I'm going to build an engine stand at my shop and had the thought of welding a ring gear to the rotating part of the engine stand and building a bracket to hold the pinion and put a handle on it. Was thinking of mabey a lawn mower ring and pinion set or something small. Has anyone ever tried this? Do you think the gear ratio would be low enough to turn a complete engine?
Anyone ever built a geared engine stand?
- Thread starter JFoshee
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69charged
Well-known member
i built one years ago but i made the mistake of using little gears inside a homemade gearbox. the gears were like, 1.5 inches in dia. and a 1:1 ratio. looking back now im not sure what i was thinking with that ratio. if i was doing it again i would use a ring gear or something from a snowmachine and the matching pinion. little better ratio. the ring gear is usually about 9 inches with 40 or so teeth and the pinion gear is about 7-8 teeth so you would get a killer ratio then! i will try to get a couple pics of the stand if i can as it was also a fold down one for storage. built it out of 2" square tubing 1/4" wall so that it could handle my 440 for my car.
clarence
clarence
A few pics would be great. Mainly interested in how you mounted the gears and the "brake" mechanism. Tubing is great for a frame, but I already have some pipe left over from other projects. It'll be a little heavy, but should hold whatever I put on it. Also, neighbors won't ask to borrow it as much.
Freejack
Well-known member
My brother used a final drive assembly from an old JD combine...but he was building the stand for big diesels. You many not have the need for anything quite so robust.
Jake
Jake
I know a ring and pinion was what was availible but if you scored a worm gear and pinion you would not need a brake as the pinion can not bake drive. I know Napa sells a stand with one on it for about $200, I have been looking for a used one for a long time.
-Dan
-Dan
Jared
Well-known member
Use an old slack adjuster of a truck with air brakes, they have worm gears in them you should be able to an old one for free.
rsanter
Well-known member
I saw one where someone used an old flex plate and then used the pinion off a starter and welded it to a crank
Tim Kennedy
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check out: abs-products.com Front & center --- motorized engine stand
Jazz1
Well-known member
How about using timing chain gears? We need more pics of geared engine stands
Oregon rock crusher
Well-known member
Here is one I built several years ago. It's made from a scrap heavy caster and truck slack adjuster. The simplest coupling was a socket so that's what connects the two. I have two benches heavy enough I just bolt it to the side of them for an instant stand. Ed.
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I put a 2500lb hand winch with brake on an existing stand in the eighties. Bought 6 or so of the winches from Northern Tool I believe. Don’t remember gear ratio. I had an order to build some pickup truck bed cherry pickers and had a winch left over.
Was a simple install, cheap and worked well. Remember I used a small pillow block bearing in hook up.
Last I saw it, one of the Grandsons had it and it was being passed around his buddies and still working fine.
Was a simple install, cheap and worked well. Remember I used a small pillow block bearing in hook up.
Last I saw it, one of the Grandsons had it and it was being passed around his buddies and still working fine.
matt_i
Well-known member
Boston Gear has a catalog of standardized parts that can usually be ordered from Applied Industrial or Motion Industries or Kaman or the like. I'd probably want something in the 10DP or larger, I suspect the prices would be kind of the end of the idea.
Also I wouldn't want to take on the project unless I had access to a mill + lathe.
The right angle gearbox pictured above looks like a great solution with minimal adaptation.
Seems like about 25:1 would be the minimum reduction that you'd want. Despite the cool factor I don't think a rear axle gear would be the right thing without another stage of reduction. Even "high reduction" 4.56:1 gears would be very fast for a large unbalanced engine.
The ring gear from a flexplate plus starter pinion sounds pretty good as well for the price. But the point about back-driving is a good one, it would need a friction lock or a heavy unbalanced crank arm, but an unbalanced arm would take the fun out of it.
Also I wouldn't want to take on the project unless I had access to a mill + lathe.
The right angle gearbox pictured above looks like a great solution with minimal adaptation.
Seems like about 25:1 would be the minimum reduction that you'd want. Despite the cool factor I don't think a rear axle gear would be the right thing without another stage of reduction. Even "high reduction" 4.56:1 gears would be very fast for a large unbalanced engine.
The ring gear from a flexplate plus starter pinion sounds pretty good as well for the price. But the point about back-driving is a good one, it would need a friction lock or a heavy unbalanced crank arm, but an unbalanced arm would take the fun out of it.
BajaScout
Well-known member
Good thought. Like this one:
That's cool, but I think he could have lined the gears up a little better.
Ty.
Well-known member
How about the auger drive out of an old snowblower? Should be pretty beefy and cheap and easy to find.
Now that I like a lot.
