RE: Broke down and bought a battle Axe...
I think this is a smart move and a cheap education. You can take what you learn from it and possibly leap frog ahead with your own ideas.
I've broken 3 crankcases from pile driver type crashes in SSC [flying my own design]. One thing I never developed was an engine mount to solve that.
I've always felt that the best point of view is "bend but don't break".