Welding Metals.. Which are bad?

y2kcrawler

y2kcrawler

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Im thinking about breaking down an old shopping cart and making one of these. Since this will be my first time welding, what kind of metal is on shopping carts and what would I have to weld with? I know certain metals can be harmful welding. Sorry if this question seems dumb, just dont want any toxic gases being created. Thanks.
 
Keep your face out of the smoke while welding. If you get a sweet taste in your mouth go drink a large glass of milk & stop welding.

Shopping karts are chrome, weld it.
 
Any welding smoke can be dangerous. The carts are steel, but the chrome plating can have nickel and cadmium, and zinc in it, all of which can be dangerous, but more importantly, can contaminate the weld. Grind it back to clean metal for a half inch or so wherever you have a joint and you'll get better results. If you want to weld on the chrome, just do what Jeff said and keep your head out of the smoke and keep the area well-ventilated.
 
I once read that for every year you weld you take 10 years off your life..... I think we all need to get fire retardant hazmat suits.

A shopping cart should be mild steel, use a flap disc on an angle grinder to clean the chrome off where you want to weld and burn away.
Do you plan to use a stick, mig or flux core welder? All of those should work fine for what you're doing.
 
MarsFab said:
I once read that for every year you weld you take 10 years off your life......
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Yeah, but those are years off the END of your life - those years suck anyway!

All kidding aside, I agree with all of the cautions. Weld outside whenever you can and I've found that when I weld, if I can exhale before starting my bead and hold it until I'm done, my hand is steadier anyway.
 
ManglerYJ said:
Yeah, but those are years off the END of your life - those years suck anyway!

All kidding aside, I agree with all of the cautions. Weld outside whenever you can and I've found that when I weld, if I can exhale before starting my bead and hold it until I'm done, my hand is steadier anyway.
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You would turn blue & pass out on a hot frame where I work... You must relax...
 
Unless you're welding outside in a pretty substantial wind, holding your breath while you weld a bead will do absolutely nothing for your safety other than make you a little light headed. The fumes are in the air. Some of the bumpers I've built require atleast a 3 or 4 minute constant bead, I can't hold my breath that long even if I tried.

Welding outside sucks. I used to weld everything in my parents driveway. Took me forever to figure out why my welds always came out brown and covered in spatter LOL. Unfortunately if the material is questionable it's what you really should do. Flux cored wire w/o gas or stick works best because for the most part it's not effected by wind.
 
MarsFab said:
Unless you're welding outside in a pretty substantial wind, holding your breath while you weld a bead will do absolutely nothing for your safety other than make you a little light headed. The fumes are in the air. Some of the bumpers I've built require atleast a 3 or 4 minute constant bead, I can't hold my breath that long even if I tried.

Welding outside sucks. I used to weld everything in my parents driveway. Took me forever to figure out why my welds always came out brown and covered in spatter LOL. Unfortunately if the material is questionable it's what you really should do. Flux cored wire w/o gas or stick works best because for the most part it's not effected by wind.
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That explains it.... I've only ever welded with flux core.... I'm a hack welder anyway :)
 
Thanks guys.. Ill letcha know if I can get to work on this project and how it comes along..
 
MarsFab said:
I once read that for every year you weld you take 10 years off your life..... I think we all need to get fire retardant hazmat suits.
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I love statistics like that. At that rate you, me, and at least a quarter of the members of this site should be dead already.
 
phosgene gas is made from heating the chlorine in the brake/parts cleaner. get the cleaner that is chlorine free.

also, be sure not to solder used regigerant lines as residue will also create phosgene gas.

smoke/fumes from galvanized is toxic, but that is relative. Its not toxic like phosgene gas, but can make you sick if you weld on it all day long. Grind off the galvanized and yo uwill be good.
 
Many of the store carts made in the last 10 years have a baked epoxy finish instead of chrome because it is cheaper and more rust resistant. I just would be scared to weld on one of those.
 
Anders Tackett said:
i think that if you are not used to welding that it is best to have it done in a shop where a welder could probably asses this much better. it really depends on the quality of the metal of the shopping cart as they come in different qualities of steel. i do hope that you do get some professional help before you start on your project if you are not so sure about the material, or alteast have it assesed personally in a metal shop to make sure that you are not putting yourself into ore harm as any welding project can really be dangerous.
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Really go to a shop to build a back yard toy? it's not rocket science.
 
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