Too Many Welders...Too Little Space

I just made my significant other park her car in the driveway..... One of the reasons she dumped me.

I have all one of them arranged so I can put a wheeled dolly under it, or prop it up on blocks from the dolly (and use the dolly elsewhere) rather easily with a pinch bar. At 650 lbs +- it's a bit of a pig...but it will do any (normal shop-scale) process you like, though some require expensive accessories I don't own at present.

If you don't need engine-driven, I gather that some of the inverter units are as capable (stick/tig/mig CC/CV) and a heck of a lot smaller/lighter. Get one that does the whole job and sell the rest.

I'd tell you to set a limit, but that's something you have to arrive at yourself, rather than have the outside world impose. I set my lathe limit at 5, and included the ones that are "not quite built" in that limit. I'm tempted from time to time, but more will make getting work done harder (due to lost space), not easier, so I have to get rid of one to get another - not that I have, since the "want" for more is not _really_ backed up by a _need_ for more, and I do know the difference.

Since Im lucky enough to have enough space..I have a 4x8 welding table. 2 welders live under it. The mig is on wheels and can be rolled out on pneumatic wheels to other places around the property, but both are generally used while they are under the table. Safe, secure, out of the way. Old but rather nice working Dan-Mig 140/200 and Miller Dialarc 300. I have 75' cables on the Miller, stored wrapped around a VW rim welded to the table next to the welder, underneith. It will get me out quite a way into the back 40 for working on trailers, etc.

The big Lincoln Tig 250/250 is only used for tig, and it too has pneumatic tires, but it lives tucked against one end of the welding table, but facing the other direction. I tig on one short end, and do regular rod and mig welding on the other 3 sides.

My 14x54' machine shop is seperated from the welding area (a 24x24' roof on pipe legs). But there is a Weldpak 100 mounted under one of the workbenchs for quick tacks/repairs on projects.

I only have the two Hardinge lathes, a small turret lathe, and the big

15x48" Clausing in the shop. The other 4 I took down to the warehouse....sigh

Then there are the mills, the drill presses, the grinders (plus the OD grinder), 3 band saws, benches, tooling cabinets....

8 lathes was a bit much.....

Gunner

Rule #35 "That which does not kill you, has made a huge tactical error"

I have two Harbor Freight rolling welding carts. After reinforcing them with multiple triangulated angles, I have my Hobart 175 Mig on the top and my Daytona Mig Pocket Pulse 100 Tig on the bottom, with the two bottles (smaller sized) on the back. On the other cart my plasma cutter is on the top, with the airhose coiled up where the bottle would normally go. On the bottom I have my gloves, my jackets, my autodarkening hood, and a bunch of clamps, rod, etc.

I have my portable O/A setup on a luggage cart setup that people use to pull their suitcases through the airport - essentially a very lightweight dolly.

All three welders with the accessories and the plasma cutter with its airhose all fit within about a 3' x4' x 4' space, all on wheels, for well under $100...

Did you explain to her that garages were never meant for cars? Rather, for storage, shops, and illegal apartments?

I think you sort of hit it, w/ multiple units on one cart, as a couple of the units you mentioned are fairly compact. I would *stack* them, vertically, like washer/dryers.

On my econotig, which is my only welder :(, I simply put casters on the base. Really helps. I'm starting to put casters on a few things, like stationary belt sanders, table saw (which can now slide *under* the welding table!). If I need the sander steady, I'm making a kind of drop-down plate that I can stand on to "fix it", and the table saw gets wheeled out and crowbared up

1/2" for some pieces of 2x4.

I would def'ly put the plasma on a cart. A friend has all his Millermatics on carts, along w/ the argon.

Shelving not taking up floor space is a good idea. Even if you have angle-iron type shelving, just put the first shelf 5,6,7 feet off the ground, for machine clearance. You can "double them up" w/ bolts/welds to eliminate a center pair of legs for longer spans, like for lathes.

Understand a little - we have been married for almost 40 years now. Our car has been in one 'shop' for the first day before moving in. - Now in our 5 house, I have a shop, the garage will become a game room. Wife's idea.

I have a 180SD and expect a Hypertherm 600 this week. Both will be on carts. The plasma cutter will be mostly static, but will be used for active work but a cart is wanted - just in case I go to Nitrogen in place of pump & tank air.

I have aligned the metal lathe, mill, and H. bandsaw together, the wood lathe, Radial Saw and bandsaw together. The two 'welders' will be somewhat near each other since that is where the power is supplied.

Two desks and a long 30' 2"x4" construction bench are not fully defined due to changes. My drill press will be on it, and my 5" vice. My big Rockisland vice is mounted to a small table. The big vice is like an anvil! - So much to do and so much to unpack. I used a

53' semi and a 14' UHaul to get here. Both were loaded to the max. I figure adding the truck I drove, our load was 35000 # Times when I thought of an overloaded truck - in snow - high mountains in Ca - snow but only black ice on the road. (that is enough...) - and the high climbs - the Ford 350 would only do 50 up the hill. - Glad it did 50.

I think maybe 75% unpacked now - the 100 book boxes of books are still in a stack. The shop is mostly packed - first work day in the shop setting it up. Hope to make headway soon.

I'll post pictures of the shop or put them on a new web site if I get a change.

My wife wants a rolling tool box in the house for 'us'. :-)

Martin

RDF wrote: