I found it under a box near some dirty rags: my lost ambition
Building the Near-Perfect Welding Cart (Operator’s Log, Entry 001)
- 🗑️ Stage One: The Ten-Minute Commitment
I had spent the last 3 weeks cleaning up the disaster that my garage had become—an overfilled storage unit. I committed to 10 minutes a day to undo what years of laziness had done. Every night after work, ten minutes.
At first, it didn’t seem like much—just a trash bag full and some moved boxes. But as I worked on it each day, the momentum grew. I would set out for 10 minutes and end up an hour later with a trash can full, a pile of donations, and a stack of long-forgotten tools with no home.
The walls already had pegboard that I had never used.
For about 20 bucks, I got a box of pegs and hooks at Harbor Freight.
As the trash disappeared and my tools were uncovered, I began finding places for them. I found toolboxes, wrenches, and reassembled a set or two.
It was amazing how I had just left everything to rot. It had been devastating to my productivity, but now, finally, I had a chance to get back to doing what I love: building, making, and creating.
2. ⚡️ Stage Two: The Necessary Build
Before long, I had a working shop again. I still didn’t know why I started—I guess I had just gotten deep enough in my funk to get tired of it. But here I was, standing in a small shop, and I set out to do something again: a welding cart. I needed to practice my welding and further my shop organization and mobility.
I went to the local metal distributor and picked up a few random pieces: square tube for legs, some angle iron for support, and a sheet for the shelves.
I didn’t have a drawn-out plan; I thought I’d just wing it.
I measured the footprint of my welder and plasma cutter, and started drawing and building there.
I cut the legs, welded the top into a perfect rectangle, and added lower supports. Before long, I needed the panels cut for the shelves, and wouldn’t you know… my air compressor gave out.
3. 🗺️ Stage Three: The Operator’s Pivot
The compressor failure was a setback, but I told a buddy what had happened. He said I could come use his air, so I loaded up my small equipment and temporarily moved my shop.
A day later, I had all the pieces cut and welded into place. (See the photo of the completed, bare-steel cart below!)
The structure is square, the welds are clean, and it doesn’t wobble.
It had been a series of efforts to get to this point: not only had I built a cart, but I had dug through the forgotten mess to find something I had been missing for a while—my ambition.
4. 🚀 The Mission: Just Enough to Survive
With tasks beginning to actually be completed again, I had a new mindset and a forming idea. I wanted to build another idea I had been rolling around in my head, which is what brings us here.
I don’t know how long it will last or what will become of it, but I’m calling it The Rabbit Hole Operator – Just Enough to Survive.
Support the Log!
This cart cost me $100 in materials and 15 hours of labor—but the content it created is priceless.
Next Mission: Fix the air compressor and buy the $89 POV camera.
The Ask: I need your support to secure the camera so I can film the fixes you need to see.
Action: https://rabbitholeoperator.com/support-the-operator and https://rabbitholeoperator.com/the-shop to see the first item for sale!
Leave a Reply