Absolut Welding Cart

This Instructable is going to show you how I took a beverage display cart and turned it into an EXTREMELY useful work table with a light duty adjustable height welding surface.

I was lucky enough to acquire a steel cart that was used to display Absolut Vodka in liquor stores.  I was told it was made to carry half a pallet of vodka, so I figured it would be fine for my lighter duty welding and construction activities.

I think this is something you could do to other types of carts.  I hope it will at the least give other people ideas for their projects.

Step 1: Tools and Materials

HARDWARE

• Casters - 4 of 3-inch total locking casters from Woodcraft, call 800-225-1153 or web site is http://www.woodcraft.com, part# 141051.

• 16 of 5/16 inch bolts for attaching new casters to cart - home improvement store
• 16 of 5/16 inch lock washers - home improvement store
• 16 of 5/16 inch nuts - home improvement store

• 3-inch long deck screws

• 2 pieces of 3/4 inch diameter all-thread at 3 feet long each

TOOLS

The tools I used on the project were as follows:

• Cordless drill
• Drill press
• Hacksaw or cutoff saw
• Screwdrivers and wrenches
• Bolt Cutters
• Grinder
• Various clamps

WOOD

• 2x4 lumber as needed for the size of your cart

MISCELLANEOUS

• Corian or other solid surface material
  • Top piece is 24 inches by 36 inches
  • Bottom piece is 28 inches by 41.75 inches

Metal Welding Surface

• This is a piece of steel 24 inches wide, 36 inches long, and 3/8-inches thick.  I think it weighs about 95 pounds.

NOTE: If you plan on using any tool for a project please make sure you are familiar with the tool and all of the dangers associated with it. If you are not familiar with a tool then you should ask someone who is to show you the proper way to use it. A lot of communities have classes at local colleges on the proper use of tools and machinery. There are also local woodworking clubs that offer classes at very reasonable rates for beginners. I highly recommend using these resources for your safety and for the most efficient use of the tool.

SAFETY FIRST
Always wear eye and hearing protection.
Always work safe with the proper safety equipment and guards on your tools.

Comments

[weldor]

good ible. just a couple of ideas/suggestions for you.
1st- there are a couple of threaded inserts that are for use in wood.
2nd- what about welding a short section of pipe on the bottom of the metal plate? Tthis way the jacking screws would be able to do their job as well as hold the top from sliding around.

[stevemoseley]

Great idea with the small sections of pipe welded to the bottom of the plate. That would really help.

Thanks for the idea.

[weldor]

If the top was all metal and there was a metal sheet/plate around the area where the bottle is located this woulod also make a great MIG table.
The reason I say this is welding supply companies get a little nervous when they find weld splatter on the bottles. It can cause them to be rejected as "damaged" been there, done that.

[stevemoseley]

Thanks for the great idea on protecting the bottle from splatters. I don't do too much welding that would get close to the bottle, but if I start doing more I may have to do something like that to protect the bottle. Maybe even a piece of round air duct would be a good protector from the occasional splatter.

[wolft4292]

Maybe I missed it, but what keeps the metal top from sliding around (besides the weight)? Doesn't seem very safe to me.

[stevemoseley]

The metal top does just sit in place on top of the cart. I never have lateral loads on the top and most of the things I weld on the top are in the center of it while I am working on them.

Also, I usually have a couple of quick clamps that I place on the 2 foot long ends of the metal top to keep it in place. Surprisingly, it does not slide around very easy.

[wolft4292]

It's just me, I tend to overbuild things. See attached my effort at a welding table. I built it out of an old bed frame that was donated to me. Probably not the safest with the wooden shelves. Haven't had any issues with that though, and I've been using it for 4 years now. I also added a holder for an argon bottle on the right end of it (don't have a pic of that). Yours looks to be quite a bit lighter.

[stevemoseley]

Great looking table. Very clean looking and it looks like if you wanted to replace the shelves with something out of metal it wouldn't be that hard to do.

Thanks for sharing the picture.