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[Webby the Bear]

Hi ya,

Get paid in a few days and going to get an engine stand so I can work on the 3L block I bought.

I'll be renting an engine crane too to get it in to position.

One thing though..... where does said engine stand attach? I assume through the bellhousing bolt holes. If so, any idea what size these are as i dont have any laying around. thinking M10? 

[Webby the Bear]

Oh and unrelated question lol

will 1 inch by inch square tube be sturdy enough for a mig welding cart?

[Nick W]

I use lengths of appropriate studding to attach an engine to a stand, which saves a lot of faffing about with different length bolts and packing washers. You use the bell housing boltholes on most stands. They are are almost certainly M10, I'd undo one of the more accessible ones if I wanted to check.
The easiest way of getting the engine on the stand is to bolt the mounting head to the engine first, and slide that into the tube on the stand.
Buy a 4 legged stand; they are much more stable than a 3leg one.
1" angle is cheaper, easier to work, and makes attaching the shelves much easier. Pay attention to the proportions, the cart I made for my TIG  and plasma cutter was far too tall for its width. It was so unsatisfactory that I recently scrapped it and bought one, which is folded sheet metal. £40 from Machine Mart if you're interested. I do understand why you want to make one as it is a good first design/build project.

[Webby the Bear]

Thanks Nick, thats answered all of my Q's.

You're spot on in that, yes, i do want to make one as opposed to buying one.

Local metal place giving me 10 metres of 25mm square tube for £25. assuming i have any left over ill build something else also.

im going to make mine about 6 inches wider than the welder itself. and to be honest only tall enough so the pull handles at hand height. and ill put a shelf on top to store mig consumables, magnets, wire brush etc

[Kevin Wood]

With regard to the engine crane, I have a cheap 1 tonne chain hoist from Ebay which I use attached to a wooden beam which I lay across 3 or 4 joists in the garage roof. Much cheaper than an engine crane (cheaper than hiring one too), much less bulky to store and if you just want to lift the engine up onto a stand and vice versa, it'll be all you need.

I've used it to get the engine and gearbox in and out of the Westfield a few times, as per:







Might need the flexibility of an engine crane to do the same on an Omega, but worth thinking about if you've got a structure strong enough in your garage.

Also invaluable when shifting engines and heavy bits around is a decent bit of strong wooden board with a caster at each corner for moving things around the floor.

[Webby the Bear]

Nice one Kev. i have seen a lot of people use them.

I'm ashamed to say i cant remember what our garage ceiling looks like (i.e. if there are any exposed beams) ill have a butchers mate

i can make a ''dolly'' for lugging about stuff on the floor.

the more projects the better for me at the moment as i got some time, some metal and a welder..... why not make stuff! 

[Webby the Bear]

One final random question.....

My Clarke 135TE will weld stainless according to the book. Can i weld stainless to mild steel?

[kev2b4]

Have got an engine crane sitting in Luton if you get desperate

[Webby the Bear]

Have got an engine crane sitting in Luton if you get desperate

Thanks Kev, thats really kind. ill pm you if needed

[kev2b4]

Can i weld stainless to mild steel?

I've welded carbon steel to aluminium! - wasn't structural though!,  carbon to stainless - many times - welding rod depends on the stainless grade etc. ( as specified in the weld procedure )

[Webby the Bear]

Thanks for that.

Would welding stainless castors to the bottom of a weld cart be considered structural or ''critical''? 

[kev2b4]

Stainless castors!! bit posh - sure they're not plated  bet they're not C276 stainless ( approx 3% iron, rest expensive stuff- but good for 28% HCl in hot water at 90 Deg C!)

[Webby the Bear]

i dunno mate. its off a dumped and broken shopping trolley near SWMBOs house and i just guessed it looked like stainless! 

[kev2b4]

try a magnet on it - if it sticks then is probably plated carbon steel. ( or martensitic stainless - some are magnetic) , 304/316 SS and other basic stainless are non-magnetic

[Webby the Bear]

ok mate will do thank you

if i plan on just welding it to steel with my standard 0.6mm wire and appropriate heat settings will it be good enough for a welding cart?