Would a 5 x8 utility trailer be a good project for a beginning welder? I
would be using a GMAW with 75/25 argon/c02 mix it is 110 volts. I did some
measuring of trailers locally and they are made of 2.5" angle that is .125"
think. My welders is capable of welding metal that thick according to the
manual. I have a HVLP spray painter to prime and paint it also. I think I
would buy a kit with all the parts except the steel and tires. I would get
plans that way.
A utility trailer would be a good project. Just be sure your welds are
as good as you think they are. For that I would weld some scrap pieces
together and then put them in a vise and bend them.
Projects kind of depend on what you need. I made a large garden cart
years ago that has been a big labor saver. I used scrap angle from bed
frames and some 1 by 1/16th steel to make a light but strong frame.
That is two pieces of angle separated by about six inches and the 1 by
1/16 zigzaging between the two pieces of angle. The axle and wheel
came from a boat trailer. It has a 4 feet by 7 foot bed that usually
has a plywood box on it. I have used it to move small mills and
lathes.
Dan
A welding table, a bottle rack for a cutting torch, a cart to carry
the welder around on would be better initial projects.
At issue is penetration with a 110 volt MIG using gas shielding.
The risk is a cold weld that looks good but won't stand up to the
vibration and flexing of a loaded trailer on rough roads over time.
Ask the trailer dealer what type of welding equipment they use to
build the trailers that they sell.
I have two opposite comments to make: 2-1/2" angle is nice material to
work with, good for a starter project. A flux core can handle the 1/8"
thickness nicely as long as you do some reasonable prep.
The negative side is that a trailer gets subject to stresses, perhaps an
accident, this is NOT a good place to learn to weld.
My very first projects way back when were a series of trailer
conversions that used 2" angle and 3/4" plywood to convert a boat
trailer into a snowmobile trailer for the winter. Worked well. But none
of my welds were subject to the pounding that the springs and hitch put
into the underlying trailer frame.
Mickey wrote:
I have thought about welding up a nice trailer too but once i scrounge
all the materials, it becomes too expensive. If you do a little looking
around in your local classifieds, you'll probably find a nice used one
for less than building one.
I would have reservations having a trailer be my first project. Most of
us novices start off with equipment carts and welding tables first,
items that wont be travelling at high speeds containing heavy stuff
that can kill fellow motorists. I guess if your confidence is as strong
as your welds, go for it.
If you do make a nice trailer please share it with us. You can post it
in the metalworking.com drop box.
good luck,
walt
I have followed this line of thinking as well. As much "fun" as
building a trailer would be;
- I have a neighbor who will loan me his 6x16 whenever I need it
- I would have to store it between uses (and pay annual license)
- I would be liable for any damage caused if it separated on the road
- Make vs. buy leans heavily in the buy direction
- Classified ads or a neighbor who does not need it any more are
sources
I have all the cutting and welding equipment to build a trailer.
Gotta be careful not to build more than you need or can use. There are
several tools I avoid acquiring and projects that I avoid building for
this reason. One can have "too much" fun.
Agreed. For a newbie, I think after the common "classroom" projects
(cart, table, etc...), the first trailer project should be perhaps to
find someone with an old clapped out popup tent trailer that they are
willing to let you have for free (or even pay you) to haul it off.
Strip it down to the bare frame and build from there.
Design is half the fun of any project, and this takes a lot of the
stress out of the project.
I'm pretty confident with my little Clarke 95E 110v stick (even though
it'll only handle 5/64, limiting me to 6013), but there's no way I'd
attempt an axle... my little blue box doesn't even like 3/16 tubing.
--- Rich
You must not be a real scrounge. The last trailer I built used a rear
axle from a Plymouth Horizon ( front wheel drive car ) and some 1 by
2 steel channel from some industrial shelving. The rear axle was given
to me in return for some advice I gave. The steel channel was from the
local scrap yard and about 10 cents a lb at the time.
The trailer cost about $20 to make and about $30 to register.
Dan
Well no worries guys, I bought a 7 x 9 snow mobile trailer with a spare. It
is enclosed with an aluminum top it for $350.00. I have been pricing the 5 x
8 size and new with no spare and they are $560.00. I am going to sandblast
it then paint it. I am going to fabricate some pieces so I can take the top
off and use for yard work.
Mickey, you've gotten a variety of advice on this, so probably don't need my
$0.02, but I'm feeling generous today ... :)
FWIW, I have been welding for two years, consider myself a decent hobbiest
weldor, use a 220v stick welder that can handle any thickness I've ever
thought about welding, but I personally would hesitate to tackle this
project *if* I were going to use it on-road. (If it were something for
around the yard and garden, I'd go for it in a heartbeat.) I wouldn't even
consider this using a 110v machine.
Now here's what may be the really significant part: I would have been far
more likely to consider doing this project a year and a half ago! As I have
gained more experience and understanding of what I can do, and as I have
listened to the vast experience here, I have become more cautious about
projects that could hurt other people if the welds fail. I think a lot of it
is that even as I have gotten to be a much better weldor, I have become
aware of how very much I *don't* know, not only about welding, but about
metal and how it responds to the concentrated heat of welding. I'm learning
all the time, primarily here on this NG -- a great, great resource.
It may well be that I am being too cautious -- certainly several others have
indicated their own successful experience in reply. I personally would want
to have someone with lots of experience to look over my shoulder if I were
to tackle this project.
HTH,
Andy
I don't disagree with your cautious attitude Andy, but I'd like to put
a couple of thoughts forward.
First I believe that EVERY weld should be made as if it were critical
to the safety and success of the project, WHATEVER the project.
Second I believe that the design should be such that no single weld is
in fact critical to the safety and success of the project.
IOW, if a single weld fails the project (trailer in this case) should
still be safe - AND no weld should fail.
I guess this is just another statement about weld quality and
redundancy BOTH being important.
I agree absolutely, and try to design all my projects accordingly. My point
really was that, somewhat to my own surprise, I have become *more* cautious
with added experience. As a just-getting-the-hang-of-it beginner, I was
ready to tackle anything! Now I'm aware how much I don't (yet?) know.
My caution about tackling a trailer is a case in point. As a newbie, I
hadn't ever thought about the different sort of stress or load at work -- a
shelf bracket, for example, is under a static load, while the trailer is
under a *very* dynamic load. Now, with more experience, I'm not only aware
that this is a factor, but also aware that I don't (yet) really know how to
gauge this factor. How much flexing might the welds (or for that matter some
other part of the frame) undergo--and should one therefore make the frame
more rigid or more flexible? Even with redundancy built into the design, if
a weld or some other part of the frame does fail, would that put additional
stress on the other welds, causing them to fail faster? Would that first
failure necessarily be in a location that I could easily inspect ... would I
be faithful about checking all the welds before starting out on a trip ...
if that first weld should fail near the beginning of a trip, would the rest
be ready to let loose 1000 miles later ... and so on.
Again, many others have obviously been successful in building a trailer, and
if I ever decide I need to build one, I might tackle the project--if I can
get sufficient input and feedback from this newsgroup to help me recognize
and answer all the things I don't know, and maybe don't even know that I
don't know!
Andy
Why not! I started with a 2 wheeler style cart for the welder and tools
then tore into an old pop up camper (
6 X 8 bed) and proceded to add braces and sides. So I cheated a bit but I
certainly got plenty of practice with my new stick welder.
I nearly ran into someones "first prioject" on the freeway the other
day...the axle was sideways to the length of the trailer. Stopping to
help get it off the roadway.. I noticed both spring hangers were
busted loose with very little penetration where it was welded to the
frame. I asked the guy what he used to weld it with...
Lincoln Weldpac 100..
Though to be fair..he had never welded before according to him. And
it did manage to make it from Washington state to So. Cal....and
overloaded. It was designed pretty well actually for a newbie but he
used too little machine for too much stress.
Ive never done that..no..not me...cringe.....
Gunner
"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.
Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner
Hi All,
On this thread, I think I'd like to make a welding cart as many have
recommended as my first true project.
I've seen a couple pics online, but not many measured drawings (that are
free). If you've got a link, or can E-mail me something, please do so,
carrying this thing around is getting back breaking :)
Something like:
formatting link
Is what I'm thinking about. I guess I can do some rough drawings from
these pics, just thought there might be something I'd miss in the
translation...
TIA
Steve
Real nice cart. Not sure if the bottle shelf was an add-on or after thought
but the wheels should be closer to the end to prevent it becoming a
teeter-totter should someone put a large bottle on it. I once built a
similiar cart for my flux cored welder. After upgrading to a tig machine I
gave the cart to my neighbor. For now I'll let my Millermatic 210 with
spoolgun carry both gas bottles. I'm sure this has something to do with a
trailer.
I made a cart for my Hobart handler 135 and bottle. I just made
measurements and sketched something that looked good. I could probably
take a pic and post it on a page somewhere.
John
: Real nice cart. Not sure if the bottle shelf was an add-on or after thought
: but the wheels should be closer to the end to prevent it becoming a
: teeter-totter should someone put a large bottle on it. I once built a
: similiar cart for my flux cored welder. After upgrading to a tig machine I
: gave the cart to my neighbor. For now I'll let my Millermatic 210 with
: spoolgun carry both gas bottles. I'm sure this has something to do with a
: trailer.
--My design, based on a search of similar stuff. What really
niggled was the Miller cart came in a flat box and needed to be bolted
together. The cart was the very first TIG welding I'd ever done and the
flaws were left to remind me to do better next time. The bottle shelf
was part of the design and it was made large enough to accomodate a
medium-sized bottle; i.e. one of the waist-high variety, not the
monsters that weigh a ton. With just one Argon bottle on the back
there's no tendency for the thing to be tipped back, particularly as I
never remove the Econotig from the top shelf. I've got a plasma
cutter on the bottom shelf that does come off from time to time; makes
it easier to drag the cart around.
--In hindsight, next time I'd add a drawer on one side, under
the top shelf to accomodate extra tips, electrodes and the like and I
might look for larger wheels with a wider footprint to spread the
load a little more. But all things considered it's worked out pretty
well.
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