Topic: Opinions needed: whats the best surface for an engine dolly/table?

[78CB750CAFE]

Boss at work tells me he has a CB 750 motor sitting in his garage, do I want to get it out of his way??? Hell yes.
So... last night I did what any whacko who had another motor on the way would and built something to keep it on and move it around the garage with out of what I had lying around (2x4's for frame and legs, 1" MDF top, 4 swivel casters, and a half dozen eye bolts for tie down points).

I was thinking of doing the top with some "dry erase paneling" (white painted Masonite basically) or thin sheet steel, any thoughts on either of these as far as practicality and durability? I am considering getting a few feet of the roll out rubber matting to cover the top for easy clean up and protection, and it would be removable so I could pull it and have a nice clean flat surface to solder or rebuild some carbs or something when the motor is off of it.

motor men and wood workers alike chime in please!

Thanks

[markb]

I put rods through the lower motor mount holes and they sat on blocks on each side of the motor on a cart.  Then the bottom of the motor isn't actually sitting on anything.  I cut v-notches in the blocks so they wouldn't slide around.  Made it nice for working on the motor too.  Good luck with the motor.
Mark

[kghost]

I have a bench made out of a recycled fire door.

Works great.

The thing with the rubber mat is it traps oil and dirt on it and under it.

Maybe a metal surface with a mat on top?

[Demon67]

I used to rebuild bike engines Japanese, Brit etc and the best I found was a nice thick piece of steel 1/4" or bigger maybe 3' wide and 4' long some thing that you could clean easily with a slight lip all the way around and a corner with a depression at the corner so that you could put a tub or can underneath it to catch spills and something thick enough that you didn't break the plywood underneath or dent the surface when you smacked it with a wrench in frustration.
Bill the demon.

[alltherightpills]

Somebody on here has a workbench made out of an old garage door segment.  The kind wrapped in metal.  IIRC, it needed to be braced and what not, but it was stout enough to hold the weight and it's waterproof so spills can easily be cleaned up. All around, not a bad idea.

This a pretty good thread for shop ideas (but also infuriating if your shop consists of an unprotected concrete slab behind your house )

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=3953.0

[78CB750CAFE]

gosh, with the board down 24 hours I was left to my own devices with way too much free time....
Here is a pic of it yesterday, today I got a little carried away with it, and will snap a pic when the paint is done

20 something by 30, about 27 inches high. This shows the dry erase board top before I edged it, puttied the screw holes and stuck a shelf in the middle

[333]

Lookin' good.  I was liking the blocks idea, although I'd take it one step further.  I'd do a central block that holds the individual blocks, spaced just right for that particular motor, and so the individual blocks won't fall down when setting the motor in place.  This might make it stable enough that you won't need to strap it down.

[78CB750CAFE]

Yeah Stan, I am probably going to try to rig up something like that on top, does anyone have some measurements for the blocks? I don't have the "spare" engine yet, and I can't get good measurements off my K8 mounted in frame.

Even if the motor doesn't need to be tied down, when I am not using it in the garage I can move it into the Dungeon and really put the eye bolts to good use

[mark]

My 'wet bench' top is a maybe 30" or so wide strip cut from the middle of a Mazda pickup bed. Mounted at a very slight angle - drains into a trough and then to a bucket.

[Retro Rocket]

I use an old stainless steel bench top from a restaurant, easy to clean and strong, it also has a lip around it so everything stays on top.

Mick

[333]

I'm sure I'm not the only one waiting for details on the motor.

[78CB750CAFE]

motor is a mystery, we will see what it is all about later this week. He said he thinks there is something up w/ the cam, but he inherited it a few years ago and never got around to messing with it. He was going to use it in a go cart or mini sand rail 

here is how it sits now, I still need to paint the underside and cut 1 more piece of corner guard.

My plan is to cut a drop in a 1/8"r so steel top that will fit right in between the edging and then build a stand out of wood and bar stock to "mount" the motor on. if anything this thing is overbuilt... I had myself and 2 friends sitting on it last night (550+ lbs!) so it would probably hold an entire bike or a big block Chevy motor if I wanted to

[333]

Let me guess... You and "V"?

[78CB750CAFE]

both V's    the one you met and his next door neighbor   
funny, they both refer to each other as "V"..... I call 'em Dave and Arian, but that's just me.
The wood work is def not up to your standard Stan, I have seen some of the stuff you have done, but it's not too shabby for used/recycled wood, a pound of deck screws and about $20 in hardware.

[333]

I never claimed to be that good.  Your stuff looks great from here.  And I love to use reclaimed wood.  The side shelves in my van were from the original basement bathroom walls my Dad built in '54 or '55.  I have the tongue and groove panels waiting for the time to go in as wall covering in the van soon.  I just posted a pic or 2 in the SPBT.

[78CB750CAFE]

till the motor gets here, the table makes a great laptop/beer/ashtray holder to be used for checking the board after a long day at the Harley shop and a "spirited" 20 mile ride home

[333]

Looks good.  Paint really makes it stand out.  When are you getting the motor?

[78CB750CAFE]

shop manager will bring it in to work this week he promises he was going to haul it all in today, but he figured I would ride in (I did) but I told him to bring it in any day since I keep a Jeep Cherokee at my in laws 3 blocks from the shop... hell I even said I would pick it up at his house ANYTIME....
Honestly this motor is the one thing keeping me there.... I am going to take a job doing sound engineering again, a friends husband works with a local company and they put a pretty nice offer together for me. The Harley job is cool, but the pay and schedule SUCK.