Anyone have good recommendations where I could get some scrap steel for day to day projects for cheap? I want to build and engine stand, bumpers, etc. I was looking for some good size plates, bar and channel stock. I really need to find some 3/16" for my bumper project.

 

I seem to see piles of that stuff at farm auctions. Goes pretty cheap because it just looks like garbage to most people. I've seen piles of scrap steel, propane tanks, old grills and fridges, drums etc.. head high and 20 feet long go for 20 bucks.

 

You can also get scrap steel from some fab shops and recycle yards. Look in the phone book for metal salvage. They usually sell what they have.

As for an engine stand, I bought mine for about $60.00. I couldn't justify the time in addition to the additional parts (wheels, bushings, etc) for the price.

 

Almost any metal place that buys scrap, sells scrap. So much per pound take what you want. You can't build an engine stand for what they are selling for in various stores. Princess auto is good here in Canada. About 60.00 for a 1000lb one. Bountyhunter

 

Here the local scrapyards have "usable" pile you can purchase from for pennies a pound.Good stuff too.

 

Hope your still following this string. I must agree with the others about purchasing an engine stand as opposed to building one. I found a nice heavy-duty stand for $140 that can easily support a fully dressed big block engine and the legs fold up for convenient storage. But, if you like fabricating metal products like me try building an Engine Run Stand. An Engine Run Stand makes it much easer to brake in, tune and diagnose problems before the engine is installed in the vehicle.

 

I agree with the idea that I could buy a better engine stand than I may be able to build. My idea to build one is mostly because I have limited welding experience and wanna try out my new welder and get some practice. Thanks for all the input guys!

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 20-Mar-02 AT 09:42 AM (EST)]No problem but building an engine stand for a beginner welder might be a challenge. As with anything related to shop equipment and practices safety should always be first on your mind. What I'm getting at is most beginner welders may not understand selecting correct heat ranges, identifying correct weld penetration or proper joint and metal preparation. Please don't miss-understand me, I'm not trying to discourage you from doing you own welding. I would just suggest starting on some simpler projects like building a welding table/bench with a metal top.

An engine stand can be dangerous to the user if the welded joints are inferior and/or the design of the components will not support the stress. As you may know the engine stands must support a large cantilevered weight (about 800Lbs. fully dressed big block engine) by attaching to the bell housing boltholes. The weight must be able to rotate 360 degrees so all the stress from the cantilevered weight will be support by a short section of tubing that rotates in a stationary section of tubing. Try holding a three foot long broom handle in both hands (close together) and lift a gallon of milk at the other end.

An engine stand is a simple design but if any welds break or metal failure happens that engine will drop like a guillotine. Even if you escape injury the engine surly will not. Once again, I'm not trying to discourage you just understand all aspects of the project your under taking.

 

>Hope your still following this string. I must agree with
>the others about purchasing an engine stand as opposed to
>building one. I found a nice heavy-duty stand for $140 that
>can easily support a fully dressed big block engine and the
>legs fold up for convenient storage. But, if you like
>fabricating metal products like me try building an Engine
>Run Stand. An Engine Run Stand makes it much easer to brake
>in, tune and diagnose problems before the engine is
>installed in the vehicle.


Hope you can help, have been looking for plans to build a run-in stand for my own use. Do you know where a person could access plans for a run-in stand? Have started to build one but going off of some plans would make it much easier. thanks in advance. pops

 

Well, I know what one should look like but I have never came across plans to build one. I believe you could draw dimensioned plans that are just as detailed as what you may find. But try searching the Internet for engine run stands or welding projects.

A run stand is very simple to design and build and even simpler if you're only going to run only one type of engine. It doesn't need to be beefy as an engine stand, just make it long enough to accommodate a radiator, battery box w/cover, exhaust clearance and instrument panel. In college I had the opportunity to work on a Superflow Dynamometer and this is where I noticed how simple the basic engine run stand is to make. The Superflow dyno stand is designed to accommodate many different engine sizes and configurations but it was only built out of 1"x2" rectangle tubing for everything other then the engine mount support / cross member. The engine mount cross member was made out of 2"x3" and was free to move fore and aft along the engine's centerline. The adjustable engine mount supports (up and down) were made of 2"x2" (holed) tubing that clamped to the cross member so they could be adjusted for the width of the engine. The actual engine mount attachment to the support was a custom fabricated part for that style engine.

Some tips for the design (assuming you will use the run stand for different engines).
- Buy a Lakewood bell housing for the engine you intend to install on the run stand. Use the Lakewood bell housing to support the aft end of the engine.
- Find a larger then stock radiator that will stay with the run stand.
- Use an electric fan on the above radiator. This saves room and is safer then the stock fan spinning out in the open. (Unless you can install an enclosed fan shroud)
- Try to use electric gages because they are cleaner to install and operate.
- Install a master kill switch (red palm button) on the ignition.
- Use a Marine grade battery box to house the battery and protect it from liquids and metal things falling on the terminals.
- Use flexible Stainless Steel tubing for the exhaust. About six feet long then you can switch to rubber exhaust hose.

Since dreaming is free you might want to thing about installing a small water break style dynamometer on your run stand some day. You could actually make some money with this set up by testing other engines for a fee. There are some affordable dyno packages available on the after market other then Superflow.

If this doesn't help I could fax you a sketch of my idea for a engine run stand.
:-)