Messy oily stuff / cylinder rebuild station

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I have way too many old hydraulic machines with leaking cylinders. I am a bit OCD about making a giant mess in my shop, so I wanted a way to contain the giant mess from working on cylinders. So I designed and started building a rebuild station.Frame is welded mild steel tubing.

I formed and welded a giant 14 ga sloped pan that occupies 2/3rds the width of the rack. There is a drain at the low point. I screwed up while forming it and ended up with an extra ridge right next to the drain. It actually works out to be a little trap to catch material before it goes down the drain. I like it. I also made a series of 1/4" steel cross members that can go anywhere along the length of the rack. They accommodate a Ridgid 40185 / BC 610 chain vise. And then there are v-blocks that support the work at the same height as the chain vise.

The bottom shelf holds Eagle spill containment pans. On the right side I will be putting my 55 gallon waste oil barrel. And then underneath the pan I can store messy / drippy cans or parts. The drum spill containment things are great for messy jobs. I've rebuild engines over them and saved a lot of mess.


Reply:Here is a stubby little cylinder that is getting re-sealed. Even though I have universal / adjustable pin wrenches, they never seem to fit anything. So I often just have a blank lasered out and then ream dowel pin holes. This one I added a 1/2" square so I can turn it with a breaker bar.

Problems:

Future rack plans:Skin of some sort on the back and the sides. Probably plastic faced plywood. Wood or expanded metal for a shelf on top. My plan is to keep commonly used lubes up there.Light underneath top shelfCurtain or some sort of front cover. Keep dust out of work in process. My shop is dusty. Although I did design the thing to be forkliftable into my inner work shop which is climate controlled and somewhat less dusty. My plan is to do that as needed in the winter.Actually put my 55 gallon used oil barrel on the right side.Drill holes along the front and rear rails for bolting down the cross members over the pan.
Reply:Beats the way I do 'em.  Pull the rod, and watch a puddle of oil spread all over the welding table