This Week's Project, Tool Cart

This is one of those projects where you may have to bend some 14 or 16 gauge sheet metal, but don't let that scare you away from a custom tool cart!

6 - 90 degree bends required so far,...

                                                                   This beefy 1/8 x 1" x 2" frame will feature 2 sturdy full length pull out tool drawers to keep your assortment of fixtures organized and easy to access.

Who among us hasn"t plotted out our bend lines and set out to pick up a hammer & commenced on our best attempt to beat that steel into submission?

Some call it the art of cold forming like the caveman, because the process tends to lend itself to brute force thinking, versus controlling the hammer with care to avoid stretching and distorting the surface.

Some have successfully scored the brake line with a wide concrete chisel, to focus the impact by pinching the steel to a weaker thickness, allowing it to fold along the intended fault line in the grain of the steel. My experience has been when you create micro cracks in folding the steel you greatly reduce its strength.

I am fortunate to have a heavy 3/4" X 24" X 48" table top from which could build a simple press to bend steel up to 14 gauge. I had been contemplating it for a while now. The picture shows the results. click to enlarge it and you can see there is still more radius than I wanted but then again this is a proto-type I threw together to get this job done over the week end.

I made the bending press by hinging a length of 3" X 3" angle iron over the edge of the table top. There's too much to describe tonight without a reference picture to go with that project story. I couldn't believe I pulled out the hold down bolts! I'll get a post up as soon as possible, it is an easy project for "make your own'ers" like us!

4 Hours on the Phoenix, Day 1

I don't want this to read like a Chilton Manual because on this job I don't want to open any wiring if I don't have to, so I look for ways to achieve that goal.

Look at the before and after pictures in my last post as I describe why I disassembled it the way I did. Maybe you know what I mean, that state of shock begins to wear off as I realise none of the "fancy components" have been removed.

hmm... good thing I was a Boy Scout as a kid!

If I'm gonna keep my time line of three nights, better to just roll up your sleeves and get to work!

After circleing the machine several times it all fell into place. the plan is pretty basic.

Loose Plexiglas remove plexiglass shield from top assembly, to allow enough slack in cables from the motor to allow for the removal of the push-bar assembly.

Unbolt and remove the conveyor assembly, note the powerlines are free from all clips and restraints.

The final obsticle to choping this thing apart is to remove the hydrolic pump and lines to the mast. By turning the elbow fitting located at the bottom of the mast I gained enought slack to place the pump assembly at the left rear corner of the machine to allow for a fork truck to get under the frame and lift it for the clearence needed to cut 360% on the frame.

I used jack stands to stabilise the frame.

The fork frame is chained to the top of the mast capacity so it can not fall while cutting on the frame like a gueiloteen.

Little tricks like putting the bolts back in to the holes they came from helps to keep things organised.

The 2" X 2" tube were easily cut off the 1/2" pads on the center frame. The 3" X 3" bottom tube is cut near the center of its span for reason of the plates it was welded to. A simple Tri-square and marker were used to guide the hand cuts.
Man I love my Dewalt grinder with the flush cut Type 27, 7" X .065" cut off wheels. They allow for easy correction, where as an 1/8 " wheel just takes too much steel away for a job like this! Remember safety and wear those eye shields!

So far, on this job I have used

• a 1/2" ratchet w/ 3/4" 6 point deep socket
• Torx head wrenches 9" T - handle assorted<<>
• a 12" metric adjustable cressent wrench
• Oh, my Grinder, he he ( not an endorsement, just braggin)

Next time, I talk a little on the welding and reassembly of the frame.

Dividerboard Cart in Stainless Steel

Earlier this summer I built a prototype cart on a verbal proposition, "We need something better than the carts we are using now. If you think you can build us one we like we may have a few projects coming up, you might be interested in."






The light bulb in my head lit up! A chance to create my own job? hmm... could be the start of something big in MY life! I had been looking for a new opportunity. To keep it short for now, lets just say I built one, they liked it, but before they committed to the carts, some of those other projects would fill the void. Ok by me, I saw an opportunity to document a project, for this blog. I will be writing how to articles with the pictures on the production end for "Do it Your-selfers" like me.





This is the second cart of 6, and one a month will fit nicely in both our schedules. I will have 6 more of a different style, also delivered at one a month. Remember its not just welding here, also purchasing, cutting, piloting and drilling the components as well, in other words planning ahead of problems that naturally happen.

I'm currently building the second prototype, and will show it off in future entries.

$20.00 bucks and a 12-Pack!

