RobbieT
Elite Member
Myself and the other UK club presidents were approached by Dan (and his very patient girlfriend) at WDW and we promised to share what he offered us with our members.
Dan is hoping to turn his hobby into a new business, its not everyones cup of tea (or coffee?) but may be of interest to some, given he can adapt to much smaller pieces not just a coffee table.
Ive attached just a few of the pictures supplied but the many more he showed us at WDW on his iPad were simply stunning.
Here are the details:-
I am able to create a number of different items specific to client wishes, wants, needs or desires. Due to the fact that each product is unique, it brings more of a personal feel to the item. The glass can be different sizes, shapes or even have logos etched into the glass. I can also have stands made from different materials ( I use a high quality 30mm box stainless steel. 1... Because of its aesthetic appearance and 2....because if someone decides they want it a different colour, it doesn't take much to have it powder coated for example.
As for the engine itself, I can have various sections removed to more or less depth as required. This could be for educational reasons or just because they want an aesthetically pleasing centre feature in their front room.
If someone or a club don't want such a large artefact, I can create smaller custom pieces to act as either trophies or prizes. This can be anything really, clutches, drive train mechanisms, oil pumps or generators. These can possibly be turned into clocks or just as they are for prizes. If you want something made in particular, I'm sure we can decide on something or just give me something to work with and I can make something.
I must emphasise that each product I create is totally unique, hand crafted and created all from my workshop back home. As for the engine coffee table, I take a used engine, and start by totally stripping the engine down, chemically degreasing each and every component and deciding what sections I want to cut away or have exposed. When I first started, I was initially going to have the cylinder heads both facing upwards with the intention of using the throttle bodies to have the glass mounted on (basically having a 'V' shape). However, looking at the position of the engine once in a stand, I thought it may look a little unnatural and decided to use the engine as it would look in the bike except the vertical cylinder would be totally upright and then I will use this to mount the glass on.
I then mark out and tape off where I will cut to save any damage from files or tools I use. Generally this is the process that's takes the most time and I spend endless nights grafting in the garage with my missus bringing me cups of tea and asking when I'm coming to bed?? My answer is generally....in a minute........ 2 hours later and realising its 1am and it's time to come in.
I have found that with some of the older engines I have, the paintwork is in need of attention. Instead of just spraying over this, I can either have these sections removed if possible during the cut outs, or I will shop blast the hollow engine cases and have them powder coated. I can colour match or have different colours used, again dependant on requirements. However, I feel that even if the engine has a few small areas that need attention, it all adds to the characteristic of the feature to show that it was In fact a working engine once.
Putting the whole thing back together is the fun part. It starts to take shape and I find out how things look together. I usually end up removing a little more material in some areas or just making sure that any parts I bolt together are filed and polished flush with one another. One other detail I always do is to remove all the old screws and use nice new stainless or zinc plated Allen bolts. Usually most of the screws are rusty or will just look horrible on the finished piece.
I have 2 main routes if people are interested in having one made for themselves, their business or for any other purposes and is based on the coffee table.
1. Supply your own engine and I will do everything for you. Tell me what you want or to what level you want it detailed and I can do it.
Or
2. I can ask for an upfront cost of £1000 and I will buy an engine of your choice (an engine such as an older air cooled engine can be purchased for less than a testastretta engine and its cost will be factored in against the final overall cost). I can then do all the work on the engine and have it handed back to you.
I don't work on an hourly rate but rather by a set overall cost. Again, based on the table, if you wanted me to do everything (find you an engine and do all the work and hand it back to you complete with stand and glass to your specification) it will cost you £2500 - £3000 depending on what type of engine you want. This is roughly broken down into £1000 for an engine and £1500 - £2000 on labour, stand materials, cleaning, consumables, manufacture and glass.
The end product is something that I still can't stop looking at and anyone who comes to my house is astounded by it. It really is an awesome piece for the ducati enthusiast. The engine is still able to be cranked over manually with all the internals moving as they should. I am still working on how to have the engine hooked up to a motor of some sort so that it can sit in the room just turning over.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Many thanks
Dan taylor
dan.taylor2012@hotmail.co.uk
07971 680687
Dan is hoping to turn his hobby into a new business, its not everyones cup of tea (or coffee?) but may be of interest to some, given he can adapt to much smaller pieces not just a coffee table.
