I have a project in the works: Building a new cutting torch cart! My current cart is a source of shame. I bought it well-used from an estate years ago, thinking that the bottles alone were worth the asking price the torch, hoses, tips, and other brand ne accessories were icing on the cake. I had initial ideas about beefing it up, replacing the wonky wheels, adding safety chains, etc. Very quickly though, it became clear that “fixing it up” was more trouble and expense than it was worth. I have just made due and ignored it as much as possible. The cart stands today like it did when I first rolled it home: a kludged together semi-functioning death trap waiting to drop a bottle and provide my wife a life insurance check.
I ran out of oxygen and my acetylene was low one recent Saturday morning, so I went to the welding shop to swap them out. While there, the idea of buying a new cart tickled its way into my brain. Their carts are geared to professional welders, weigh a ton, are huge, and meant for years of hard jobsite use – way overkill for my needs. I decided to check Harbor Freight on my way home and was very much unimpressed with the quality of their torch carts and both of their available models had pneumatic tires! WTF?! Do you really want a flat on a mobile piece of equipment that holds explosive gas? Nope, nope, nope. I decided to build my own.
I did some initial concept sketches and then opened AutoCAD for some part design. Next step is to put this on the plasma table and get everything cut out.