Here's the problem with welding rusty exhaust tube.

When it gets too thin to weld, it will vaporize before you can establish a puddle. Before You blink, you have another hole. The heat of the arc should be on the thickest of the two metals being welded. In a case like this the thinnest metal cracked at the edge of the weld. Typically that's where a weld should break under stress, even if in new condition. the problem of rust is even worse inside the muffler as it is separated from the opposite end on the inside.



SAFETY FIRST!

To fix it, I cut a piece of 3" galvanized pipe to length at 15".

2 strips of 18 Gauge 1 1/2"wide X 4"long. Mark center of the width at 3/4" on both ends.
Insert in 4" vise to the center line and securely clamp. Fold it over to 90 degrees by pounding it over with the end of a short 2 x 4, and a medium hammer. Two good cracks with that hammer and you have a mini angle.

Then cut slices in one face about 3/8" apart with a 4-1/2"cut off wheel. I used the 7" Dewalt .045 in the picture.

hmm.. pie x the radius squared!
Let's be practical here, just form both halves of the flange to fit the pipe by wrapping it around the pipe, then reverse it so the flange is flush with the end of the replacement tube, tack it to the new tube. Trim second flange to fit with cut off wheel and tack in place.
If satisfied, weld solid to pipe 360 degrees while it is separate from the muffler.



Test fit the flanged tube, and trim tabs to fit the back of the muffler with the old hole centered in the tube. Make alignment marks if you wish, or just fire a tack on the top tab to hang it like I did.

If you are lucky you'll still have those two perfect bungee cords to hold it in one place while tacking the new tube. In this case I used my photographer's helping hand.

Remember safety, before welding on any vehicle, it is recommended to disconnect the battery ground cable. I connect the ground cable to the new clean replacement tube to eliminate that intermittent spark at the very beginning of the welding process due to ground problems.

The new tube is the root metal, it will carry the heat of the arc and allow you to just melt the edge and bond to the much thinner muffler case. use a small weave if you like.

Tack to the back of the muffler enough to secure and enjoy the project!

For me, the project was just good practice to see if I can save the kid, oops! I mean, man child a few bucks. Something inside still vibrates but it sounds like a 4 cylinder school bus crossover now. That don't matter though, you can still hear the stereo thumping a quarter mile away!

I did this with an old Lincoln Arc Weld Pack 100 112volt welder I purchased new around 1989 or so.

• I used Hobart .030" wire, gas less - flux core
• heat high on the new tube , wire speed just under 3 on scale.
• heat low when welding the flange tabs to the muffler, wire speed about 2-1/4 on scale.

Josh did his midnight run to the gopher state later that night without a hitch. The good news is, I finally got my spark pictures, and got them posted to boot!

Workin it!

Well more than a few weeks have gone by now and I see I still must finish the How to series I started! Welding Season in Wisconsin starts with the spring thaw, and ends with deep snow!
Let's see, since the first post on the subject of working your welding skills for yourself, I've amassed more than a few points I want to tell you about as I have encountered them. There are a lot of issues to consider from advertising, to safety, as well as the welding process itself. That's the fun part for me, and I hope that this blog can help it be fun for you too.
I envision a bunch of you independent minded folks, who might have a little too much time on your hands lately, might be puttin a few extra hours in the ol' man cave lately. You know, buffin the shine on that lawn mower. Thinking to yourself Where's the "sparks?" or "give me something to grind! uhra! Maybe you want to design and build that remote control gate opener you've always wanted, or a bike rack to keep the kid's bikes of the ol' drive way this next summer.
You are the audience I want to hear from if you can feel the call to build something! I am going to start the ball rolling by telling my story about a cart and how it expanded to 38 custom pedestals and more. Like how I will recycle some of the steel for a cool roll bar for my zero turn bobcat! Why? because I can and so can you! My endeavor is to find real grass roots folks who's passion is welding, for Fun and profit. Build your project, take some pictures, and share your story. I got the Idea from Handy Man Club of America, but I will not enroll you into some DVD of the month club!
If you've watched Monster Garage or Build it Bigger, or just would like to document your project for your memoirs tag this blog and join in the fun. Who knows what cool ideas are floating around out there? What cool things can we come up with? hmm...
The photos above are my latest project, a local company asked me to refurbish a dozen tables or carts as you can see. They came from a closed down factory out east. I was asked to make them 9" taller, and clean them up. One of the bigger ones was cut in half and made into three smaller carts.
Before and after as well as in between photos will follow in upcoming posts.