Ive attached just a few of the pictures supplied but the many more he showed us at WDW on his iPad were simply stunning.
Here are the details:-
I am able to create a number of different items specific to client wishes, wants, needs or desires. Due to the fact that each product is unique, it brings more of a personal feel to the item. The glass can be different sizes, shapes or even have logos etched into the glass. I can also have stands made from different materials ( I use a high quality 30mm box stainless steel. 1... Because of its aesthetic appearance and 2....because if someone decides they want it a different colour, it doesn't take much to have it powder coated for example.
As for the engine itself, I can have various sections removed to more or less depth as required. This could be for educational reasons or just because they want an aesthetically pleasing centre feature in their front room.
If someone or a club don't want such a large artefact, I can create smaller custom pieces to act as either trophies or prizes. This can be anything really, clutches, drive train mechanisms, oil pumps or generators. These can possibly be turned into clocks or just as they are for prizes. If you want something made in particular, I'm sure we can decide on something or just give me something to work with and I can make something.
I must emphasise that each product I create is totally unique, hand crafted and created all from my workshop back home. As for the engine coffee table, I take a used engine, and start by totally stripping the engine down, chemically degreasing each and every component and deciding what sections I want to cut away or have exposed. When I first started, I was initially going to have the cylinder heads both facing upwards with the intention of using the throttle bodies to have the glass mounted on (basically having a 'V' shape). However, looking at the position of the engine once in a stand, I thought it may look a little unnatural and decided to use the engine as it would look in the bike except the vertical cylinder would be totally upright and then I will use this to mount the glass on.
I then mark out and tape off where I will cut to save any damage from files or tools I use. Generally this is the process that's takes the most time and I spend endless nights grafting in the garage with my missus bringing me cups of tea and asking when I'm coming to bed?? My answer is generally....in a minute........ 2 hours later and realising its 1am and it's time to come in.
I have found that with some of the older engines I have, the paintwork is in need of attention. Instead of just spraying over this, I can either have these sections removed if possible during the cut outs, or I will shop blast the hollow engine cases and have them powder coated. I can colour match or have different colours used, again dependant on requirements. However, I feel that even if the engine has a few small areas that need attention, it all adds to the characteristic of the feature to show that it was In fact a working engine once.
Putting the whole thing back together is the fun part. It starts to take shape and I find out how things look together. I usually end up removing a little more material in some areas or just making sure that any parts I bolt together are filed and polished flush with one another. One other detail I always do is to remove all the old screws and use nice new stainless or zinc plated Allen bolts. Usually most of the screws are rusty or will just look horrible on the finished piece.
I have 2 main routes if people are interested in having one made for themselves, their business or for any other purposes and is based on the coffee table.
1. Supply your own engine and I will do everything for you. Tell me what you want or to what level you want it detailed and I can do it.
Or
2. I can ask for an upfront cost of £1000 and I will buy an engine of your choice (an engine such as an older air cooled engine can be purchased for less than a testastretta engine and its cost will be factored in against the final overall cost). I can then do all the work on the engine and have it handed back to you.
I don't work on an hourly rate but rather by a set overall cost. Again, based on the table, if you wanted me to do everything (find you an engine and do all the work and hand it back to you complete with stand and glass to your specification) it will cost you £2500 - £3000 depending on what type of engine you want. This is roughly broken down into £1000 for an engine and £1500 - £2000 on labour, stand materials, cleaning, consumables, manufacture and glass.
The end product is something that I still can't stop looking at and anyone who comes to my house is astounded by it. It really is an awesome piece for the ducati enthusiast. The engine is still able to be cranked over manually with all the internals moving as they should. I am still working on how to have the engine hooked up to a motor of some sort so that it can sit in the room just turning over.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Many thanks
Dan taylor
dan.taylor2012@hotmail.co.uk
07971 680687
