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A crank in an engine would certainly be supported about as well as possible. But it would still have the very heavy weight of flywheel and clutch hanging off the back, providing I would think a localized bending force much greater than anything the crank could exert on itself if lying on the floor. Maximum of this would be a Model A, with very thin crank and absolutely monstrous flywheel...
On the floor, a crank would have only its own weight in divided spans as force. Seems like it would also have bending forces of its own even hanging...everything heavy on a crank is offset from axis, presumably applying bending forces on the central structure...