Former Member
Guest
PA in Bolton has 3 heavy duty carts on clearance for $90 vs 260 in the front entrance today.
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Welding carts & compressed gases
- Thread starter ShawnR
- Start date
Here's my cart. Hypertherm 45xp, my faithful Lincoln sp170 (probably burned 1000lbs of er70s, or more, never an issue, bought new in '92), and an AC/DC stick welder. It's from acklands, but Miller sold the same welder. I've had it for 25 years, and my neighbor bought a new Miller, and it's identical.
The cart itself was some type of medical cart that I modified. The cord hooks are old u-bolts I collected.
The cart itself was some type of medical cart that I modified. The cord hooks are old u-bolts I collected.
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Gearhead88
Ultra Member
I went shopping for steel today , my cart build is going well , most of the pieces are cut for the lower structure.
I will put the old cart up For sale in the classifieds
The cart that was included in my recent welding machine purchase is beefy & a bit overkill for my rapidly shrinking work space . At todays prices for steel etc . , it would cost $400 + in materials to build this .
I will put the old cart up For sale in the classifieds
The cart that was included in my recent welding machine purchase is beefy & a bit overkill for my rapidly shrinking work space . At todays prices for steel etc . , it would cost $400 + in materials to build this .
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@Gearhead88 do you have a plan or are you winging it? I started on mine. Been going through my stock to see what I have and designing around it, while using this thread and Google images for ideas. I don't have firm plan but do have a general idea. Found some large wheels I did not recall owning. Have the base framed so similar to where you are at, from what I see.
Because I asked for photos, I guess I better supply some, eh?
Because I asked for photos, I guess I better supply some, eh?
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Gearhead88
Ultra Member
I usually sketch out my ideas on paper , I have dozens of sketches of crap I haven't built yet.
As with many of my projects , I knew what this was going to look like before I started.
What motivated me to get started on this project is Princess auto just happened to have casters n' wheels on sale .
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SomeGuy
Hobbyist
@Gearhead88 do you have a plan or are you winging it? I started on mine. Been going through my stock to see what I have and designing around it, while using this thread and Google images for ideas. I don't have firm plan but do have a general idea. Found some large wheels I did not recall owning. Have the base framed so similar to where you are at, from what I see.
Because I asked for photos, I guess I better supply some, eh?
Is there a middle ground of, I build it entirely in my head before I go and build but don't produce physical plans?
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
At work I make detailed CAD models of everything I build. Mostly large assemblies, everything detailed, every screw and dowel location etc. At home I grab a tape measure and start digging through the scrap pile lol. I don't even make sketches. I'm like 2 completely different people sometimes. I enjoy both processes and workflows. Although I enjoy the creative process at home a bit more.
Gearhead88
Ultra Member
I have several piles of short pieces ( I don't call em scrap) that are kept in 5 gallon buckets , for use on whatever project comes up , combine that with a creative mind and the ability to envision stuff that I haven't built yet , maybe a sketch , maybe not .
Sometimes I google pictures of an item I want to create , some times I reverse engineer an existing item , if I'm lucky enough to have one to examine.
Redneck_Sophistication
Super User
Well I’ll throw mine in although it’s not done.
Duel rebels a 215 abs my new 205 ac/dc. The 215 for the alum spoolgun and 205 for tig and mig
1/4”
Plate bottom, pneumatic casters to roll over cables and such, base will be a drawer and cabinet, clad in aluminum sheet painted yellow and everything else black to match the welders and keep the dust out. Triple tank holder at the back.
Top rack for storage since everything collects there anyways.
Duel rebels a 215 abs my new 205 ac/dc. The 215 for the alum spoolgun and 205 for tig and mig
1/4”
Plate bottom, pneumatic casters to roll over cables and such, base will be a drawer and cabinet, clad in aluminum sheet painted yellow and everything else black to match the welders and keep the dust out. Triple tank holder at the back.
Top rack for storage since everything collects there anyways.
Gearhead88
Ultra Member
Todays progress , more to do yet 
Gearhead88
Ultra Member
Gearhead88
Ultra Member
Got a bit more done today , cut some more small pieces , bent up some hooks for cables , cut some tubes for filler rod storage , drilled & tapped holes for the swiveling casters , cut some channel for the wheel spindles .
