable price. I'll have to have a look at those books / videos. sounds like they could come in handy. I've dug up a few references off the net, but it sucks being tied to the computer.MoonRise, I've recently realised I was using my auto darkening welding helmet turned all the way up, so turning it back a bit has helped a lot in actually seeing the weld pool, which really helps a lot.I figured it was something along the lines of insufficient penetration, it looks like the weld only penetrated about half way thru the base metal. So I think my goals for my next practice will be Preparation and Penetration! While I'm not planning on doing anything structural any time soon, I'm striving to learn to weld as best I can as a self taught home DIY guy CheersI'm hoping to get into my firstish project, my vice stand this weekend. I'll be sure to post pictures up as soon as I do.Cheers again guys,Matt
Reply:I took a walk with a guy at one steel shop into his yard and found a piece of 1/2" plate 30"x24" half buried in the dirt with some small cutouts and an odd shape - got it for $10!  Welded a few pieces of 2" pipe to it ($3) and viola a decent work surface on a budget.When I explained that I was trying to teach myself to weld they guy got friendly and told me I could take as much of the 4" rectangular tube as I could carry.  I didn't realize how many pieces of 1/4" thick steel I could balance in my arms until I didn't have to pay for it The trick is to stuff your pride and be willing to ask for stuff they might have in a corner somewhere rusting away - ugly steel is still steel, that's why God created angle grinders.  It seems to me that a lot of professional welders are really happy to help someone who is willing to admit they are a novice and look to them for advice.Hobart LX235Victor 250 Oxy-Acetylene Rig (welding and cutting)Bobcat 773F-350, 1999, 4x4, 16' 10K# trailerOutdoor Wood Burner - 10 cords/year
Reply:I haven't had a chance to go shopping yet. My day off on friday was filled with Uni assignments Its good advice Gwiley. I'm more than happy with ugly steel.Speaking of ugly steel and angle grinders, I scored a few meters of angle off the roof of our car port/ shed. it looks like there was something mounted on the roof at some point, which isn't there anymore, so the angle dissapeared, and I got to use my new 125mm angle grinder to cut it up & clean it up.I've been practicing my welding on building a little trolley, not for a welder, but for my computer, so I can mount it on wheels, and so it can slide in and out of my desk when neededI've attached photos from start to end, however, they are crappy photos from my phone, and somehow I managed to miss taking photos of the actual welds. I don't know how i did that.I actually learnt a few things from this fairly simple job, firstly when measuring and marking out, make sure you take into account for steel thickness. I feel a little stupit in saying, I marked the pieces out & cut them so I had gaps in the corners of the pieces. I don't know if you can tell, but in the fourth pic, I actually had to weld a small offcutt into the corner, to fill the gap (same photo shows my new grinder, and my welding seat).The other thing I learnt, or well, re-affirmed, was penetration is key. some of the welds I suspect ended up with minimal penetration, and after grinding, I've managed to break one with a bit of gentle persuasion (i needed to bend the edge out on one piece a little to get the computer to fit) the broken weld means my computer isn't in it yet, but it will give me a chance to correct my mistakes properly. usually I'd be annoyed with stuffing up, but I'm kinda happy to go back outside & take another crack at it.anyway, I'll pause here for a moment. for some reason, these posts seem to get so long so quick Attached Images