- Thread starter lukedalby
- Start date
I started to make one last year sometime out of an old skateboard. All i did was get the wheels and axles off it and put them onto a nice bit of ply. Never quite got round to finishing it off though! 
If you've not got any wheels yet might be worth a look around a local car boot sale for skateboards and stuff.
sadly not much help as dont have plans for it but you get the idea
If you've not got any wheels yet might be worth a look around a local car boot sale for skateboards and stuff.
sadly not much help as dont have plans for it but you get the idea
gavuk
artful-bodger
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- 2,951
- Location
- Wilts
try here ,look in the ideas section......... http://www.millerwelds.com/interests/projects/
shenion
Tool Pack Rat
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- 7,586
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- Stone Mountain, GA USA
Most are just start as a cube made from angle iron or square tubing then add casters. Extend the bottom for a tank support. Here's mine made with no plans, just based on the size of the feeder:
On my Clarke I bought one cheap:
I do like haing the shelves to store wire, tips and tools.
On my Clarke I bought one cheap:
I do like haing the shelves to store wire, tips and tools.
I wanted to add a more sturdy set of wheels to my MIG welder so I started by building a new chassis on which to mount new wheels. Many welders don't have a chassis. They just comprise sheet steel, which is prone to warping, etc. Cheap and nasty! My new chassis was made out of scrap box section and welded together with my ARC welder. This was so easy, I was thinking 'why do I even need a MIG welder?!" I probably don't need a MIG welder but it was fun to make the chassis. The Mk2 MIG welder is now SO sturdy - a huge improvement and SO easy to do (even though I still haven't actually tried it out). Here's a photo of work in progress. You should get the idea. All the wheels cost peanuts and I just used a suitable-sized old bar as the rear axle.
I just slapped mine on a square frame of 50mm box with four 125mm swivel casters. I've always been driven mad by welders having non-swivel wheels at the back. Why do they do that?! It makes them so much harder to move around the place when you can't push them sideways. 
greyshirtguy
Persistent Learner
- Messages
- 150
I used the old training wheels from my sons' little bike for rear wheels, and used some old casters from an office chair. Although the chair casters are too small for rough ground etc, they work fine in my garage and I have spares (there were 5 on the chair).....
The frame was 40x40 RHS...
I wouldn't *recommend* my small-wheeled setup - but it acts as a good example of what you can "get away with"
hmmm archie.henderson's idea of casters on all fours seems to make sense to me...I think I like that.....hmmmm <ponders the effort of re-working trolley)
The frame was 40x40 RHS...
I wouldn't *recommend* my small-wheeled setup - but it acts as a good example of what you can "get away with"
hmmm archie.henderson's idea of casters on all fours seems to make sense to me...I think I like that.....hmmmm <ponders the effort of re-working trolley)
I agree. Archie's replacement of the two typical, larger wheels with castors, makes sense to me if you need to move a unit around quite a lot. Perhaps I should have done that but, for once, I went for form over substance. As I don't intend using the MIG welder much, it's more important how it looks. Nearly all the 'professional' welders sold by any outlet have two large rear wheels. That's just how they're styled, and how mine came out of the factory originally, and I wanted to maintain that look. The welder still looks 'original' abeit it's actually a lot more sturdy.
This is one of the first jobs everyone gets around to isnt it? 
Mine was high rise to save space with casters on. However, if I was going to do it again, Id go the two big wheels route, as it has more of a tendancy to crab when being moved because of the casters.
This is as just finished, nowadays the saw lives somewhere else, and a plasma cutter is mounted on the top tier
and
Mine was high rise to save space with casters on. However, if I was going to do it again, Id go the two big wheels route, as it has more of a tendancy to crab when being moved because of the casters.
This is as just finished, nowadays the saw lives somewhere else, and a plasma cutter is mounted on the top tier
and
peterd51
happy to be here!
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- 1,593
Hi,
Machine Mart also have a range of various sized wheels and castors from about £1 upwards.
If you did a search around the forum you'll find several trolley projects, etc.
Also for designs of trolleys, grab a copy of the MM catalogue and copy what you see in there...
Regards
Peter
Machine Mart also have a range of various sized wheels and castors from about £1 upwards.
If you did a search around the forum you'll find several trolley projects, etc.
Also for designs of trolleys, grab a copy of the MM catalogue and copy what you see in there...
Regards
Peter
I suspect the reason most come with fixed wheels on the back is because a fixed one that can support a gas bottle is cheaper than a caster that can do the same job. Funny that you mind about it crabbing Fluffy. That's exactly why I like it because I can shove it sideways. Otherwise I find you have to steer them around much more carefully. My wire feed also has fixed ones on the back which gives it a tendancy to tip over if you give the leads a tug (I know I shouldn't do that! 
).
).I think the annoyance with thE crabbing is more to do with the unevenness of current workshop floor, and likelyhood to encounter swarf, and the castors being too small than any major design flaw. I just find it really alloying when Im trying to drag it across a rough patch, to find it suddenly and unpredictably wanting to go sidewards. big chunky rubber wheels at one end (the handle end) would cure it of that tendency when dragged round past rough bits...
Moving house/workshop shortly, new floor being laid this time round, bet theres still the odd swarf chip mind
Moving house/workshop shortly, new floor being laid this time round, bet theres still the odd swarf chip mind
in the end i jst got some flat faced 4 holed top with wheels about 1 n half inch casters so therell bolt on the bottem of the metal tray jst so i can wheel it about easier they were cheap and the only 1s i could find and i didnt realy want a big shelf unit even tho they look good as not realy space or time ,
Tesco shopping trolleys have 4 nice castors, they cost £1 / set at your local store!!or try your local canal.
The trolleys are ok but if you look round the back of the smaller supermarkets e.g. Somerfields etc (the deliveries entrance) they have some nice castors on the "cages" that stuff comes on.Some of them are just a metal tray with castors that would make a good trolley and they're cheaper than £1
