frank sent me an e-mail, note to tell me about a near miss, he had and , as a result its finally starting to sink in, that the cost vs value of those dirt cheap engine stands is hardly worth the cost saved.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-en ... 69520.html
Frank had purchased an engine stand, like this one ,pictured above, from some auto parts store years ago.
well last night Frank was moving an engine mounted on that stand and one of the cheap swivel casters locked up in small flaw in the garage floor,
the result was the engine fell, and frank without thinking in that instant, tried hard to stop it from falling , and sprained his arm rather badly and barely missed crushing his foot!
https://www.harborfreight.com/catal...AFeatured+Weight,f,Sale+Rank,f&q=engine+stand
harbor freight sells a fairly decent quality CHEAP engine stand thats fully able to handle a big block chevy engine. and resist tipping
stands like the one below will usually hold the weight but are MUCH EASIER to tip over when your tightening bolts or rotating the engine, the cost difference is in my opinion well justified, and they have 20% off sale stickers frequently
https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-engine-stand-69520.html
every engine crane and engine stand Ive ever seen came with crappy steel wheels about 2.5"-3"in diam.
but you have options (yes this mod adds $80-$120 to the cost of the engine stand) how much do you save by loosing a toe or breaking a foot keeping the cheap crappy casters
http://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-cus ... 46819.html
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200305217
a decent engine stand with decent casters is a far safer tool, and yes both the engine stans shown below need better casters added, but at least they are semi safer designs than the upper engine stand shown
http://www.harborfreight.com/2000-lb-fo ... -8970.html
BTW YOULL WANT TO MEASURE the engine stand legs and bolt hole spacing in the caster mount plate,AND SHOP CAREFULLY, YOULL WANT TWO OF THESE SQUARE U-BOLTS TO LOCK EACH SWIVEL CASTER TO THE ENGINE STAND
while price alone is not always a good indicator of quality its usually a good bet that the smaller and cheaper engine stands with the smaller wheel bases, like this
http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-en ... ?hftref=cj
ARE less stable, with the identical engine mounted on them, and that the slightly more expensive stands, that have a larger and wider foot print, like this
http://www.harborfreight.com/2000-lb-fo ... ?hftref=cj
are harder to tip once the engines mounted, due to simple leverage and physics
and that every engine stand Ive seen for sale for under $300 has had really crappy low quality and small diameter casters, and few have caster roll locks, the main point I was trying to make here was that upgrading the casters to the larger size, and better quality and selecting an engine stand with a wide stable base to convert to the use of those larger swivel casters makes it far less likely to be effected by running over minor trash, or floor seams.
READ THESE
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=8443&p=29605&hilit=engine+stand+grade+eight#p29605
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3724
http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-en ... 69520.html
Frank had purchased an engine stand, like this one ,pictured above, from some auto parts store years ago.
well last night Frank was moving an engine mounted on that stand and one of the cheap swivel casters locked up in small flaw in the garage floor,
the result was the engine fell, and frank without thinking in that instant, tried hard to stop it from falling , and sprained his arm rather badly and barely missed crushing his foot!
https://www.harborfreight.com/catal...AFeatured+Weight,f,Sale+Rank,f&q=engine+stand
harbor freight sells a fairly decent quality CHEAP engine stand thats fully able to handle a big block chevy engine. and resist tipping
stands like the one below will usually hold the weight but are MUCH EASIER to tip over when your tightening bolts or rotating the engine, the cost difference is in my opinion well justified, and they have 20% off sale stickers frequently
https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-engine-stand-69520.html
every engine crane and engine stand Ive ever seen came with crappy steel wheels about 2.5"-3"in diam.
but you have options (yes this mod adds $80-$120 to the cost of the engine stand) how much do you save by loosing a toe or breaking a foot keeping the cheap crappy casters
http://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-cus ... 46819.html
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200305217
a decent engine stand with decent casters is a far safer tool, and yes both the engine stans shown below need better casters added, but at least they are semi safer designs than the upper engine stand shown
http://www.harborfreight.com/2000-lb-fo ... -8970.html
BTW YOULL WANT TO MEASURE the engine stand legs and bolt hole spacing in the caster mount plate,AND SHOP CAREFULLY, YOULL WANT TWO OF THESE SQUARE U-BOLTS TO LOCK EACH SWIVEL CASTER TO THE ENGINE STAND
while price alone is not always a good indicator of quality its usually a good bet that the smaller and cheaper engine stands with the smaller wheel bases, like this
http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-en ... ?hftref=cj
ARE less stable, with the identical engine mounted on them, and that the slightly more expensive stands, that have a larger and wider foot print, like this
http://www.harborfreight.com/2000-lb-fo ... ?hftref=cj
are harder to tip once the engines mounted, due to simple leverage and physics
and that every engine stand Ive seen for sale for under $300 has had really crappy low quality and small diameter casters, and few have caster roll locks, the main point I was trying to make here was that upgrading the casters to the larger size, and better quality and selecting an engine stand with a wide stable base to convert to the use of those larger swivel casters makes it far less likely to be effected by running over minor trash, or floor seams.
READ THESE
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=8443&p=29605&hilit=engine+stand+grade+eight#p29605
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3724
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