Stop Running Over Cords When Moving Carts in the Shop

Roll a welding cabinet from one spot to another, and chances are you'll run over the lines leading to it and end up with a mess to untangle.

"I got sick and tired of having to move the cables and the hose out of the way every time I moved a welding cart. Now, instead of running over them, I just push them out of the way," says Elias Waldner of Ipswich, South Dakota.

No one thought of this before?
Waldner says the inspiration for this trouble-saving idea struck late last August.

"One of my friends and I were talking about a way to push the lines, sort of like using a cattle guard on the front of a train. I designed one, and there it was," he recalls. "I began to get a few compliments on them and decided I'd try sending this idea in to All Around the Farm."

Adjustable width
He says he first tried working with steel tubing to form his caster guards, but he found it didn't work as well as 10-gauge sheet metal because it was limiting. "The guards couldn't be made adjustable because steel tubing doesn't bend," he explains.

The sheet metal also allowed him to add the two tabs onto either end of each guard. (Approximate height of each tab measures 3½ inches.)

"The tabs help protect the wheel," Waldner points out. "When welding or cutting with a cutting torch, sometimes hot pieces fall from the welding surface and are so hot that they melt into the caster." His guards prevent that damage from occuring, too.

A wrench is not required
For ease of installation, there is a carriage bolt on the inside.

"I don't have to try to get a wrench in there," he says.

Instead, there is an outside nut to adjust for the proper fit of various widths of individual casters. The outside nut is over in a slotted hole that slides into place.

1∕4-inch clearance
The caster guards float across the floor, just skimming the surface with about a ¼-inch clearance.

"Now when I move the welder, all the lines move right along with it," he says.

Waldner says he puts his guards on all four wheels. As of now, he has equipped each of his welders, torch cart, and even a portable toolbox.

He's making them available for sale, too, and to date has sold 20 to 30 sets, he estimates. Waldner charges only $10 a pair, plus shipping and handling charges, depending on destination.

For more information or to place an order, email Waldner at the address below.

When asked if he's had any feedback on his caster guards, Waldner says, "Friends and customers say it's a good idea, and they love it."

The next $2,500 winner
Waldner is the next recipient of a $2,500 Firestone in-store credit offer for having his idea chosen as the Idea of the Month. Enter your idea.

Learn more about Elias Waldner
Operation: On a large, commercial grain and livestock farm in north-central South Dakota, Elias Waldner hauls hogs, cattle, and feed. He also works in the shop and with the livestock.

Family: He and wife Julia have one son and two daughters. Elijah is 6, Brittany is 4, and Megan is 2.

New equipment: "I just got a 250-ton press brake. One of the first things I built with it was a large set of metal storage shelves," he says.

The hog: "There is an old, pinkish-color golf cart on our farm. It looks like a hog, and that's how it got its name," says Waldner.

Email: eliaswaldner@gmail.com

By Paula Barbour