Has anyone on here built any good engine stands ? any pics of yours ? I think we all want a decent stand, and I am sure there are some fantastic idea's out there that we would all like to see.
good stands are expensive and don't come up very often, and I have seen a few nice custom stands. mine is pretty simple ,but very effective for holding an engine and transferring it from transom to stand quickly. what got me started was I looked at a real nice outboard engine stand a few years back called the dreadnaught by K&L . Nice stand but its very expensive, and to ship one over here to UK would of been madness.
so with a bit of old scrap tube I had lying around I made my own. My stand is on the same lines as the one I wanted but larger wheels and can take engines of all sizes just the like the K&L stand . I made it so the main part that holds the engine can be taken off quickly and leave the engine suspended in place by a very simple 3 leg crane attachment. This allows the stand to slide under a boat trailer and get engine in position easy. the crane takes a bout 5 mins to set up, it slots in on the rear main beam with a pin lock and bolts hold 2 more uprights forward to secure the crane in place. I used an old trailer winch to take the weight of the engine for cranking it up or down.. by doing this I can wheel the engine to the boat and lower it on a transom without the need for a separate crane. by using 6 inch Heavy duty wheels I can move the engine on the stand over pretty rough ground if need be. the metal used is 2 1/4 inch square tube that is thick walled, the part that imitates at ransom can be raised up 10 more inches if need be, the board its attached to is 1/4 inch steel plate then solid wood then a soft ply facing that engine sits against. I put a set of holes in the BIA pattern so engine can be solidly mounted to work on or for total disassembly etc. I also have extra stability legs that can be quickly attached that extend the width by upto 15 inch each side. as per the dreadnaught stand. with this set up I can have a 100 gallon water butt on the base and still move the whole thing around and leave in the garage over night etc. (saves getting hose out again) It is a very strong assembly that can also fold up flat against a wall when not in use. the stand is 33 inches wide.
anyone else made their own outboard stand ?
Here is a picture of the dreadnaught painted blue, and my version before painting silver.
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