I still need some more flat bar to tie the uprights together .
I ran out of Blue shield gas , welding isn't happening till I deal with my gas issues.
My lease is due on the mig gas and I need a cylinder of Argon .................. I am thinking of buying cylinders outright.
Thoughts on the lease vs own the bottles ??
I still need some more flat bar to tie the uprights together .
I ran out of Blue shield gas , welding isn't happening till I deal with my gas issues.
My lease is due on the mig gas and I need a cylinder of Argon .................. I am thinking of buying cylinders outright.
Thoughts on the lease vs own the bottles ??
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I don't know if the price of bottles varies area to area but here, the small bottles are $250, each, full. That is the 45 cuft ones. A lease is about $100/bottle /year. To fill an 80 cuft leased is about the same cost to fill a 45 owned, iiuc. So it depends on how long the bottle lasts you. I do own an 80 cuft Argon bottle. Some grandfather thing when I bought my welder from an estate but all my others ones are 45. I am considering leasing a larger bottle for the new welder as I thought I might use it more. It seemed to go down fast on my old welder but doing the math on flow rates, the 80 should last for roughly 4 hours of welding, probably less. You can lease larger bottles too, which, should be more cost effective, but again, paying a lease on a bottle cloud be costly if it just sits. My MIG bottle is probably more than a year old. I picked up 3 80 cuft argons in the last year.
I stick weld when possible to save gas but witj the new tig welder, I chock costs up to education
I stick weld when possible to save gas but witj the new tig welder, I chock costs up to education
Six O Two
(Marco)
When I lived in Calgary, I bought a bottle from KMS after having leased for a few years. That first bottle had bad argon in it though, and it messed up my welds for a while until I managed to track down the issue. Then I moved to the Kootenays, and none of my local shops will fill a 3rd party bottle (nearest KMS location is 5 hours away), so now I'm back to leasing... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Former Member
Guest
I bought a bottle and its basically an exchange when when you get it filled, its the next size up from an 80.
First fill was within 6 months, used a lot of gas learning (part if it is gas setup), welded a lot more on the new fill and use a lot less.
First fill was within 6 months, used a lot of gas learning (part if it is gas setup), welded a lot more on the new fill and use a lot less.
What province are you in? Who regulates what bottles one can own? I wonder if this is a local policy, provincial, federal or supplier policies.... Air Liquide will only sell the 40/45 cuft bottles. Praxair is who sold the original 80 ft bottle that I now own (they don't sell them anymore) but if you own the larger one yet, that would be a good size to own for a homeowner. The guy who bought my welder was talking about bottles. He said he did not want to lease cause it cost too much as a friend of his just returned his and "had $1400 into it" I asked how and turns out he had it for 14 years and never used a full bottle, sooooo, one has to be realistic about their uses, which change year to year, project to project for most, I think. Praxair will also rent a bottle for a short term. I don't know how cost effective that is but if one had a large project for a short term, that might be. IIRC, it was reasonable.
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Back to carts for a minute, I think mine is shaping up to be more in design like @Redneck_Sophistication 's but keeps changing slightly as I progress (or digress). I decided to incorporate the old cart into it for shelving/lower cabinet. I am liking the idea of the top shelf. Mine will be stacked vertical but the side by side is nice too.
Will see if I can get enough progress today worthy of photos.
Will see if I can get enough progress today worthy of photos.
Back when Ron was running Praxair, if I was doing a big job and thought i'd run out, he'd toss me an extra bottle and i'd just pay for the gas, and bring the next empty back and we'd be square again. They don't do that sort of thing anymore. Mark a Liquid Air is great to deal with though...
Gearhead88
Ultra Member
I've been a loyal Air Liquide customer , for many years . I have on lease right now , an Allmig size 16 , oxygen & acetylene cylinders .
My lease has been for a very long time , I used to weld a lot more but I think , I've gotten a raw deal , due to how little welding I've done over the length of time I've had the lease.
I go for months without welding , now that I'm semi retired I'm likely to be welding more , I have projects .
I need to bring home an Argon cylinder .
I'd like to own the cylinders , going forward .
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