I built one from junk using a small diameter fly wheel from a 4 cylinder car and a odd gear from an old ****** which worked out ok for rotating a heavy block, but the worm drive set up would make things and weight much easier to manage...
Exactly what a friend of mine did. Simple, and cheap as he had the parts already.
When I was thinking of doing some kind of drive for my engine stand (post #8) I kicked around a couple of ideas, including a chain drive or a flexplate drive. I had thought of using a worm drive gear box but the price of a new one scared me. I picked up the one I used, brand new, at a swap meat for $30. The box section I had, I bought a couple of hubs to fit the input and output shafts, made a crank handle, so it went together pretty easy.
manwithtools
ALLIANCE MEMBER
The best feature of this solution is that with that high of a ratio, it won't back drive. This means no brake or lock is needed. Crank it to the desired position and it will stay there. It's also far easier to make an interface to the engine stand.
ttpete
Well-known member
This. A worm drive isn't reversible. It will stay put when the crank is released. I'd just look on eBay for a good used speed reducer like this. A ring and pinion or spur gears can be dangerous if the crank gets away from you.
Provincial
Well-known member
I got an old F100 steering box that I was starting to think may work as a worm reduction drive on an engine stand.
Just a matter of how to install it and if there would be enough reduction to turn it!!!
The output shaft has a limited arc of travel, so you won't be able to turn the engine upside down. this is because the output shaft is connected to a sector, rather than a full-diameter gear. The gear reduction is petty good.
homebuilt burner
Well-known member
x3 on the truck slack adjuster
Oregon rock crusher
Well-known member
I doubt many on here have access to or have ever played with slack adjusters but they are very compact yet robust worm drive gearboxes with very little backlash. The one I used is 27:1 reduction. I can easily spin an engine with a 9/16 socket on a speeder. It helps to pick up a worn S cam shaft with matching splines for adapting to alternate uses. I have another one on my jib crane used to run the trolly in and out via chain and a couple sprokets. Ed.
Oregon rock crusher
Well-known member
They are used on truck air brake systems. They transfer torque from the air can to the S cam shaft to move the brake shoes and actuate the brakes. They also take up the slack as wear occurs to the brake drums and shoes. Pretty common item in truck repair shops and scrap yards everywhere. Ed.
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Mr onetwo
Well-known member
I like the idea of using that brake slack adjuster and even better with that cam shaft as well matching up the spline.
I also use my engine stand as one end of a chassis stand which I use to rotate an old car chassis, when welding or painting, so if I ever used the brake slack adjuster, I'd need to come up with a way or disengaging it for times when I needed full and quick rotation.
Maybe a removable shear pin or similar somewhere in the build...
I already found it necessary to build in a kind of universal joint at one end of my rotating chassis jig to compensate for misalignment and uneven floor situations.
I also use my engine stand as one end of a chassis stand which I use to rotate an old car chassis, when welding or painting, so if I ever used the brake slack adjuster, I'd need to come up with a way or disengaging it for times when I needed full and quick rotation.
Maybe a removable shear pin or similar somewhere in the build...
I already found it necessary to build in a kind of universal joint at one end of my rotating chassis jig to compensate for misalignment and uneven floor situations.
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sz0k30
Well-known member
I'd sure like to see the "Slack adjuster & spline" put together and attached to the stand, cause right now I'm having a hard time picturing how it will attach & work.
Oregon rock crusher
Well-known member
There are a few ways to mount a slack adjuster for other uses sz. Probably the easiest is to just cut the splined shaft the length you need and pass it through the inner tube (the one the mounting plate is welded to) , center it up and weld it. Then you just need a tap welded to the riser to anchor the slack adjuster to. Here is a pic of one with a sprocket on the splined shaft used to run a trolley in and out on a jib crane that may give a few ideas too. Also another couple pics of the one I used with an old caster frame to make a ball bearing faced engine stand head. You can weld on most slack adjuster as they are maleable steel as long as your'e careful not to get the too hot. Ed.
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bradpac
Well-known member
I wonder if you could use that slack adjuster in conjunction with a pickup truck 4x4 unit bearing hub that's also splined and a cut off axle or something. If you can find a slack adjuster with same diameter and splines... hmmmm New slack adjusters are ~$20 on ebay.
Mr onetwo
Well-known member
check this out over on tri5 https://www.trifive.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74486
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Very nice work and I checked out your build thread link.
I've always wondered with my home made stand, how I could modify it so the front legs could be shortened up for neater storage.
My shop crane kinder folds up when stored, but never seen something used to help improve storing a engine stand...
I've always wondered with my home made stand, how I could modify it so the front legs could be shortened up for neater storage.
My shop crane kinder folds up when stored, but never seen something used to help improve storing a engine stand...