Welding cart/torch stand for my oxy-propane rig

[Frosty]

Use relatively stiff rubber to make a V shaped holder. The torch body would push in and stick at any position along it's length. Releasing it would be as easy as a little thumb pressure to spread the V.

If cart balance is an issue off setting the wheels a little is a matter of moving bushings and keepers. Might need a longer axel but as long as it  doesn't turn into a trip hazard that's not a big deal.

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

Now that is a very interesting idea, and also suggests the possibility of a holder with an eccentric cam, so the torch locks in position when inserted and pulled down and releases when pushed up and lifted out. Definitely food for thought. Thank you, Frosty.

Side note: I've added an additional step to the shut-down procedure cheat-sheet.

Quote

1.       Check that gas saver valve is open (arm up and chain weight stowed).

This should save me those awkward moments after I've closed the tank valves and the dials stubbornly refuse to drop to zero.

[ThomasPowers]

But where is the "strap on your skates to do the axel"?

[Frosty]

A cam works, I used them for rod dogs for years drilling. It will require inserting the torch with an upwards motion or gravity will keep the cam at the lowest position. It's a gravity thing.

Oh come ON Thomas, I'm sure John wears shoe skates, no strap ons for him!

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

But does he excel at axels?

[Alan Evans]

I just hook the torch valve on to the economiser arm if I am using a Victor type one piece welding nozzle. The weight of the pipes keeps the torch body upright with a light nozzle.

Alan

[Alan Evans]

I appreciate what you were trying to do with the static torch system. I make little stainless bottle openers and spoons from 10mm round which might benefit from your foot pedal system but most of the time the workpiece is heavier than the torch and there is much benefit from heating something larger on ceramic fibre blocks or fire bricks which reflect the heat back onto the workpiece. Heating in the open is horribly inefficient.   
 

This is my simple economiser set up on a post with the hook arm away from the bottles. 

 

 

hooked on the valve when using a welding nozzle  

Edited August 28, 2021 by Mod30
Remove duplicate photos.

[JHCC]

I picked up an interesting tip from Jeff Van de Walker of Javos Ironworks in Minnesota: add a big washer behind the nut that holds the tips on your cutting torch, so it will hang off the gas saver hook more securely. 

Jeff uses his cutting torch for more accurate spot heating than a rosebud, but the washer is easily removable if it gets in the way when cutting. 

[jlpservicesinc]

Nice work John..  I love the cart and setup. 

[Frosty]

Nice trick with the washer John. Do you have something similar for brazing tips?

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

Just half-formed, untested ideas. 

[Frosty]

Have you tried the hose clamp trick? The gear makes a bump steep and high enough to catch on the hook. . . Sometimes.

Excess band sticking out will work on the hook but I'm not crazy about twangy things sticking out on my torches. It will work as a hanger though.

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

I have not. The reshaped hook works well with the rosebud, so I haven’t had the need. 

[Frosty]

You only use the rosebud regularly enough to make the gas saver a bonus?

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

Most of my use so far has been using the rosebud in stand mode with the foot pedal, when working on bowls. It’s been great for that. I’m anticipating using it for adjusting the big arcs of 1” tube I made the other day, when I expect the gas saver to come into its own with multiple spot-heats. 

[JHCC]

On 10/10/2021 at 9:35 AM, Frosty said:

Nice trick with the washer John. Do you have something similar for brazing tips?

Frosty The Lucky.

Update: I’ve made two changes to the gas saver. The first was to make a longer arm with two hooks: one for the torch, and one for the chain weight. This lets me hang up the torch farther from the regulators:

The second was to reshape the outer hook to accommodate three different kinds of tip. 

Brazing:

Rosebud:

And cutting:

So far, so good. 

[JHCC]

Further update: I’ve been keeping the O2 side stocked with a pair of 125s, which has had two effects (apart from not running out of oxygen so often). The first is that the pedal torch is no longer practical, as the flame would be too close to the tops of the tanks. I might conceivably raise the gas saver and the torch bracket higher, but high enough to clear the tanks would be too high to use. Oh, well. 

The second effect is similar to the first, as it relates to open flame — in this case, the pilot light on the gas saver — near the tops of the tanks. In this case, though, there’s an easy solution, which is a simple steel shield, held in place on the valve cover with a speaker magnet:

I’ve also welded a bracket onto the cart, to hold the little toolbox where I keep the extra torch tips and other bits and pieces:

[rafeelclark]

Just to be clear: the section is not a trade for unexpectedly balancing the light on the valve arm; rather, it is for an additional, separate capacity.

First capability: a static workpiece with adaptable lighting. Unsurprisingly, the light will grip the valve arm tightly while I move it from the stand to the job. Although I actually need to construct a stronger version of the sheet metal snare or replace the current one, I'll still use the gas saver as intended.

Second capability: a lightweight, portable workpiece. The light will rest in the stand when I'm using it as a foot-operated, hands-free light stand, which involves moving the work between the light and the blacksmith's iron.

[JHCC]

Welcome to the forum, rafeelclark. If you haven't yet, please READ THIS FIRST!

I confess that I don't quite understand your comment. Are you talking about my cart, or your own?

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard rafeelclark, glad to have you. If you put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many members live within visiting distance. 

Perhaps you were discussing your gas saver set up on another forum? The beginning of your first post here started, "just to be clear" in the middle of a sentence discussing pictures(?) that don't exist here. It made for a very unclear first post. 

You have no idea how much restraint I'm exhibiting right now, I dearly LOVE a good straight line.  

How about some pics and a description of what you're doing. We LOVE pics.

John: If you take a wire brush to your hanger it'll make things a lot better, rough like that will scuff up the torch and even little burrs can be bad news.

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

That was as-forged; it's been cleaned up since.

[JHCC]

My son decided to do some artistic photography with the pilot light on the gas saver: 

[jlpservicesinc]

That's cool. Great idea.

[JHCC]

He’s a creative young man.  

[Frosty]

I think so too. It's a fun subject to play with photographically.

Frosty The lucky.